Based on the hit comic book about a man who returns from the dead to avenge his killers, the film adaptation of The Crow suffered a cruel irony when star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee) died during production after a bizarre onset accident. That event only deepened the film's aura of death and gothic unease, moods that are brilliantly underscored by this well-chosen collection of stark alt rock, dark metal, and industrial dirges.

The opener, the Cure's typically angst-ridden "Burn," is about as sentimental as this album gets, bookended by Jane Siberry's wistful "It Can't Rain All the Time." Sandwiched in between is a virtual primer on powerful mid-1990s alt and industrial rock, from Nine Inch Nails hammering Joy Division's "Dead Souls" into its own image to the blistering snarl of Helmet, Pantera, and the Rollins Band. So-called pop-song scores often have a cheap afterthought feel to them; this one, a refreshingly integral part of the film itself, stands as a great album in its own right. --Jerry McCulley