Scream 3 (soundtrack)

Two albums were released to promote the 2000 slasher film Scream 3. The first one, consisting of an original soundtrack, was released as Scream 3: The Album by Wind-up Records on January 25, 2000. It features 18 songs, largely of the nu metal genre, performed by artists such as Creed, System of a Down, Slipknot, Powerman 5000, Full Devil Jacket, Godsmack, Incubus, Static-X and Coal Chamber, some of which are represented in the film. It was commercially successful, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard 200 charts, and also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, signifying that the album achieved sales in excess of 500,000 units. The album was released on iTunes on February 1, 2012.
Marco Beltrami who scored the previous instalments had returned to score Scream 3. To complete the score within the deadline, he employed seven orchestrators and experimented with the recording of instruments in unusual circumstances such as physically and electronically altering the traditional sound of a piano while continuing to include a heavy vocal orchestra in his tracks. Scream 3: The Score is the original score album released by Varèse Sarabande on February 29, 2000.

Soundtrack

Background

Apart from the metal genre songs, Nick Cave wrote a sequel to the song "Red Right Hand"—being heard in all three films as well as the 2022 reboot—which was playing in the closing credits, but was not included in the soundtrack. Beltrami also derived few notes from the song in his score. The American metal band Creed also recorded "Is This the End" played in the end credits. The band's song "What If" was used in the film, and was promoted with a music video, resembling the events of the film and includes a cameo by David Arquette, which was used in the film's home media release.

Reception

Writing for AllMusic, Steve Huey said that the "high pedigree" of the album's contributors had produced a "pretty listenable album" and gave 2.5 out of 5 to the album.

Track listing

Notes

signifies a co-producer
signifies a lyricist

Personnel

David Bianco – mixing
David Boucher – mixing
Bob Clearmountain – mixing
Terry Date – mixing
Edsel Dope – mixing
Paul David Hager – engineer and mixing
Steven Haigler – engineer
Scott Humphrey – mixing
John Kurzweg – engineer and mixing
Arnold Lanni – engineer and mixing
Scott Litt – mixing
Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
Rodger Manning – additional music
Dave Ogilvie – mixing
The Other Brothers – remixing
D. Sardy – mixing
John Travis – mixing
Andy Wallace – mixing
Ulrich Wild – engineer and mixing
Rick Will – mixing

Score

Unlike the score for the first two installments, which had been released into a single dual album, the score for Scream 3 was compiled into a single album. Varèse Sarabande issued the score album on February 29, 2000, consisted of 22 tracks that ran for over 33 minutes, though much of the score has been excluded from the album. Like its predecessor, Beltrami incorporated excerpts of the score to Broken Arrow by Hans Zimmer in the track "Sid Wears a Dress".

Reception

Writing for Filmtracks.com, Christian Clemmensen commented "Beltrami's score for Scream 3 overachieves and is one of the few true bright spots in an otherwise forgettable sequel". Gregory Heaney of AllMusic awarded the Scream 3 score 2.5 out of 5 and said "Scream 3 has a nail-biter of a score, blending eeriness with just the right amount of aggression to create the kind of nervy atmosphere that's essential to any slasher film. This is the score for any horror junkie looking to relive the thrills and chills of this now classic film, or for anyone who just wants the feeling of being chased." Music critic Jonathan Broxton awarded four stars out of five, summarising "this is a much more satisfying listen than any of the previous Scream incarnations, mainly because its length allows the listener to appreciate the full scope of Beltrami's efforts. The excitement of the violent stalk-and-kill cues and the shock-jump ferocity is nicely balanced with the more reflective moments, resulting in a well-rounded, highly enjoyable album that more than does justice to the film it represents."

Later releases

On January 7, 2022, Beltrami score for the first four films in the Scream franchise was released in a limited edition box set of 1,800 units. The score for Scream 3 was compiled in a two-disc album, in its entirety, that runs for one-and-a-half hour. Unlike, its predecessors, which saw a separate "deluxe edition" release for the full score. A vinyl box set was later released on June 10, 2022, although only 44 minutes of music were present.