To commemorate this year's Alien Day, Renovatio Records proudly presents the score for the 2017 film Alien: Covenant. Directed by Ridley Scott and featuring a stellar cast including Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, and Demián Bichir, the film serves as a direct sequel to the 2012 hit Prometheus. The film follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant as they journey to a remote planet, only to confront perilous encounters with hostile life-forms, including the enigmatic android David, survivor of the ill-fated Prometheus expedition. While the film received mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike, its undeniable strengths lie in its breathtaking set pieces, impeccable production design, and heart-pounding suspense.
The music of the Alien franchise has always been a topic of discussion among film music enthusiasts. From Jerry Goldsmith's iconic score for the original Alien to the varied approaches of subsequent composers, including James Horner, Elliot Goldenthal, John Frizzell, and Marc Streitenfeld, each installment has brought its own sonic identity to the table. The significant variation of musical styles has elicited mixed reactions from audiences with some fans embacing the evolution of the music, while others feeling that certain scores deviated too far from the tone established by Goldsmith's original.
The music Alien: Covenant was no stranger to controversies. Initially, Scott’s regular collaborator Harry Gregson-Williams was set to compose the score. However, the composer departed due to scheduling difficulties and creative differences. Scott then turned to Australian composer Jed Kurzel for the score. Initially met with skepticism due to this indie rock background, Kurzel defied expectations and managed to deliver a very accomplished piece of work.
In the score for Alien: Covenant, three distinct aspects stand out, each contributing to the film's immersive atmosphere and emotional depth. The first involves the interpolations of Goldsmith’s original Alien theme. Kurzel skillfully makes several hints and references to the classic woodwind, flute and trumpet ideas making standout performances in cues like "Covenant", "Planet No. 4" and "Launcher Landing", evoking a sense of familiarity and nostalgia for longtime fans while seamlessly blending with Kurzel's contemporary vision. The second aspect is Kurzel’s contemplative material that underscore the personal and existential struggles of the colony ship crew. Katherine Waterston’s character is treated with a lamentful piano melody in "A Cabin on the Lake", while a somber yet reassuring motif for the crew, often carried by a French horn, appears in cues such as "Neutrino Burst", "Sails", and the opening of "Terraforming Bay". These themes effectively convey the characters' sense of loss and the weight of their mission, while also providing surprisingly warm tones. The third aspect is expectedly the horror element, and here is where Kurzel exploits his electronic textures, with ambient suspense and pounding rhythms to build tension and suspense. A two-note theme for the hostile life-forms adds an ominous layer, heightening the sense of danger and dread in cues like "Med Bay", Cargo Lift" and "Terraforming Bay". Kurzel also keeps the string section quite busy during suspenseful sequences. Cues like "Perfect Organism" include chilling bursts of high-pitched string mayhem that will certainly catch you off-guard and give you quite the fright.
Kurzel's score for Alien: Covenant was released as an album by Milan Records in 2017. While presented in chronological form, a number of the cues added to this album were fillers that disrupted the narrative arc of the film. Renovatio Records’ release addresses that issue; while much of the original program is retained, some cues were removed, unreleased material was incorporated, and many cues have been merged together to enhance narrative coherence and musical flow. Whether you're a die-hard fan of the franchise or a newcomer to the world of Xenomorphs, this album certainly promises to captivate.
Join us in celebrating Alien Day by immersing yourself in the spine-tingling soundscape of Alien: Covenant and revisiting our previous releases of the iconic scores that have defined the Alien franchise for generations. Today, we pay homage to the enduring legacy of Ridley Scott's visionary universe. Happy Alien Day!
Track List:
Cover Artwork:
Credits:
|
Track
Title |
Slate
& Cue Title |
|
1. Covenant
|
1m3 Covenant
|
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2. Neutrino Burst
|
1m4A Neutrino Burst
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3. A Cabin on the Woods
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1m4B Packing 1m5B Cabin on the Lake
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4. Sails
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2m6a Space Funeral 2m6b Sails
|
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5. Planet No. 4
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1m5a Team Meeting 2m7 Planet No. 4
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6. Launcher Landing
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2m9 Launcher Landing 2m10 Wheat Field
|
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7. Derelict Ship
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3m11 Spores (Edited)
|
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8. Med Bay
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3m13 Med Bay Creature
(Edited)
|
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9. David Appears
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3m14 Tall Grass Attack 3m15 Dead Civilization
|
|
10. Survivors
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4m17 80KM 3m16 Survivors of
Prometheus
|
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11. Payload Deployment
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4m20a Payload Deployment
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12. Command Override
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4m21 Rosenthal’s Death 4m22 Command Override 4m24 Cargo Lift (Edited)
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13. Bestiary
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5m25 My Beautiful Bestiary 5m26 Facehugger
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14. Creation
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5m27 Chestbuster
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15. Perfect Organism
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5m28 Lonely Perfection
(Edited) 5m29 Facehugger Second
Attack (Edited)
|
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16. Cargo Lift Rescue
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5m30 David vs. Walter –
Cargo Lift Rescue (Part 1) (Edited)
|
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17. Terraforming Bay
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6m32 I’m Here to Serve 6m36 Terraforming Bay
(Edited) 6m36A Daniels Appears
|
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18. A Kind World
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6m38 Closing (Alien
Covenant Theme) (Edited)
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