He said he'd be back! Milan Records will reissue Brad Fiedel's long out-of-print score to The Terminator on LP and CD this spring.
James Cameron's 1984 sci-fi/noir film about a cyborg sent back through time to kill the mother of a man who'd save humanity after a nuclear apocalypse and artificial intelligence uprising remains a high watermark of the genre. With a captivating mythology, groundbreaking makeup effects by Stan Winston Studio and command performances by Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger (in his breakthrough/signature role as the unstoppable machine), The Terminator has become both a singular classic and the birth of a franchise that inspired four sequels (including the box-office smash Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991 and last summer's Terminator Genisys), a TV series, a theme park ride and various comics and video games.
Brad Fiedel's electronic score, built around unorthodox time signatures, metallic percussion and a hummable, yearning main theme, remains one of the many highlights of the series, though the original score hasn't been in print for over two decades. (A soundtrack album was issued on LP shortly after the film's release, and the Edel label issued a greatly expanded "Definite Edition" score on CD in 1994 for the film's 10th anniversary.
Now, Milan brings The Terminator back online as part of its "Nicolas Winding Refn Presents" series, where the Drive director curates unique score releases for old and new titles like RoboCop and It Follows. For this release, the score has been remastered and resequenced into the order originally intended for presentation by Fiedel.
"I am very happy that I had the opportunity to be involved in this release of The Terminator score," Fiedel said in a statement. "It's exciting to finally put out a version of the soundtrack that is in sync with my original vision of how the score should sound."
Vinyl enthusiasts will note this is the first time The Terminator will be released on this format in full, as a 180-gram 2LP set on red and blue splatter vinyl with a brilliant new sleeve design. The label did confirm in a tweet to the author that CD and digital versions will also be available.
The Terminator is in stores on April 8. Full track list is below, and we will update with pre-order links as soon as they are available!
Brad Fiedel, The Terminator: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Milan Records, 2016 - original film released 1984)
- Main Title
- Terminator Arrival/Reese Chased/Sarah on Motorbike
- Terminator Gets Guns/Search for Sarah
- Reese Dreams of Future War
- Sarah Watches News/Enters Tech Noir
- Matt & Ginger Killed/Sarah Calls Detectives
- Reese & Sarah in Garage
- Arm & Eye Surgery
- "I'll Be Back"/Police Station & Escape
- Future Flashback
- "Fuck You Asshole"
- Love Scene
- Tunnel Chase
- Death by Fire/Terminator Gets Up
- Factory Chase
- End Credits; Final Suite
- The Terminator Theme (Extended Version)
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Being a Terminator movie fan first,
I find myself excited all over again, I love the music to this film and for the score itself I am happy to see a reissue of this film score, keep my fingers crossed that this reissue ticks all the boxes I have come to expect, which is a quality sound and great presentation(Artwork).
I really hope T2 gets the same treatment!
Bit of a disaster this is so far. Received the LP but it was bent (and it was obviously like that before it was packaged up so, not the fault of the postal service). Sent it back and am still waiting for a replacement 2 months on. Plus, as far as I can tell, there are tracks missing from this, particularly the lovely "Conversation By The Window" that leads directly into the Love Theme. Snipped. Utter madness. 🙁