Bleep

On John Carpenter’s Lost Themes III: Alive After Death we see the celebrated composer/director hitting the synth-music sweet-spot over and over again. Like the two previous instalments in the Lost Themes series, this is an LP which has Carpenter working once more alongside his frequent collaborators Cody Carpenter (his son) and Daniel Davies (his godson). The result is another hugely striking record, one which is as atmospheric, detailed and stirring as any other set of music from Carpenter’s distinguished career.

The trio find the pocket of the classic John Carpenter sound with ease here. Lost Themes III is helmed by the sort of eerie synthscapes and technoid pulses which have been Carpenter’s calling-card ever since his 70s successes like Halloween and Assault On Precinct 13, from the ominous opener ‘Alive After Death’ through to the uncanny bombast of closing cut ‘Carpathian Darkness’. Between these two poles we witness Carpenter leading his trio through metal-techno hybrids - many of which feature brilliantly bold guitar work from Davies - and etherised synth pieces suffused with a deliciously dark sense of menace.

Lost Themes III: Alive After Death finds composer/director John Carpenter proving once again that no-one can match him when it comes to Gothic, grandiose synth music.