There are few joys more pure than going to the cinema to see a new movie and hearing your favourite band suddenly blasting over the surround sound on the big screen. We’ve talked in the past about the times songs made a scene especially brilliant and even terrible movies with killer soundtracks, but what about the songs that were specifically released to tie-in with a movie?
The 90s and 2000s were a real golden period for rock and metal movie tie-ins, and even now you might stick on a video on YouTube and be struck with a thought; “why is Milla Jovovich in a Slipknot music video?”
There are some songs that are completely associated with the movies they first appeared in – Evanescence and Daredevil, Queen in Highlander, Metallica in Mission Impossible 2 – but what about the songs you completely forgot were made (or released) for movies? That in mind, we figured we’d assemble a list of some of the best rock and metal tunes that you (probably) forgot were originally released as a movie tie-in.
1. Godsmack – I Stand Alone (The Scorpion King, 2002)
With over 300 million listens on Spotify alone, Godsmack’s I Stand Alone is undoubtedly their most iconic tune. But although it was eventually released on 2003’s Faceless, the song was originally put out as the lead single for the soundtrack to Duane “The Rock” Johnson star vehicle The Scorpion King, the song specifically written for that movie.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t actually the band’s most commercially successful single – that’d go to follow-up Straight Out Of Line, which hit no. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 – but it’s stood the test of time better than the movie it first appeared in.
2. Korn – Did My Time (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, 2003)
Quick quiz – what’s Korn‘s most commercially successful single? Falling Away From Me? Freak On A Leash? Twisted Transistor? Nope, that honour goes to Take A Look In The Mirror era single Did My Time, which to date is the only Korn single to break into the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100.
Much like with I Stand Alone, Did My Time was initially released as part of the promotion for the Angelina Jolie-starring Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life. But although the single was released in the run-up to the film and featured on its end credits, it never actually made it onto the official movie soundtrack due to contractual wrangling. That hasn’t stopped it being played frequently live, even popping up in the setlist for the band’s first Download Festival headline.
3. U2 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (Batman: Forever, 1995)
Tim Burton might’ve reinvented Batman for modern movie audiences, but Prince proved there was a massive untapped market in Batman-pop crossover. There were some tensions when Burton made his 1992 follow-up Batman Returns as composer Danny Elfman wasn’t exactly thrilled that his own soundtrack to 1989’s Batman had been supplanted by Prince, so with the exception of Siouxsie And The Banshees the soundtrack to …Returns was played pretty straight.
But when Burton left and Batman Forever was set up, the studio wasn’t about to let the big bucks slip by again. Probably the most famous song on that soundtrack these days is Seal’s Kiss From A Rose, but equally as massive at the time was U2’s Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. Written for 1993’s Zooropa, the song was contributed to the Batman Forever soundtrack when a planned Bono cameo (as alter-ego MacPhisto) fell through. Although not as successful as Kiss… it did give U2 their best UK and US chart performances since 1991’s One (US) and The Fly (UK) and helped propel the soundtrack to a top 10 position in the US, whilst giving the band another number one in their native Ireland.
4. Blondie – Call Me (American Gigolo, 1980)
Blondie had already enjoyed a number one with Heart Of Glass in 1979 and had a string of iconic singles in the late 70s and early 80s besides. But while anyone will tell you Call Me is quite possibly their biggest hit, they’d probably struggle to remember that the single was first featured on the soundtrack to 1980’s American Gigolo, the movie that effectively launched Richard Gere as a film star.
Composed as a disco track with lyrics contributed by Debbie Harry, Blondie turned the track into a new wave banger and it topped the charts both sides of the Atlantic on release. The song has continued to thrive in Blondie’s catalogue, far outshining the movie it first appeared in.
5. Ghost – Hunter’s Moon (Halloween Kills, 2021)
While rock and metal songs popping up on movie soundtracks hasn’t died off completely, it’s certainly nowhere near the volume in decades past. The first song Ghost released after blowing up as a viral sensation with Mary On A Cross, it’s easy to forget that they kicked off the Impera cycle by releasing the single Hunter’s Moon as a tie-in to Hallowen reboot sequel Halloween Kills.
Although it didn’t actually feature on the movie soundtrack, it did play over the movie credits and was released as part of promotions for the film. Ghost were already a well-established phenomenon when the single was released so Halloween Kills hardly blew the band up, but it did set a precedent for the Swedes contributing to horror movies that they’d pick back up with their 2023 cover of Stay by Shakespears Sister for Insidious: The Red Door.
6. Slipknot – My Plague (New Abuse Mix) (Resident Evil, 2002)
So, technically Slipknot had already released My Plague as part of their chart-topping mega-hit Iowa in 2001. But the single version of My Plague that most fans would hear out and about was decidedly different to the original album version, and with good reason: it was remixed to feature as part of the 2002 Resident Evil movie.
Stripping away some of the extremity to make it more accessible, the whole Resident Evil soundtrack features a bunch of metal artists (Coal Chamber, Ill Nino, Rammstein) but Slipknot were the biggest stand-out at the time, and My Plague‘s music video, cutting between a typically incendiary Slipknot performance and clips from the film, helped broach Slipknot to non-metal audiences.
7. Seether – Broken (ft. Amy Lee) (The Punisher, 2004)
The first version of Seether’s Broken was released as the closing track on their 2002 debut Disclaimer, though never made it as a single. By 2004 however the band were eyeing up a reworked version of their debut that would ultimately come out as Disclaimer II.
Key to that was an all-new version of Broken, reworked as a duet between Seether vocalist Shaun Morgan and Evanescence’s Amy Lee. The team-up was a massive success for Seether; featured on 2004’s The Punisher soundtrack (way before the MCU would resurrect the character), it gave Seether their first major success in the US when it hit number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, in turn helping Disclaimer II chart on release a few months later.
8. Slayer – Bloodline (Dracula 2000, 2000)
Look, Dracula 2000 is probably towards the bottom of any Dracula ranking list, but it did bring some good into the world: it helped revitalise one of thrash metal’s greatest bands. Slayer had a rough run of the 90s and even though they were still on massive bills by the end of the decade – Ozzfest, Tattoo The Planet – their musical output left a lot to be desired.
But when the band were tapped up to provide a song for the soundtrack to Dracula 2000, they decided to break away from longtime producer Rick Rubin and work with Matt Hyde on Bloodline. Slow, lurching and filled with malice, the track was a serious return to top-line quality for Slayer and Hyde’s work impressed them so much they tapped him up to produce 2001’s God Hates Us All, helping usher in the 2000s thrash metal revival.
9. Motorhead – Born To Raise Hell (ft. Whitfield Crane & Ice-T) (Airheads, 1994)
Motorhead‘s biggest chart successes might’ve come in the 80s, but by the early 90s Lemmy had gone full Hollywood. From helping pen tunes for Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tears to contributing songs to the soundtrack of Hellraiser III, the band were enjoyed a renewed visibility.
So when the opportunity came to pop-up in 1994 metalhead comedy Airheads – starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler – and contribute to the soundtrack, Motorhead jumped at the chance. Born To Raise Hell had featured on 1993’s Bastards, but the single version in 1994 featured new guest vocals from Ice-T and Ugly Kid Joe frontman Whitfield Crane. The movie might’ve flopped – although it now holds beloved cult status – but the single gave Motorhead their last chart placement in the UK top 50 in Lemmy’s lifetime.
10. Guns N’ Roses – Oh My God (End Of Days, 1999)
Guns N’ Roses were already the biggest rock band on the planet when they popped up on the soundtrack to Terminator 2, the collab only strengthening their position at the start of the 90s. So after everything went to pot and the band’s line-up crumbled a few years later, it made sense that Guns might look to pop up on another Arnie movie soundtrack to herald their return.
That was probably the thinking behind Oh My God, anyway. GNR’s first single with their new line-up, the single isn’t particularly revered, but it does showcase a more nu metal aligned sound from the band as they evolved to fit the shifting tides of music.
