Alien: Covenant (soundtrack)

In February 2016, Harry Gregson-Williams confirmed that he will be scoring Alien: Covenant.[4] Gregson-Williams had previously collaborated with director Ridley Scott on Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Prometheus (2012).[5] However, in November 2016, Gregson-Williams revealed that he was no longer attached to the film.[6]

Upon the release of the film's first trailer, it was revealed that Australian musician and composer Jed Kurzel would take over composing duties.[7] "When I first met Ridley, we talked a lot about these organic-sounding instruments being corrupted either by foreign sounds or from within themselves," said Kurzel on his writing process. "Even within the more lush orchestral pieces there are elements suggesting a threatening presence, like breaths and pulses."[8]

The Alien: Covenant score makes extensive use of Jerry Goldsmith's main title from the Alien soundtrack and also quotes the tracks "Life" and "We Were Right" from Gregson-Williams' Prometheus score.[9]

Mihnea Manduteanu of Soundtrack Dreams noted "“Alien” is a franchise that’s dear to many and has been around since forever; everybody has an idea about how the movie should be and especially how the music should sound and when the precedent scores where written by people like Jerry Goldsmith or James Horner the expectations and tempers are high. Luckily Jed Kurzel is a guy who knows his worth and his hands were not shaking on this one. He brought his own dark and discreet sound and stitched the iconic Jerry theme in it. The “Alien” theme appears for the first time in “The covenant” and man it sounds gorgeous. That unforgettable ping and that frightening pulse have haunted me for years and I was glad to hear them again. They recur during this score and the movie in all the right places and do a great job of connecting this film and score to the history."[10]

James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "...I’m pleased to say that Alien: Covenant is an infinitely more accomplished piece of work than the composer’s previous effort. It’s by no means an easy listen, but this is an Alien movie so one shouldn’t expect it to be – it’s a very effective piece of work that straddles two styles, summed up by the opening two cues."[11]

Rob Wacey of Allmusic stated "While incorporating elements of familiar scores, Kurzel also brings a fresh layer to the palette, with the occasional thudding of electro-bass and subdued kick drums that ring out through continuous reverb, swallowing up the mix as foreboding strings cut in and out."

• Official album entry at Milan Records