“We were looking for tracks with an edge-of-your-seat intensity to reflect the mood of ‘SAW II,’” explains Jonathan Platt, president of Treadstone Records, which will release the SAW II Soundtrack Oct. 25, 2005.  “But we didn’t want to rely on aggressive vocals and volume.  We didn’t want to make a heavy metal record, which would have been the obvious choice.”

Treadstone principal Jonathan Scott Miller elaborates: “We wanted the SAW II Soundtrack to blend seamlessly with Charlie Clouser’s score.  So we chose music with elements of both organic hard rock and electronic industrial, which creates an atmosphere you can really feel.  These songs get under your skin.”

Mudvayne’s epic “Forget to Remember” was one of the first songs earmarked for the soundtrack.  It can also be heard during the initial end titles of “SAW II.”  “Forget to Remember” is the second single off Mudvayne’s current (gold) album, Lost and Found.  The video for the song was shot in early September by “SAW II” director Darren Lynn Bousman.  Says Platt: “We worked closely with the film’s producers on putting the soundtrack together, and then we collaborated with them on the video, right down to recreating pivotal sets from the movie.  The guys in Mudvayne are fans of the first ‘SAW,’ and they were very enthusiastic about tying ‘Forget to Remember’ in with ‘SAW II.’”

The SAW II Soundtrack is further distinguished by several exclusive tracks, including the Venus Head Trap Mix of Marilyn Manson’s “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” by Nine Inch Nails alumni Danny Lohner, former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland and Clouser; the UNKLE Variation of Queens of the Stone Age’s “Burn the Witch” (which follows “Forget to Remember” in the end titles) by the cinematic-soundscape collective UNKLE; Lohner’s REV 4:20 Mix of “REV 22:20” by Puscifer (the duo of Maynard James Keenan – of Tool and A Perfect Circle – and Lohner himself); and “September,” a previously unreleased B-side from Bloodsimple, who were recruited for the SAW II Soundtrack by Mudvayne.  (Bloodsimple is signed to Bullygoat Records, Mudvayne singer Chad Gray’s Warner Bros. imprint.)

The album also boasts tracks from The Used (the brutal “Sound Effects and Overdramatics”); Papa Roach (tension-builder “Blood [Empty Promises]”); Skinny Puppy (the Ken “Hiwatt” Marshall Remix [DDT Mix] of “Rodent”); Revolting Cocks featuring Gibby Haynes and Al Jourgensen (of Butthole Surfers and Ministry, respectively), who insisted that their contribution occupy the #13 spot on the SAW II Soundtrack (“Caliente [Dark Entries]),” making its debut); Sevendust (the ferocious “Pieces”); The Legion of Doom (“Home Invasion Robbery,” another SAW II Soundtrack premiere); avant-garde guitarist Buckethead and Friends with renowned poet/spoken-word artist Saul Williams (“Three Fingers,” produced by System of a Down’s Serj Tankian and unveiled on the SAW II Soundtrack); Phoenix-bred Opiate for the Masses (the eerie, unhinged “Step Up”); and hard-charging San Francisco up-and-comers A Band Called Pain (“Holy”).

Charlie Clouser, meanwhile, is represented by the unsettling and strangely beautiful “Don’t Forget the Rules.”  Treadstone’s Platt and Miller are clearly delighted to be working with the composer, who is also a Grammy Award-nominated songwriter, audio engineer, producer, mixer and remixer with credits ranging from Nine Inch Nails, the Deftones, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie to David Bowie and the score for “SAW,” among other film and television credits.  Platt says he is particularly pleased to present Clouser’s instrumental work on the SAW II Soundtrack alongside a wide variety of songs heard in and inspired by the film, as contrasted with the Treadstone-released SAW Soundtrack, which was comprised largely of score selections.

“There is no question about how lucky we are to have all these artists on one CD,” comments “SAW II” director Darren Lynn Bousman.  “To have talents like Mudvayne and Queens of The Stone Age – both amazing bands, and both bands I’ve listened to for years – featured on this soundtrack is a thrill.”

Notes Jonnie Forster, partner in Kryptonite Marketing, which is handling marketing of the SAW II Soundtrack: “We are re-servicing the single, Mudvayne’s ‘Forget to Remember, in late September.  All divisions of Epic Records [Mudvayne’s label] are working with us to deliver across-the-board promotions in radio, video, online and live events.  October will be ‘SAW II Month’ for sure.”