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July 17, 2022

Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-Winning OMEN Soundtrack Reissued on Red/Black Splatter Vinyl

Richard Donner’s 1976 horror film THE OMEN (1976) was a huge success, starring Gregory Peck as an American ambassador who learns that his adopted son is, in fact, the Antichrist. With its grisly accidents befalling those who would stand in the boy’s path, cult of Satanic worshippers and protectors, and fascinating End Times mythology, the film captured the public’s imagination and led to a long-running franchise.

THE OMEN was a special project for Jerry Goldsmith: the only time he won an Oscar in his long career, for Best Original Score. He was also nominated for Best Original Song, for “Ave Satani” – his chilling “Black Mass” that inverted the Latin Mass into a dark, chilling paean to the Devil. The score is one of Goldsmith’s best: not just the “Ave Satani” chants, but the way he incorporates them into his modernist, thrilling action music in tracks like “Killer’s Storm,” “The Demise of Mrs. Baylock” and “The Dog’s Attack.” But Goldsmith was always attuned to the human warmth behind the chills and thrills—and the score features hopeful, loving moments for the ambassador’s family, including a song version of the love theme, “The Piper Dreams,” with lyrics and vocals by the composer’s wife, Carol.

This special LP reissue of THE OMEN from Varèse Sarabande features the original, 12-track 1976 soundtrack album on red vinyl with black splatter. Product expected to ship by September 23rd, 2022.

Read more details, and pre-order the vinyl album, here.

Book One
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This website was created partly to promote the book series, Musique Fantastique [Second Edition] 100+ Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Film Music by Randall D. Larson, but more importantly is intended to be a resource for news, views, & interviews about music for science fiction, fantasy, and horror films. As an extension of the books, it provides additional material and links to further resources about this unique genre of film and television scoring. For news on the book series, scroll down toward the bottom of the home page.

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Frontispiece artwork by Allen Koszowski from Musique Fantastique 1st Edition, Scarecrow Press, 1985.