The soundtrack to the cult classic featured Black Sabbath, Sammy Hagar, and more
On this day 45 years ago, the animated science fiction film ‘Heavy Metal’ was released in theaters. The Columbia Pictures film was met with mixed reviews from critics, but became a box office success, grossing just over $20 million on a $9 million budget.
While the cult classic was rated R, two of the films stars – Rodger Bumpass and Jackie Burroughs – went on to star in beloved children’s classics. Burroughs lent her voice to ‘The Care Bares Movie’ in 1985, while Bumpass is best known for his voice work as The Chief in ‘Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?’ and Squidward in ‘SpongeBob SquarePants.’ ‘Heavy Metal’ also featured future film and television stars John Candy, Harold Ramis, and Eugene Levy.
The soundtrack was as big of a hit as the film was. While it didn’t quite live up to it’s name, the record featured a Who’s Who of rock hitmakers like Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Journey, Grand Funk Railroad, Nazareth, and more. The lone metal artist on the roster was Black Sabbath, contributing an alternate version of their hit “The Mob Rules.”
The soundtrack also boasts not one, but two eponymous tracks – “Heavy Metal” by Sammy Hagar, and “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)” by one-time Eagles guitarist Don Felder. Felder’s track was considered the official theme some for the film. It was released as a single, and charted at No. 43 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 5 on Mainstream Rock. The album peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified platinum with over 1 million copies sold in the U.S. alone.
Blue Öyster Cult wrote a second song for the film called “Vengeance (The Pact), but it ultimately was not used because the lyrics essentially summarized “Taarna” – one of the stories of the film’s ten anthologies. “Through Being Cool” by Devo and “E5150” by Black Sabbath can be heard in the film, but were not included on the soundtrack. Both bands released them on their ‘New Traditionalists’ and ‘Mob Rules’ albums, respectively.
The soundtrack was released on vinyl in 1981, and on CD in 1995.
1. “Heavy Metal” – Sammy Hagar
2. “Heartbeat” – Riggs
3. “Working in the Coal Mine” – Devo
4. “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” – Blue Öyster Cult
5. “Reach Out” – Cheap Trick
6. “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)” – Don Felder
7. “True Companion” – Donald Fagen
8. “Crazy (A Suitable Case for Treatment)” – Nazareth
9. “Radar Rider” – Riggs
10. “Open Arms” – Journey
11. “Queen Bee” – Grand Funk Railroad
12. “I Must Be Dreamin'” – Cheap Trick
13. “The Mob Rules” – Black Sabbath
14. “All of You” – Don Felder
15. “Prefabricated” – Trust
16. “Blue Lamp” – Stevie Nicks
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