The Dark Knight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

There’s little breathing room on Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s brilliantly conceived soundtrack for The Dark Knight. Just like Heath Ledger’s totally psycho portrayal of The Joker, almost every track is heavy, dense, and claustrophobic. Zimmer is a sucker for industrial music and dark electronics, both of which creep their way into “Agent of Chaos” and the violently rhythmic “Why So Serious?” Even the reflective orchestral offerings are smeared in grim textures and dystopian murk. Definitely file under “uneasy listening.”