Avengers Assemble: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture

When it comes to rock & roll, superheroes -- as evidenced by Iron Man's affection for all things AC/DC -- apparently like it loud, and this collection of "music inspired by the motion picture" doesn’t skimp on the decibels. Avengers Assemble, like most big summer action movies, is all about adhering to formula, and despite boasting a brand-new song (the first in 15 years) from Soundgarden, there's nothing here to separate it from the myriad sci-fi/horror-induced post-grunge/emo/alt-metal testosterone-fests that have come before it -- the aforementioned "Live to Rise" has a few nice moments, but it feels more like an axed Audioslave track than a return to the dense, bottom-heavy din that made Soundgarden such a force of nature. Elsewhere, Papa Roach, Scott Weiland, Bush, and Shinedown (Nickelback must have lost the invite) offer up the usual fare, Rise Against, Black Veil Brides, and Five Finger Death Punch summon respectable amounts of adrenaline through sheer volume, and Evanescence get the remix treatment by English jungle pioneer Photek, resulting in a fine collection of extreme workout/angry driving music that has little or nothing to do with the actual film.