Rap, Metal Artists Hook Up, Pass ‘Judgment’

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Judgment Night” soundtrack

Immortal/Epic

* * * 1/2

Rappers, metalheads and college radio superstars collide in bursts of booming bass, mega-guitar buzz and distortion on “Judgment Night,” a soundtrack that features unlikely collaborations by major rap, alternative and metal artists.

Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill mix it up on the evasive but spellbinding “I Love You Mary Jane,” as Cypress raps about the sacred spliff while the Sonics provide creepy anti-melody and ghostly backup.

Mudhoney and Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Freak Momma” has the most vacuous and hormone-driven lyrics, especially compared to the smart stuff by Ice-T (with Slayer), but the Seattle noise band and the booty-obsessed rapper deliver the album’s most infectious groove.

Other pairings--Helmet with House of Pain and Living Colour with Run-DMC--produce full-throttle numbers, while Dinosaur Jr. and Del tha Funky Homosapien’s licks of tweaked classic rock and taunting rhymes are subtler but effective. Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill do a guitar-laden number, and Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul kick back with silky rhythms and vocals.

Even a weak duet by Faith No More and the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. isn’t enough to sour this novel package of pairings.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).