EXTERMINATOR 2 (2CD)

Released in 1984, EXTERMINATOR 2 features the return of war veteran John Eastland (Ginty), now in New York City, who nightly patrols the city streets with his army-grade flame thrower strapped to his back and trademark welder’s mask to protect his identity. After a gang of thugs brutally murders an elderly couple inside their convenience store, the Exterminator introduces himself by cooking some of them alive while they try to escape. Their leader, X (Van Peebles), vows revenge on him. At the same time, Eastland reconnects with an old war buddy, Be Gee (Faison), who drives a trash truck for the city. By chance, Be Gee recently foiled another heist by the same gang when he rammed his truck into an armored car while X and his boys were cleaning it out. X takes his revenge on Eastland by murdering his girlfriend (Geffner), which prompts Eastland to team up with Be Gee and convert his trash truck into a hulking war machine. The climax of the film takes place in an abandoned factory where the Exterminator and his friend go medieval on X and his associates, providing enough revenge carnage for at least two sequels.

The music for EXTERMINATOR 2 was composed by David Spear, a prolific composer, conductor and orchestrator who worked on a hefty slate of films throughout the 1980s including AIRPLANE!, HEAVY METAL, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, GHOSTBUSTERS, MY SCIENCE PROJECT, THREE AMIGOS!, NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER 2, MORTUARY ACADEMY and MAD DOG AND GLORY.

Spear composed and produced the music for EXTERMINATOR 2 entirely with synthesizers. He was brought aboard the project by agent Richard Kraft who at the time was employed at Cannon Films and was responsible for hiring the composers. The two main instruments Spear used to produce the score were the Yamaha DX-7 and an Oberheim DX drum machine. In addition to the underscore composed for the picture, Spear also penned a delightful love song with the help of Steve Goldring who wrote the lyrics and sang the duet with vocalist Lisa Donovan.

David Spear began his career orchestrating many film scores for Elmer Bernstein including AIRPLANE, ANIMAL HOUSE, HEAVY METAL and GHOSTBUSTERS. After his Broadway debut as Music Director of MERLIN, THE MAGICAL MUSICAL, Spear wrote scores for three Academy Award nominated films: RAINBOW WAR, BALLET ROBOTIQUE, and THE COURAGE TO CARE. He composed the music for the Emmy Award winning National Geographic documentary, SURVIVING EVEREST. One of his first major scores was for the 1981 vampire thriller FEAR NO EVIL, composed in collaboration with the film’s writer/director Frank LaLoggia. He led the Indianapolis Symphony for the 2008 premiere of THE LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT featuring Ice-T and the Ron McCurdy Quartet. A dedicated educator, Spear served as faculty at Berklee College of Music (1991-1995), USC Thornton School of Music (1995-2006), NYU (2009-2013), and at Portland State as 2017 Artist-in-Residence. His work in academia and industry thrives on decades of creative collaboration with many notable artists, directors and scholars.

Dragon’s Domain Records presents EXTERMINATOR 2, featuring music composed by David Spear for the very first time on compact disc. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and the liner notes have been written by author and composer Brian Satterwhite, with the participation of the composer.