Last week Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, WaterTower Music, and DC Entertainment announced the soundtrack for Batman: Arkham City, the highly anticipated follow up to the immensely popular 2009 Batman: Arkham Asylum video game, will be released on October 4, just two weeks before the North American release of the game.

Soundtracks to video games have never really been that common with the exception of a handful of huge franchises, so this was a bit of a surprise for me when I saw the news. And what surprised me even more was the soundtrack description and track listing. In keeping with tradition of Batman soundtracks (1989-1997), the soundtrack to Batman: Arkham City boasts brand new music for a wide variety of artists whose work is either inspired by the game or Batman in general. Music about Batman from established artists? That’s the best possible scenario that can be imagined. But for me, it gets better.

The artist list includes several bands from across the musical spectrum including AFI members Blaqk Audio, The Duke Spirit, heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things,Panic! At The Disco, my favorite band of all time Coheed and Cambria, pop/rock band Daughtry, The Raveonettes, and many more, which you can see listed here below.

Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez describes his approach to their Batman themed song:

A Coheed song about Batman? It’s like they’re reaching out to tell me they love me, too!

But the coolest thing about the artists for the soundtrack is their ties to comics. I’m not too familiar with all of the artists, but as mentioned above and on this site regularly, Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria has several comic writing credits to his name, including The Amory Wars, Kill Audio, and the upcoming Key of Z, while The Damned Things’ Scott Ian (guitarist of Anthrax) has collaborated several times with artist Sam Keith, most notably with his Lobo books. And the one artist that sticks out like a sore thumb on this track listing based on style is the band Daughtry. But why is it so cool that the former American Idol contestant in on a Batman soundtrack with heavy rockers and industrial musicians? Because he is one of the biggest Batman fans on the face of the planet. And I’m sure that officially writing a song about Batman that his record label didn’t deny is a lifetime dream of his.

I seriously cannot wait for this album to be released. Punk, metal, industrial, Coheed, and Batman!? It is literally a dream come true. The only thing missing is an updated version of Method Man’s “The Riddler” from Batman Forever. Long live the Batman soundtrack!

1. Panic! At The Disco – Mercenary
2. Coheed and Cambria – Deranged
3. The Duke Spirit – Creature
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Shadow On The Run
5. Blaqk Audio – Afterdark
6. The Raveonettes – Oh, Stranger
7. (Crosses) – The Years
8. The Damned Things – Trophy Widow
9. Daughtry – Drown In You
10. The Boxer Rebellion – Losing You
11. Serj Tankian – Total Paranoia

*Bonus Collector’s Edition track
12. A Place to Bury Strangers – In The Shadow

The soundtrack will be released on its own on October 4, however, a digital copy will be released inside the collector’s edition of the video game, which will be released on October 18. A standard edition of the game will also be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.