Tyler Bates | |
|---|---|
 Bates in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1965-06-05)June 5, 1965 (age 60)[1] |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, US |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Member of | Marilyn Manson |
| Formerly of | Smash Alley, Pet |
| Website | tylerbates |
Tyler Bates (born June 5, 1965) is an American musician, music producer, and composer for film, television, and video game scores.[2] Much of his work is in theaction andhorror film genres,[3] with films likeDawn of the Dead,300,Sucker Punch,Halloween andHalloween II and theJohn Wick franchise. He has collaborated with directors likeZack Snyder,Rob Zombie,Genndy Tartakovsky,Neil Marshall,William Friedkin,Scott Derrickson,James Gunn,Chad Stahelski,David Leitch, andTi West.[3] In addition, he is the lead guitarist of the Americanrock bandMarilyn Manson, and produced its albumsThe Pale Emperor,Heaven Upside Down andOne Assassination Under God – Chapter 1.[4] He isJerry Cantrell's touring/studio member.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(September 2025) |
Bates was born on June 5, 1965,[1] inLos Angeles,California. Growing up inChicago,Illinois, he played in ahair metal band Smash Alley.
Bates returned to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue a career in music.[1] He began his career in the 1990s scoringlow-budget films likeThe Last Time I Committed Suicide, andDenial. In the meantime, he was a member of thealternative rock Pet alongsideLisa Papineau; the band released their eponymous debut in 1996.[1] His breakthrough into the mainstream came in the early 2000s, when he worked on higher-profile projects likeGet Carter,Half Past Dead, andBaadasssss!. The 2004 remake ofDawn of the Dead was significant, as he would maintain long-term collaborations with its directorZack Snyder, and writerJames Gunn.
Bates scored four of directorRob Zombie's films, beginning with 2005'sThe Devil's Rejects. For Zombie's remake ofHalloween and its sequelHalloween II, Bates adaptedJohn Carpenter's original themes and motifs in order to fit the darker, grittier, and more contemporary atmosphere of the films. It was around 2007 that Bates began working regularly on big-budget,blockbuster films; including300,Doomsday,The Day the Earth Stood Still,Sucker Punch, andConan the Barbarian. He also composed scores for smaller,independent films likeThe Way,Killer Joe,The Sacrament, andFlight 7500.
Thesoundtrack for300 was controversial due to its heavy borrowing of themes from film scores byElliot Goldenthal, amongst others.[5][6][7] On August 3, 2007, Warner Bros. Pictures acknowledged this in a statement.[8] The matter was settled amicably with the soundtrack credits being subsequently described as adapted from material by Elliot Goldenthal.[citation needed]
Bates composed the score forGuardians of the Galaxy in 2014. Having worked withJames Gunn in the past, Bates had a good idea on how Gunn wanted things done.[9] Before any of the cinematography started, Gunn had Bates write several themes prior to shooting so the scene could be matched to the music instead of the score being created to fit the scene. This required cooperation between Bates and Gunn in advance since these scores would be in the final piece, instead of a temporary filler acting as a placeholder. They influenced the performance on set, which required an undertaking by both Bates and his team. For four months, they clocked upwards of 100-hour work weeks to produce this finished product.[10] After all the work, they had a total of 29 different soundtracks giving a combined total of 64:34 of music.[11] "At least half the cues in the movie have more than 500 tracks of audio," Bates was quoted in an interview with Melinda Newman onHitFix. This was a result of there being orchestral passages that were doubled or tripled, choirs, overdubs, and other instrumentals.[citation needed]
That same year, Bates composed the score to theaction filmJohn Wick, collaborating with Joel J. Richard andMarilyn Manson. The film proved a surprise critical and financial success, and Bates returned to score its sequelJohn Wick: Chapter 2, and also itsthird andfourth installments. He and Richard also scored its 2025 spin-offBallerina, replacingMarco Beltrami and Anna Drubich. He would later collaborate again with co-directorDavid Leitch to score a spiritual successor, theCold War-eraspy thrillerAtomic Blonde.[citation needed]
Bates composed the soundtrack for thePlayStation 3 gamesGod of War: Ascension andArmy of Two: The 40th Day, as well as thePlayStation 4 gameKillzone: Shadow Fall. Most recently he composed forCrossfire.[citation needed]
In 2014, Bates co-wrote and producedMarilyn Manson's recordThe Pale Emperor. The album debuted at number 8 on theBillboard 200, while the single "Deep Six" went on to chart higher than any other single by Marilyn Manson onBillboard'sMainstream Rock Chart. Bates joined the band in 2015 as the lead guitarist forThe Hell Not Hallelujah Tour. The album's song "Cupid Carries a Gun" was used as the opening title music of the TV showSalem, and Bates composed the show's score.[12] In April 2015 he leftMarilyn Manson to resume film work.[citation needed]
In October 2015, during a Q&A withMarilyn Manson at theGrammy Museum, Manson announced that he and Tyler were working on new music together again. In 2015Loudwire listed "The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles" No. 1 best rock track and Rolling Stone includedThe Pale Emperor in its Top 50 list of the best albums of 2015. He returned as the lead guitarist during the tour with Slipknot in July 2016.[13] In 2017, they worked for the follow-upHeaven Upside Down with a world tour, starting July 20, in Budapest,[14] playing more than 100 shows around the world. In January 2018, Bates announced via Twitter that he left the band and returned to his studio to work exclusively on film and television.[15]
Tyler composed the song "Monsters After Dark" for the night Halloween mode of the rideGuardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!.[16]
In 2021, Bates co-produced and played strings, percussion and guitar onJerry Cantrell's albumBrighten.[17]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Strange Frequency | 3 episodes |
| American High | Documentary series 4 episodes | |
| 2003 | Black Sash | 8 episodes |
| 2004 | Pornucopia | 2 episodes |
| 2007–14 | Californication | 84 episodes |
| 2008–09 | James Gunn's PG Porn | 7 episodes |
| 2010–11 | Sym-Bionic Titan | 20 episodes |
| 2013 | Low Winter Sun | 10 episodes |
| 2014 | Hysteria | TV pilot |
| 2014–16 | Salem | 29 episodes |
| 2014–17 | Kingdom | 31 episodes |
| 2017 | Samurai Jack | 10 episodes Themes byJames L. Venable,will.i.am andGeorge Pajon Composed with Joanne Higginbottom and Dieter Hartmann |
| The Exorcist | 10 episodes Themes byDaniel Hart | |
| 2017–19 | The Punisher | 26 episodes |
| 2018–19 | The Purge | 20 episodes |
| 2019–20 | Stumptown | 18 episodes |
| 2019–present | Primal | 20 episodes Composed with Joanne Higginbottom |
| 2023 | Agent Elvis | 10 episodes Composed with Timothy Williams |
| 2023–present | Unicorn: Warriors Eternal | 10 episodes Composed with Joanne Higginbottom |
| 2024–present | Tracker | 22 episodes Composed with Joanne Higginbottom |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Rise of the Argonauts | — |
| 2009 | Watchmen: The End Is Nigh | — |
| 2010 | Army of Two: The 40th Day | — |
| Transformers: War for Cybertron | — | |
| 2013 | God of War: Ascension | — |
| Killzone: Shadow Fall | Composed withLorn | |
| 2019 | Far Cry New Dawn | Composed withJohn Swihart |
| 2022 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II | Season 6 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
