“John Wick: Chapter 2 expands on the rock/electronic hybrid of John Wick,” said Bates. “It's a much more aggressive and frenetic score throughout.”

Legendary hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers.

“Chad [Stahelski, director] wanted an Italian influence for the Rome storyline which inspired the use of cello, mandolin, operatic vocals; and in one instance the incorporation of elements from Vivaldi,” Richard described. “It was a matter of finding instrumentation and a musical language that alluded to Italy's rich musical history while working within the gritty and modern sound of John Wick.”

“The new film pulls no punches, weapons, or fighting techniques, which required the music to change gears and tone at every turn. It's completely insane,” said Bates. “Joel introduced an element of opera to the score that really makes the dark sense of humor (buried in the floor with John's weapons and coins) rather apparent.”

Bates jumped into the action himself, appearing on-screen as part of a ‘band’ with Ciscandra Nostalghia and Le Castle Vania performing in Rome. One of the songs they perform is “Plastic Heart” a reimagined version of the original “John Wick Theme,” featuring lyrics by Nostalghia.

Also in the film and on the soundtrack is “A Job To Do,” performed by multi-platinum-selling artist Jerry Cantrell. "I really dug John Wick and have always admired Keanu's work. When the opportunity arose to create a song for the second film, Tyler Bates and I wrote and recorded ‘A Job To Do’, a theme song for the character. Can’t wait to see it!” said Cantrell.

“Jerry and I are friends and neighbors,” explained Bates. “We got together to jam and came up with the music. He’s a fan of the first John Wick movie and wrote the lyrics from John Wick's introspective.”

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