Can a soundtrack stand on its own as a body of music, or indeed could the film evoke as much emotion were it not for the music? The Road, both the film and the album, are bleak, challenging works that push the very edges of both the human condition and you as a passive listener.

Warren Ellis seems to have seamlessly slipped into the position of Nick Cave’s (red) right-hand-man after Mick Harvey left the Bad Seeds. This combination seems utterly suited to the creation of these otherworldly, haunting sounds. Cave provides the menace, while Ellis orchestrates the sprawling madness.

Looming crashes of piano and washes of atmospheric noise capture the absolute desolation, while the ever-sinister violin seethes and squalls through the wretched emotional turbulence of human life pushed to the absolute brink. You don’t even need to see the movie to be transported to some harrowing place.

As an album on its own, it is 17 tracks of unsettling, haunting beauty; a journey to the darklands that at least has the comfort of escape at its end. When set to film – with its characters facing the most torrid circumstances imaginable – it can only amplify emotion.

Sound and noise can only do so much, and the power of the visual medium, especially on a big-screen scale, is one that can transport you from your everyday existence. A successful soundtrack then, builds upon this by providing a sub-conscious guide to your emotions, triggering response and enhancing perception.

A completely compelling soundtrack, such as this one, takes you to the same emotive places by sound alone. It is a great album in its own right. This road is one of great beauty and danger.

The Road is out now on EMI.