"...Exorcist II is a failure in all but one area: the music. Fortunately, this past March, Exorcist II: The Heretic was reissued on vinyl, giving fans an opportunity to revisit one of Morricone’s Hollywood horror gems.

The tracklist on the album is rearranged and does not reflect the chronology of the film. So the record begins with the ending, which is actually a great place to start. “Regan’s Theme (Finale)” drifts with sad elegance. Gentle vocals sing a sweet, wordless melody as they hover above a naked, acoustic guitar. A bed of strings massages the underside of the track until they shift to the front for the song’s final movement. There is something tender about this song. It’s melancholy, but soothing.

Pazuzu, the spirit in Exorcist II, is based on a demon from ancient Mesopotamian theology. Accordingly, Morricone infuses a slight Middle-Eastern influence into the second track, “Pazuzu (Theme from Exorcist II).” Complex polyrhythms chatter beneath lean, wiry lead instrumentation. Androgynous vocal chants fill the track with terror.

Both “Regan’s Theme (Finale)” and “Pazuzu (Theme from Exorcist II)” feel dark. The reorganization of the tracklist gives the record a one-two punch where the first and the second song, which are so different in style but so similar in theme, set up a motif for the rest of the album. It’s a theme that is tightened by moments of reprised melody, which weave into other tracks throughout the score, and with a singular tonal ambiance, which holds steady for the entirety of the work.

So, from here, everything else falls into place. On “Interrupted Melody (Suspended Sound),” a violin cries with a lovely, vulnerable timbre. “Rite of Magic” is a patient build in force and atmosphere where a peaceful front-half grows to a more sinister backend. “Seduction and Magic” is a low tonal track backed by horrific, inaudible whispers.

“Magic & Ecstasy” is a standout. It reprises the “Pazuzu” chorus, but here, it blasts with an Italian horror prog-rock aesthetic. The approach is similar to what bands like Goblin and Libre were doing with their soundtracks that same year; slamming the listener with drum-pounding, head-nodding, guitar-rocking music. The groove catches from the first riff and doesn’t let up. Frantic keys support the reprisal of those Pansusu vocal chants, giving the track an evil, devilish flavor.

The score for Exorcist II: The Heretic is less than thirty minutes, so the final track, “Exorcism,” comes a little too quickly. But the short playtime doesn’t diminish the quality of the music. “Exorcism” brings the record to a close with one of the creepiest moments on the album. An atmospheric track, “Exorcism” stalks forward with eerie, high-pitch strings twittering beneath a lonely howling voice and sparse instrumental accompaniment. It ends with a fade, and when the record needle rides the label, its rhythmic scratching, a noise which is normally so innocuous, sounds unnerving because of the music that came before it."

- Richie Corelli, horrordna.com