Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard returned to score for
John Wick: Chapter 2 after previously scoring for the first film. Bates called the score as "more aggressive" and "frenetic" than the first film, which Richard recalled that Stahelski insisted to use Italian influence for the story that is set in Rome, that inspired the instrumental uses of cello, mandolin, operatic vocals and influence of
Antonio Vivaldi's compositions, which 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". Bates added that the mixture of opera into the score "made the dark sense of humor (buried in the floor with John’s weapons and coins) rather apparent." Ciscandra Nostalghia performed two songs for
Chapter 2's soundtrack: "Plastic Heart" and "Coronation". Speaking of his collaboration with Bates, Nostalghia said "He [Bates] really understands the emotional properties of darkness. He’s able to translate it beautifully into music without completely depleting you or serotonin. There’s still an ounce of hope which I personally feel is very important. So we’ve created some wonderfully heavy songs together and the collaborations have been a real experience."
Le Castle Vania also performed the track "John Wick Mode" written by Dylan Eiland, and
Jerry Cantrell, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of
Alice in Chains performed the original song "
A Job to Do". He wrote the song lyrics from John Wick's perspective, and Cantrell explained that "Writing specifically for a movie was kind of fun. It almost felt like an assignment that I gave to myself. It's not unlike how I normally write from a personal point of view, whether mine or someone else's." The song was released as a single from the film at the
Billboard website on February 9, 2017 and was accompanied by a music video featuring Cantrell and Reeves, that was released on March 21, 2017 through
YouTube. On December 6, 2019, the song was performed live by Cantrell at the
Pico Union Project in
Los Angeles, with Bates playing guitar at the concert. == Release ==