OK, right off the bat ..there are some REALLY less-than-heterosexual and TOTALLY unmetal covers on here.. why someone would want to get this mix of bands together .. I'll never figure out (80s pop, Sex Pistols influenced cock rock and hardcore punk). Hopefully, they did it as a joke, because thats what it is .. funny. Then, there are your metal bands. Alchemist's take on the intro to"Black Metal" is kinda funny and interesting musically.  They take the intro riff and slow it downand make it doomy for a couple bars before launching into the song proper and mid-song, they add a trippy sitar-ish/wah pedal breakdown. The muddy production adds to the flavor, but the somewhat silly vocals detract a little in my opinion. But overall this is the way I like covers/tributes - fuck with the song enough to make it something fairly new while still keeping it recognizable. Furbowl's "Buried Alive" is downtuned and brutal, but adds little else to the song. Therion's take on "WitchingHour" is a little too goofy for my tastes. Dead's version of"Senile Decay" is simplistic and raw, and quite delicious after hearing most of the other crap on this disc (who is this band?). Anyway, the Alchemist track is really good and the Dead track is refreshing after hearing most of the other crap, but the rest are pretty standard fare (or simply rubbish).

© 2001 j. mcintyre