Various Artists
Built for Speed
(A Motorhead tribute)
[Victory]
I personally happen to enjoy "tribute" albums, but a tribute to Motorhead
(the greatest fucking rock'n'roll band of all time) is something that's
destined to fail. No matter how well the songs are covered, or how inspired
the interpretations may be , the original Motorhead versions are going to be
at least a billion times better - and if the version happens to be BAD, it's
grounds to have the entire band gassed for defiling such a sacred work of
art. In tribute to the spaghetti western motif employed on Motorhead's
colossal "Ace of Spades" album, I'll be breaking down this review into three
separate categories in accordance with one of the greatest spaghetti western
films of all time, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Let the gunplay
begin...
The Good
Zeke : I'll be your Sister
Speedealer : Motorhead
Integrity : Orgasmatron
Chrome Locust : Metropolis
Zeke and Speedealer (formerly REO Speedealer) are the two top picks on this CD, and that's hardly a surprise when you consider just how Motorhead influenced both those bands happen to be in the first place. Both manage to maintain the high energy and feel of the originals, yet they also manage to add a certain "something" so it's not just a standard "paint-by-numbers" knock off either. Integrity manage a pretty decent version of Orgasmatron as well...not very different from the original, but the vocalist has a good style (very similar to those of "man-of-the-century" Lemmy, but a bit more "controlled" sounding). Rounding off the lot are Chrome Locust and their version of "Metropolis"...musically, it's very close to the original, but the band manages to inject some vitality into their offering by employing a "spacey" vocal sound which adds to the atmosphere and fits in perfectly with the haunting aura of the original version.
The Bad
Dropkick Murphys : Rock and Roll
Electric Frankenstein : (We are) The Road Crew
Dropkick Murphys and Electric Frankenstein both churn out half hearted versions that don't really go anywhere - but at least both of these manage to capture the original "spirit" of the tracks, even if some of the energy is lost along the way. Somewhat surprising in the case of Electric Frankenstein, as I've heard a couple of their CDs, and while they never blew me away, they had a fairly heavy Motorhead influence which I thought would give them an edge over the majority of these bands.
The Ugly
Skarhead : Sweet Revenge
Blood For Blood : Ace of Spades
Groovie Ghoulies : R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
Fahrenheit 451 : No Class
Terra Firma : Bomber
Skarhead give us a *BORING* hardcore/metal rendition of "Sweet Revenge". I personally hate the Victory Records "bland metal with a hardcore vocalist" sound, and that's what this band produces. Oh, did I happen to mention that the vocalist sucks ? Well, he does (a common problem with the majority of the bands that fall under "The Ugly" category). The same problem again arises with Blood For Blood, another metal-cum-hardcore affair. While not as bad as Skarhead, it's still not very good (points are also subtracted for the Jerky Boys styled spoken intro to the song). The problem with Groovie Ghoulies' version of "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." happens to be (surprise, surprise) the vocals - he reminds me of the turdmuncher from The Offspring (so I'm sure you can well imagine how this does NOT work in a Motorhead song). Next up is Fahrenheit 451, who might have actually gotten away with "No Class" if it wasn't (once again) for the vocals. Musically, their version isn't that bad, and hell, even the vocals are tolerable (on their own) in a "rock star" sort of way, but it just doesn't WORK within the content of Motorhead - the band really should have known better. Lastly, we have Terra Firma and their total and complete annihilation of the classic "Bomber". Now, on the ONE hand, this band deserves kudos out the wazoo for having the most original approach presented on this CD - they produce a track that sounds absolutely nothing like the original, and I'll give them the "thumbs up" for having the balls to do something so completely different when they must have known they were going to take some flack for it...but on the OTHER hand, they should be put to death in the most painful way humanly possible for what they have done to "Bomber". What was once a mighty rumbling war machine of a song has been transformed into a vapid gothic ditty. My initial reaction was "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS ?!?!?!??!?!?!?!", and I could feel my blood boil - if it wasn't for the fact that this CD was lent to me and it's not actually my own, I would have been hard pressed to not tear this out of the CD player and then defecate all over it in sheer unabated anger. If Terra Firma were covering *ANYTHING* besides Motorhead, their "original" approach might have gotten them off the hook, but as they ARE covering Motorhead, they should be gassed. The pseudo "I'm so pained and melancholic" vocal stylings really got on my nerves, and musically, this wasn't much better off (imagine a crappy minimalistic "Type O Negative gone ultragothic rock" and losing any and all power and balls...that's to say, what little power and balls TON have to *begin* with). This song almost ruins this CD in much the same way Pingo's Inferno almost did with their version of "Live like an Angel (Die like a Devil)" on the "Promoters of the Third World War" tribute to Venom (WHY oh WHY do the people who release tribute CDs always insist on throwing on at least one steaming hot pile of shit into the mix ? Who CARES if it showcases what a "wide range of influence" a band might have had on artists of other genres - when the result is something such as this, it can NOT be justified).
So there you have it, "Build for Speed", warts and all. Granted, I might have been harder on the bands because they are covering Motorhead, but truth be told, if it wasn't for the fact that they were covering Motorhead to begin with, I wouldn't have given the majority of them the time of day (the exceptions being Zeke, Speedealer, and Electric Frankenstein). I will neither recommend this CD nor sway anyone from purchasing it - let the above review stand on it's own, and make the call accordingly.
© 1999 chorazaim
The Good
Zeke : I'll be your Sister
Speedealer : Motorhead
Integrity : Orgasmatron
Chrome Locust : Metropolis
Zeke and Speedealer (formerly REO Speedealer) are the two top picks on this CD, and that's hardly a surprise when you consider just how Motorhead influenced both those bands happen to be in the first place. Both manage to maintain the high energy and feel of the originals, yet they also manage to add a certain "something" so it's not just a standard "paint-by-numbers" knock off either. Integrity manage a pretty decent version of Orgasmatron as well...not very different from the original, but the vocalist has a good style (very similar to those of "man-of-the-century" Lemmy, but a bit more "controlled" sounding). Rounding off the lot are Chrome Locust and their version of "Metropolis"...musically, it's very close to the original, but the band manages to inject some vitality into their offering by employing a "spacey" vocal sound which adds to the atmosphere and fits in perfectly with the haunting aura of the original version.
The Bad
Dropkick Murphys : Rock and Roll
Electric Frankenstein : (We are) The Road Crew
Dropkick Murphys and Electric Frankenstein both churn out half hearted versions that don't really go anywhere - but at least both of these manage to capture the original "spirit" of the tracks, even if some of the energy is lost along the way. Somewhat surprising in the case of Electric Frankenstein, as I've heard a couple of their CDs, and while they never blew me away, they had a fairly heavy Motorhead influence which I thought would give them an edge over the majority of these bands.
The Ugly
Skarhead : Sweet Revenge
Blood For Blood : Ace of Spades
Groovie Ghoulies : R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
Fahrenheit 451 : No Class
Terra Firma : Bomber
Skarhead give us a *BORING* hardcore/metal rendition of "Sweet Revenge". I personally hate the Victory Records "bland metal with a hardcore vocalist" sound, and that's what this band produces. Oh, did I happen to mention that the vocalist sucks ? Well, he does (a common problem with the majority of the bands that fall under "The Ugly" category). The same problem again arises with Blood For Blood, another metal-cum-hardcore affair. While not as bad as Skarhead, it's still not very good (points are also subtracted for the Jerky Boys styled spoken intro to the song). The problem with Groovie Ghoulies' version of "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." happens to be (surprise, surprise) the vocals - he reminds me of the turdmuncher from The Offspring (so I'm sure you can well imagine how this does NOT work in a Motorhead song). Next up is Fahrenheit 451, who might have actually gotten away with "No Class" if it wasn't (once again) for the vocals. Musically, their version isn't that bad, and hell, even the vocals are tolerable (on their own) in a "rock star" sort of way, but it just doesn't WORK within the content of Motorhead - the band really should have known better. Lastly, we have Terra Firma and their total and complete annihilation of the classic "Bomber". Now, on the ONE hand, this band deserves kudos out the wazoo for having the most original approach presented on this CD - they produce a track that sounds absolutely nothing like the original, and I'll give them the "thumbs up" for having the balls to do something so completely different when they must have known they were going to take some flack for it...but on the OTHER hand, they should be put to death in the most painful way humanly possible for what they have done to "Bomber". What was once a mighty rumbling war machine of a song has been transformed into a vapid gothic ditty. My initial reaction was "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS ?!?!?!??!?!?!?!", and I could feel my blood boil - if it wasn't for the fact that this CD was lent to me and it's not actually my own, I would have been hard pressed to not tear this out of the CD player and then defecate all over it in sheer unabated anger. If Terra Firma were covering *ANYTHING* besides Motorhead, their "original" approach might have gotten them off the hook, but as they ARE covering Motorhead, they should be gassed. The pseudo "I'm so pained and melancholic" vocal stylings really got on my nerves, and musically, this wasn't much better off (imagine a crappy minimalistic "Type O Negative gone ultragothic rock" and losing any and all power and balls...that's to say, what little power and balls TON have to *begin* with). This song almost ruins this CD in much the same way Pingo's Inferno almost did with their version of "Live like an Angel (Die like a Devil)" on the "Promoters of the Third World War" tribute to Venom (WHY oh WHY do the people who release tribute CDs always insist on throwing on at least one steaming hot pile of shit into the mix ? Who CARES if it showcases what a "wide range of influence" a band might have had on artists of other genres - when the result is something such as this, it can NOT be justified).
So there you have it, "Build for Speed", warts and all. Granted, I might have been harder on the bands because they are covering Motorhead, but truth be told, if it wasn't for the fact that they were covering Motorhead to begin with, I wouldn't have given the majority of them the time of day (the exceptions being Zeke, Speedealer, and Electric Frankenstein). I will neither recommend this CD nor sway anyone from purchasing it - let the above review stand on it's own, and make the call accordingly.
© 1999 chorazaim