Various Artists
Hell Bent for Metal - Tribute to Judas Priest
[Dwell]
What the hell was I thinking? A tribute album on Dwell Records?
Fortunately it could've been worse... here's the blow-by-blow:
Packaging: Looks like they couldn't score the cash to license the JP logo. Instead they threw on one of those slightly futuristic armor-suit things reminiscent of the "Jugulator" cover. Pretty stupid. Also par usual, the liner notes are just a track listing, contact addresses and microscopic logos for the bands, and the copyright info. Nice to see they're consistent though. Score = -1
1) Angel Corpse - Eat me Alive: Not bad. Definitely done Angel Corpse style, but the intensity just enhances the original, and Pete Helkamp's vox are actually a cool interpretation of the original, not 'raped' like a lot of the later tracks on this one. Score = +1
2) Sanctorum - Hell Patrol: Fucking shit. Dead-on musically (including all the harmonies and solos, no small feat), but the hardcore death vox almost totally ruin this one. Score = 0
3) Winter's Bane - Steeler: Damn cool cover. Pretty faithful, and great vox, not too dissimilar from the way Ripper Owens interprets older JP now (as seen on the 98 Live Meltdown album) - I wonder if Ripper was still in the band when they did this one? Fuckin' liner notes blow, as always. Kudos also for not picking one of the obvious hits. Score = +1
4) Agent Steel - Beyond the Realms of Death: Another good one. Very faithful, good vox, excellent solo. Score = +2
5) Scary German Guy - Electric Eye: The only thing scary is how they convinced Dwell to put this piece of shit on the album. Fucking horrible techno/noise crap, hoarse shouting, tuned down to fuck, and they didn't even include Hellion. Score = -2
6) Soulless - Hell Bent for Leather: One of the only cool death-style interpretations on this one. They cranked up the intensity to death/thrash level, and the vox are pretty faithful, still. Not bad. Score = +1
7) Equinox - The Ripper: I should hate this one, since the vocals are totally horrid (they had to fake that first scream with a guitar), but the music is so crunchy like the original and the singer sounds so damn evil it sort-of works in a weird way. I don't know if I like it or not, but it's not bad. Score = 0
8) Aurora Borealis - Metal Meltdown: Generic 'let's speed it up and do our death screaming over it' cover. But less inspired. Blah. Score = -1
9) Steel Prophet - Dreamer Deceiver: I had high hopes, seeing how awesome their cover of "Purgatory" on the first Call to Irons was. They didn't disappoint. Very cool for picking a non-popular track, even moreso for pulling it off both faithfully and originally. Best cut on this disc. Only gripe - they should've kept going and done "Deceiver" afterwards. Oh well - can't have it all. Score = +1 (would've been +2 if not for Deceiver... :)
10) Crematorium - Breaking the Law: Read number 8, above. Fuck 'em double for ruining a really popular one. Score = -2
11) Prototype - The Sentinel: Popular, but I've never seen anybody else have the balls to go for it. VERY cool interpretation - mostly faithful, a bit stripped down and more energetic overall, and while this guy can't scream like Halford, he does even better by not trying, and just sticking to his range and belting it out with guts and balls galore. Very nice. Score = +1
12) Division - Desert Plains: Admit it - every JP fan has a soft spot for the anthemic "Point of Entry". Division faces up to it, and does even better with a quite faithful cover. Score = +1
13) Vital Remains - You Got Another Thing Coming: I thought they should've been shot for raping 'The Trooper', but this one comes off not too horribly. The original actually lends itself to a bit more brutalization, which VR does here, and another plus is that they keep the midtempo crunch feel intact instead of putting in pointless blasting double bass. Fairly faithful solo too. Pretty good. Score = +1
That gives us a total score of: +3. Does that mean it's worth it? Let me put it this way: you better either LOVE Judas Priest, totally worship one (or more) of the bands on this disc, or really want Dwell to have your money. Though, programmable CD players DO let you skip bad tracks, and how often do you REALLY read those CD books anyway?
© 1999 lord vic
Packaging: Looks like they couldn't score the cash to license the JP logo. Instead they threw on one of those slightly futuristic armor-suit things reminiscent of the "Jugulator" cover. Pretty stupid. Also par usual, the liner notes are just a track listing, contact addresses and microscopic logos for the bands, and the copyright info. Nice to see they're consistent though. Score = -1
1) Angel Corpse - Eat me Alive: Not bad. Definitely done Angel Corpse style, but the intensity just enhances the original, and Pete Helkamp's vox are actually a cool interpretation of the original, not 'raped' like a lot of the later tracks on this one. Score = +1
2) Sanctorum - Hell Patrol: Fucking shit. Dead-on musically (including all the harmonies and solos, no small feat), but the hardcore death vox almost totally ruin this one. Score = 0
3) Winter's Bane - Steeler: Damn cool cover. Pretty faithful, and great vox, not too dissimilar from the way Ripper Owens interprets older JP now (as seen on the 98 Live Meltdown album) - I wonder if Ripper was still in the band when they did this one? Fuckin' liner notes blow, as always. Kudos also for not picking one of the obvious hits. Score = +1
4) Agent Steel - Beyond the Realms of Death: Another good one. Very faithful, good vox, excellent solo. Score = +2
5) Scary German Guy - Electric Eye: The only thing scary is how they convinced Dwell to put this piece of shit on the album. Fucking horrible techno/noise crap, hoarse shouting, tuned down to fuck, and they didn't even include Hellion. Score = -2
6) Soulless - Hell Bent for Leather: One of the only cool death-style interpretations on this one. They cranked up the intensity to death/thrash level, and the vox are pretty faithful, still. Not bad. Score = +1
7) Equinox - The Ripper: I should hate this one, since the vocals are totally horrid (they had to fake that first scream with a guitar), but the music is so crunchy like the original and the singer sounds so damn evil it sort-of works in a weird way. I don't know if I like it or not, but it's not bad. Score = 0
8) Aurora Borealis - Metal Meltdown: Generic 'let's speed it up and do our death screaming over it' cover. But less inspired. Blah. Score = -1
9) Steel Prophet - Dreamer Deceiver: I had high hopes, seeing how awesome their cover of "Purgatory" on the first Call to Irons was. They didn't disappoint. Very cool for picking a non-popular track, even moreso for pulling it off both faithfully and originally. Best cut on this disc. Only gripe - they should've kept going and done "Deceiver" afterwards. Oh well - can't have it all. Score = +1 (would've been +2 if not for Deceiver... :)
10) Crematorium - Breaking the Law: Read number 8, above. Fuck 'em double for ruining a really popular one. Score = -2
11) Prototype - The Sentinel: Popular, but I've never seen anybody else have the balls to go for it. VERY cool interpretation - mostly faithful, a bit stripped down and more energetic overall, and while this guy can't scream like Halford, he does even better by not trying, and just sticking to his range and belting it out with guts and balls galore. Very nice. Score = +1
12) Division - Desert Plains: Admit it - every JP fan has a soft spot for the anthemic "Point of Entry". Division faces up to it, and does even better with a quite faithful cover. Score = +1
13) Vital Remains - You Got Another Thing Coming: I thought they should've been shot for raping 'The Trooper', but this one comes off not too horribly. The original actually lends itself to a bit more brutalization, which VR does here, and another plus is that they keep the midtempo crunch feel intact instead of putting in pointless blasting double bass. Fairly faithful solo too. Pretty good. Score = +1
That gives us a total score of: +3. Does that mean it's worth it? Let me put it this way: you better either LOVE Judas Priest, totally worship one (or more) of the bands on this disc, or really want Dwell to have your money. Though, programmable CD players DO let you skip bad tracks, and how often do you REALLY read those CD books anyway?
© 1999 lord vic