Artist: Various Artists
Label: Divine/Priority
Release Date: 6/6/00
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Title: Nativity in Black II Artist: Various Artists Label: Divine/Priority Release Date: 6/6/00 |
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Abyss's Review:
Well here we go again, another tribute album… whoop'dee fuckin' doo. For those of you who are still taken in by this sort of pap, this album will probably entertain you (Of course, so would dangling string, or bright, shiny lights.) As with every tribute album there are a plethora of bands that stay true to the original song, and there are a few individuals who rework the song to fit their own personal style. The latter is often more interesting, but it is way harder to pull off. Thus, that is why both the best and the worst cover on this album belong in that category. The best track is System of a Down's version of "Snowblind." Redefining the original song's riff so it will fit into their eclectic song space works perfectly, and if every tribute album were full of this type of shit, they'd actually be worth buying. But the problem is, Machine Head tried to do the same thing with "Hole in the Sky" and failed miserably. Basically, Mr. Flynn robbed a powerful song of any of it's punch. Another band that fiddled with their respective song was HED (PE), and their version of "Sabbra Cadabra." I don't really know what to make of that one. It's best described as horrible in the beginning, but pretty cool in the end.
"Well here we go again, another tribute album… whoop'dee fuckin' doo."
There are a good deal of quality covers on this album, but nothing that won't make this record lose its novelty after two listens. It's cool to hear Pantera doing "Electric Funeral," and Slayer doing "Hand of Doom," but it just isn't enough to get me excited. Busta Rhymes is an interesting addition, basically rapping over the whole song of "Iron Man," with Ozzy singing some new lyrics to boot. If you dabble in hip-hop it might tickle you a bit, but aside from that, it's pretty much the same as everything else…unimportant.
"Can you believe that no one did "War Pigs" on this one!" If there is a saving grace to this album, and a way that it surpasses its predecessor, it's in the fact that the song selections are a little better, so we have a chance to hear songs that haven't been covered a million times already (Can you believe that no one did "War Pigs" on this one!) It also shows that these bands are true Sabbath fans, which is a little heartwarming. So, whatever, if y'all keep buying these things, they're going to keep making them. You decide what to do.
Death's Review:
So yeah, I bought the original Nativity in Black. Back then, the idea of current metal acts paying tribute to heavy metal heroes of yore was, believe it or not, a novel idea. But too many tributes, cover albums, and Sharon Osbourne, Inc. sponsored Ozzfests have conspired to make this second installment arrive with no small amount of skepticism from me. Sure, Ozzy has always adopted some bands as part of the Ozzy "family," while too many others were left to fend for themselves without the Madman's corporate-backed support. But lately, the Ozzfest has turned into a Roadrunner-minimum mainstream label pay-to-play, having little to do with metal and looking more and more indiscernible from the last edition of Lollapalooza (the one where Metallica and Soundgarden played.) From this perspective, Nativity in Black II seems, in many respects, nothing more than one big Ozzfest advertisement.
Still, even ads sometimes kick ass. And as controversial as it may be, I actually love this album. Why, you ask? Well, let's see. First of all, because the Sabbath tracks covered are, for the most part, interesting and deep album cuts representing some of my all-time favorite compositions. Second, because most of these artists actually produce a fresh enough take to breathe new life into these tried and true warhorses. So forget for a moment whether Sharon is laughing all of the way to the bank and instead check out this collection of killer Sabbath covers. Trust me, it's more fun that way.
"The Sabbath tracks covered are, for the most part, interesting and deep album cuts representing some of my all-time favorite compositions." To wit: while Godsmack's "Sweet Leaf" is standard issue, and Machine Head's totally mechanized and sped up tweak on "Hole in the Sky" kinda ruins a great song (except for the mellow, clean sung chorus lines - Flynn does sound good here), even those songs are at least interesting and somewhat listenable. Static-X is up next, with an, uh... different "Behind the Wall of Sleep," which, of course, can't touch the original, but is nevertheless at least vocally interesting (plus, it's such a cool choice to cover.) Things begin to pick up form here. "Never Say Die" sounds perfectly crafted for Megadeth - you know, sometimes a band and a cover song just sound like they fit (Dave gets pretty high pitched here, a la Ozzy, but does so effortlessly.) System of a Down gets freaky (and rhythmically technical in the verses) with "Snowblind," and I laugh every time I hear him scream "Cocaine!" I like this track.
Things waaaaay pick up with Pantera's "Electric Funeral." A perfect choice for them to cover. It's kinda weird how much Anselmo sounds like Ozzy yet you can still tell it is him. Dude needs to sing more. Great song, great cover, deteriorating into a trademark Pantera outro riff. Very, very cool.
Primus turns in a surprisingly inspired "N.I.B." cover with Ozzy on vocals, showing for a moment that Geezer Butler was a great bassist. And then we get Slayer. I absolutely love the version of "Hand of Doom" they do here. Totally killer, and worth the price of the record on its own. Good choice for them. Tom totally sings on that opening verse! The ending "you're having a good time ["baby" omitted - this is Slayer people] . . . but that won't last" distorted shout is awesome. Trust me, you'll approve. "Now you're gonna diiiiiiiieeeeee!!!!"
"Overall, this is a cool summertime state of the metal according to Ozzy, Inc. 2000." The fun doesn't end there. Soulfly, yes Soulfly, chimes in with a death metal, yes death metal, vocal on "Under the Sun." Go Max! Nice chill ending too. The biggest surprise of the record comes with Hed(pe) (!??!) doing one of my all-time favorite songs, "Sabbra Caddabra." Rap-metal haters beware, but this cover puts such a smooth bouncey Chili Pepper/ 311 funk on an original that already invited you to fall into a trance-like captiviation, I can't help myself. This is music worth listening to. Seriously. Listen all the way through and let yourself get into it. The ending breakdown is totally Mike Patton. I doubt I really like Hed(pe), but I do like this quasi-novelty cover.
Monster Magnet steps up with a cool, but different, "Into the Void." The Busta Ryhmes (!?!) closer is similar to Body Count, maybe better. Listenable to good, at least it is delivered with impact. Overall, Nativity in Black II is fun. Lots of new-metal variety, tempered with just enough old-school convention, all in the name of servicing a decent assortment of Sabbath covers even this jaded veteran finds appealing. I'd rather hear "Never Say Die," "Under the Sun," "Hand of Doom" and "Sabbra Caddabra" than "Paranoid," War Pigs" and "Children of the Grave." That's clearly gonna help. Overall, this is a cool summertime state of the metal according to Ozzy, Inc. 2000. What the heck, I'm having fun with it.
Hel's Review:
I wasn't keen on reviewing this one. Here's the deal, I'm not a fan of "new" school of metal. I only refer to it in this fashion, ever, because to do otherwise would be to give it more thought than it's worth. So get used to it, if I have to review an album that contains so many of these bands, you should know that. There are only four bands I even like on this disc. I'm going to give away the end, it's not much of a leap anyway. In the end, I realize there are four songs I really like on this album, and two that are quite bizarre.
"I wasn't keen on reviewing this one... I'm not a fan of "new" school of metal." I realize that, in a way, nearly every track sort of needs to be touched on when reviewing an album of this type, so I will sort of do so. The album starts out heavy on the "new" school thing. Godsmack, Machine Head, Static-X, Megadeth, and System of a Down all deliver basically standard covers with a touch of their own individual styles. If you happen to be a fan of any of these bands, then you would probably be happy - I don't, so overall I feel they were rather valueless. The best I can say for any of them is Dave Mustaine does a surprisingly good Ozzy. Also note, Megadeth is the only band mentioned so far that doesn't do the "new" school thing.
The next four songs are the only ones I really enjoyed. Pantera delivers an extremely straightforward rendition of "Electric Funeral," but also add a heavy feel that causes this song to be remarkable where Megadeth's very straight version of "Never Say Die" is not. I can sum up "N.I.B." by Primus and Ozzy in one word: Godly. I love it. Slayer turns in a fantastically ambient and stripped-down sounding rendition of "Hand of Doom." Killer. The last in our streak of great songs is Soulfly's "Under the Sun." This is one of the most unique interpretations of a Black Sabbath song on this tribute, and it is incredible. Best song on the disc is definitely between this and Primus/Ozzy.
Of the last three tracks, two are in the most bizarre category. Monster Magnet is not, it falls in the standard with a splash of their style but basically dull category. Hed (pe) is the other unique rendition of a Black Sabbath song, but it is so far removed from the original some might be put off, particularly if they're not a big fan of the band. The last song is... Busta Rhymes? How odd. It really seems out of place, and if you lack the capacity to tolerate rap, you'll probably want to avoid it. The most open-minded will discover it's pretty cool.
"Book-ended between a mixture of bland crap and songs from the twilight zone, are four fantastic songs." So book-ended between a mixture of bland crap and songs from the twilight zone, are four fantastic songs. I have to grade accordingly, so please note that these four songs are MUCH better than the overall grade reflects. I don't know what it would come out to mathematically, I'm grading mostly on gut. But I also have to deduct an additional skull, because my gut says this feels more like an Ozzfest promotional ploy than a tribute album. Or perhaps it just reflects my upcoming Ozzfest experience - too many bands that suck, too few I actually want to see. Either way, I'm looking forward to that as much as I looked forward to this...
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