Artist: Iced Earth
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 11/12/02
Rating: 2 Skulls
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Title: Tribute to the Gods Artist: Iced Earth Label: Century Media Release Date: 11/12/02
Rating: 2 Skulls |
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Abyss' Review (10/28/02):
Alright, I am in no way endorsing the release of cover albums by any stretch of the imagination, but when I received this assignment, I thought that if there was ever a chance of a cover album being worth buying, Iced Earth would have one of the best chances of pulling it off. Let's face it, Six Feet Under's Graveyard Classics should not have been high on anyone's must get list, whether you like the band or not. There is only so much Six Feet Under is going to do with a song, if you get my drift. Iced Earth, has a little more potential, however, and my curiosity was a bit piqued.The verdict? Well it's kinda hit or miss. First off, I really don't like covers, with very rare exception, that much at all outside of a live setting. So if you're the type who gets off on an album full of this sort of thing you may want to take my thoughts with a grain of salt (you also might want to kill yourself, because chances are any contribution you'd make to our race was already made by producers during the recent explosion in reality based programming).
Where I find this effort interesting, however, is that I'm a bit surprised (after looking at the tracklisting) at which songs were successful and which weren't. Blue Oyster Cult's "Burning For You" is actually one of my favorites off of this record, something I didn't see coming. I also found myself enjoying Alice Cooper's "Dead Babies," and Kiss' "Creatures of the Night" is probably the most successful song on the record, (but of course this is to be expected, what with all the vocal comparisons between Stanley and Barlow). Almost equally as impressive is Mr. Schaffer's vocal turn on "God of Thunder" by the same band (it blows away Entombed's version),
However, while their version of "Number of the Beast" is adequate, if not spectacular, Matthew Barlow's vocals on "Hallowed Be Thy Name" just seem to fall way short of the mark. Granted keeping up with Bruce Dickinson is by no means an easy feat, but I dare say that Dani Filth did a better job than is heard on this record (alright, slight exaggeration, but CoF's version is much more successful in my opinion). This is disappointing because this is where I figured this band would shine.
Bottom line is that you should never buy a cover album for any reason. But, much like drug addicts can't use rational thought, fans of this band will flock to this record regardless. It's pretty good if you take it for what it is, but I would go into it with curiosity rather than grand expectations. One word review: Good.
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