Artist: Various Artists
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 4/30/02
Rating: 4 Skulls
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Title: A Tribute To The Beast Artist: Various Artists Label: Nuclear Blast Release Date: 4/30/02
Rating: 4 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Solomon (8/28/02):
Well, if there's one thing we've all been missing in this world, it's another damn tribute album. Geez, there are even a few record labels out there, who will go unnamed (Dwell), who pretty much base their whole existence around them. Nuclear Blast even has a metal ABBA tribute compilation. Tributes to Slayer, Iron Maiden, Priest, Queensryche, Yngwie, grass, dirt, my mom, will...it...ever...stop????!!! Going back to my whole live album rant, tribute albums don't exactly get me wet, especially now since there is some sort of hero-worshipping platter coming out every five minutes. It's another way to sell something without thinking too hard. My concern is, why mess with greatness? Not that I've heard every tribute out there but, more often than not, I feel like somebody's pissing on the Mona Lisa, taking a perfectly good work of art and turning it into a stinky, dripping mess. There are exceptions, of course. Nevermore played the fuck out of Priest's "Love Bites," Type O Negative did "Black Sabbath" some serious justice, and Emperor did Bathory proud with "A Fine Day To Die." Still, this is getting ridiculous....Okay, (sigh), by keeping an open mind, I found this particular collection to be better than I originally estimated. The cream of the metal crop is present on A Tribute To The Beast, so we're not short on talent. Even if I can say there isn't a single cover on here that I prefer over the original (m'kay, maybe Opeth, see below), the performances here are fun and full of vigor, retaining the spirit of the primal template. After hearing Children of Bodom's covers of the Scorps' "Don't Stop At The Top" and Ozzy's "Shot In The Dark," I came to question the use of 90's black barking in place of 80's clean crooning. "Aces High," however, did just fine with Alexi's lungs-of-fire, and the band attacked the tune in full-on "Battle of Britain" fashion. Cradle's take on "Hallowed By Thy Name" is powerful, even if a bit "safe." Sheesh, I even like Dani's vocals, especially during the verses. Power kings Sonata Arctica put some poppy punch into "Die With Your Boots On," and Kimberly Goss does a number on "The Number Of The Beast." Disbelief does a tasty, dirty take on "Stranger In A Strange Land." Have to give the gold medal to Opeth, though. "Remember Tomorrow" is almost silly for a prog giant like Opeth to play, but they do it well and Mikael's vocals are worth the price of the CD alone.
The verdict? Please, there's no substitute for the Masters. Go buy Maiden's catalogue first, but Beast isn't a bad experience as far as this ilk goes.
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