So I got this yesterday (thanks, Locky!). I like some songs, but most are rather lifeless, which is the downfall of many cover songs.
Zakk's version of "Suicide Note Part 1" is excellent; sounds like a song he would have written. The cover has a soul, you know. Great stuff.
Machine Head's cover of "F*cking Hostile" is cool but way too closed in. There's no real bleed, you know, so it sounds far too sterile. It's good, but the production makes it suffer. Plus the guitar tone is off a bit.
"Cemetery Gates," by Evile, is cool musically, but the dude's voice isn't that great. And the high-pitched wails at the end are buried in the mix. A good thing, too, because was off-key. But it's a decent cover.
Five Finger Death Punch make an attempt at changing up "A New Level," but it doesn't sound good with the vocals.
Biohazard should flat out be ashamed of their "Mouth For War" cover. It's ATROCIOUS! Evan even sings "Hold you mouth for the war." Not surprising they'd mess up the lyrics because it sounds like the first listened to the song five minutes before they recorded it on a 30-year-old boom box. Terrible.
Sylosis does a brilliant cover of "Strength Beyond Strength," but it's actually so good that it's almost pointless. It just sounds so much like the original that there's really no need for it. The same can be said about Throwdown's cover of "Becoming."
While I think Sylosis did the best cover, Kiuas did the most unique and it's easily my favorite. They really change it up, making it their own. Aside from the chorus, it sounds very little like the original. The solo is more bluesy, the verses are more eerie. They even mix in part of "Strength Beyond Strength" and, I believe, the end of "Domination." A very cool version.
The rest are mediocre at best.
Subject: Excellent tribute cd to Dimebag Darell 
Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:50 pm
