 SOUNDTRACK (1993)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: AC/DC "Big Gun," MEGADETH "Angry Again," TESLA title track
I'm one of a few people who actually liked this movie a great deal (I think the scene with Arnold playing Hamlet deserves Oscar by itself), but the soundtrack is nothing short of godlike. Any serious metal fan must own it. It presents a cross-section of the early 90s American rock music. AC/DC opens the album with a supreme rocker "Big Gun" (it's got one of the most recognizable riffs even in AC/DC's catalog). Alice In Chains follows with "Whatta Hell Have I," which many people like, leaves me indifferent. "Angry Again" is my favorite song by Megadeth, and they included it on their compilation Hidden Treasures as well. It's got one of the best grooves ever (I have heard that they wrote and recorded this song in two hours: got an assignment, went into their "Hangar 18," and came out two hours later with a great song; but that may be just a rumor). Queensryche graces us with "Real World," a very emotional piece with some Spanish influences. Def Leppard delivers an acoustic love ballad, "Two Steps Behind," which is nice to listen to, if you are tired (and that's what these band sounded like throughout the 90s). "Poison My Eyes" by Anthrax well represents their distinctive thrash/hardcore-ish style. Aerosmith's classic "Dream On," performed live on the MTV with the orchestral accompaniment, is far superior to their original 70s song. Another song by Alice In Chains, "A Little Bitter" is nothing special. Then the movie producers decided that they should include some other styles for versatility, so "Cock The Hammer" by Cypress Hill and "Swim" by Fishbone unjustly enter the picture. Cypress Hill song isn't bad for rap, but rap is bad by definition, and Fishbone's hardcore crap is just unbearable. Then - a breath of fresh air, Tesla with "Last Action Hero": one of the greatest sing-along rockers of all times. What a great song! It should have been on their "greatest hits" album, Time Making Changes, but they were too retarded to include it there. Finally, a classic orchestral piece, in which I could never find a melody. It's conducted by Michael Kamen, who did orchestral arrangements for pretty much every metal band in America: Metallica, Queensryche, Aerosmith, etc. This is one great album. Get it now, it should be all over the used bins.
BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD EXPERIENCE (1993)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: MEGADETH "99 Ways To Die," AEROSMITH "Deuces Are Wild," PRIMUS "Poetry & Prose"
MTV's bad boys, Beavis & Butthead, are now legends, which means they're extinct. As every schoolboy and girl in the early- and mid-90s, I was obsessed with them, and, strangely enough, they've affected my perception of music by introducing me to a whole variety of bands, from Judas Priest and Megadeth to Billy Idol. This CD is very good for understanding the musical taste of the average youngster of that time: rap, grunge, metal (but not too metal, so it would not be confused with 80s hair bands, hehe), and Aerosmith. The latter delivers one of its ballads, "Deuces Are Wild," after which stunned Butthead proclaims: "These guys are the kings of rock! There is none higher!" Other good pieces are Megadeth's "99 Ways To Die" (and it's a blaster of a song). Anthrax's cover of Beastie Boys' "Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun" is also semi-cool. I also love super-alternative Primus and its great tribute to Beavis and Butthead in "Poetry & Prose." Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Search And Destroy" isn't bad either. Nirvana's "I Hate Myself And Wanna Die" became one of the last songs from Cobaine (who distorted the music tastes of the whole generation) got his wish granted. Rap songs I always skipped. Jackyl isn't very good either. But ("hehe, I said butt!") who can forget the trio of Beavis, Butthead, and Cher, singing "I Got You Babe"? Worth having, for sentimental reasons, if nothing else.
"BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD DO AMERICA" SOUNDTRACK (1996)
RATING: **1/2
BEST SONGS: AC/DC "Gone Shooting," Ozzy Osbourne "Walk On Water"
By the mid-90s people didn't even want to hear the word "metal." Which means that this compilation has significantly less metal and significantly more alternative rock, punk, reggae, rap, and god knows what else. Only a handful of metal musicians still remained respected in public eyes; two of them, Ozzy and AC/DC made it to the soundtrack of this movie. Ozzy's song "(I Don't) Walk On Water" is very good, easily one of his best ever. AC/DC's track, "Gone Shooting," is taken from their archives, and it still features Bon Scott. Other stuff includes Red Hot Chili Peppers "Love Rollercoaster" (remember the cool video?), Stubborn All-Stars "I Wanna Riot" (as good of a punk song with horns as I've heard), No Doubt, and various rap acts. I gotta mention Isaak Hayes "Two Cool Guys"; it is cool indeed. Btw, the movie itself was as good as it could have been, and I'm sure every fan has seen it. In approximately a year after the release of this album and the movie, Mike Judge pulled a curtain on Beavis & Butthead, just when I graduated from college. Ah, these were the days.
METAL TRIBUTE TO ABBA (2001)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: AT VANCE “Money, Money, Money,” METALIUM "Thank You For The Music,” MORGANA LEFAY “Voulez Vous”
Covering Abba songs in a metal fashion may sound preposterous but not preposterous enough for several metal artists who recorded their favorite disco hits and quite a few metal fans who bought the end result. Granted, most of these artists are from Scandinavia and neighboring regions, ones that were brought up on Abba tunes. And let me tell you: many of these tunes benefit greatly from heavy crunchy guitars, pounding drums, and soaring powerful vocals of the metal singers. Swedish thrash act At Vance, for instance, absolutely smokes “Money, Money, Money,” making it a roaring metal anthem, especially on the line “all the things I could do! if! I! had a little money! It’s a rich man’s world!” Nation’s version of “Waterloo” and Custard’s (slightly goofy) version of “Supertrooper” would be smashing arena hits, had this release gotten the publicity and the exposure it deserved. Metalium does a fine job, turning “Thank You For The Music” into their brand of hard-hitting power metal, as Hanne Basse screams his lungs out. However, some of the heavy weights on this collection slightly disappoint: both Sinergy and Tad Morose, IMHO, could have done a better job on “Gimme Gimme Gimme” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” respectively, although Sinergy’s piece is saved by Laiho’s wicked guitar playing and Goss’s “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” in the final refrain. Tad Morose, on the other hand, while being one of the best metal bands in the world, is generally not a good cover act, and none of their covers (save for a charming tribute to Uriah Heep) have particularly impressed me. On the other hand, we have a cover of “Voulez Vous,” recorded by Morgana Lefay for their 1993 Past, Present, Future compilation album, and this version, besides being the probable cause for the entire “Abba Metalization” project, sets a standard by which all covers should be measured. It took the original and injected it with a lethal dose of aggression, power, shred, and double-bass thunder: truly one of the best covers ever!
I admit to having a pirate version of this release, which contains two bonus tracks: Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme” (great: Mark Boals soars and Yngwie delivers one of his more inspired solos of late 90s; hell, this track was recorded for the “Inspiration” album!) and Helloween's “Lay Your Love On Me” (not so great: the original is boring, and these power metal legends could not have liven it up much). It is funny how most of these male singers slightly adjust the Abba lyrics to their own sex: “Gimme, gimme, gimme your love after midnight” (Malmsteen), “And if she happens to be free, I bet she wouldn’t fancy me” (At Vance), etc. The only female performer on the album, Kim Goss of Sinergy, of course, didn’t have to change a word. There is also a rather bizarre version of “Take A Chance On Me,” performed by Rough Silk, which features an excellent female and a terrible male vocalists, and a bunch of not so memorable covers such as "S.O.S." by Paradox and "Chiquitita" by Spiral Tower. I must mention the cover of “Dancing Queen,” performed by a punk band Glow: it's very cute, and one of the highlights of the album for me. Overall, this is a fine addition to any collection. I am sure this is the way Abba songs were meant to sound, before they were all ruined by Benny and Bjorn :).
NUCLEAR BLAST ALL-STARS: INTO THE LIGHT (2007)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: “Ruling The World,” “Slaves To The Desert,” “Inner Sanctuary”
To celebrate its 20 Year Anniversary, Nuclear Blast record company charged Rage’s Victor Smolski and Peter “Peavy” Wagner with writing an album for an all-star cast. Peavy wrote most of the lyrics, Smolski wrote all the music, and played all guitars, most of basses, and some keys. What came out is, basically, a Rage album featuring 9 other vocalists, a “who is who” list of NWOEPM. Considering that the last Rage album was a bitter disappointment for yours truly, this is a welcomed guest. The songs are mostly good, but very of them really constitute classics.
“Dirty Wings,” sung by Edguy’s and Avantasia’s Tobias Sammet, sounds like a typical happy Edguy tune.
“Terrified,” sung by Peavy himself, is indeed a modern Rage song all the way; fairly solid.
“Ruling The World,” sung by Sonata Arctica’s Toni Kakko, is the best thing I’ve heard from Toni in years: nothing since their 2001 album, Silence, sounded this good with him on vocals. The drive is tremendous. The problems with this song are: (1) it’s too short and (2) anti-American lyrics irk me a little, although Peavy is certainly entitled to his opinion of the current world situation.
“Death Is Alive,” sung by At Vance’s (and formerly of Yngwie Malmsteen) Mats Leven, is pretty good, but feels a little disjointed, as if the parts of it were stapled together at the last moment (especially both parts of the chorus).
On “Bloodsuckers” Smolski tries to accommodate for the thrash style of Destruction’s Marcel Shrimer, but he is not really a thrash songwriter, so the result is rather skipable.
On “Slaves To The Desert,” by contrast, he shoots for more proggy and complex, and who’s to shine on a complex tune better than Blind Guardian’s / Demons & Wizards’ Hansi Kursch? An excellent tune is born, one of album’s highlights.
Andy Deris of Helloween appears on “A Perfect Day,” and, much like most of Helloween’s latest material, it’s solid but hardly great.
“Inner Sanctuary,” performed by Marco Hietala of Nightwish and Tarot, is awesome and possibly the highest point on the album: it is put together perfectly and flows forward like a tidal wave, with great energy and inspiration. Again, much like Tarot.
Finally, Mrs. Tarja Turunen, who is no longer with Nuclear Blast since departing from her glory rocket, Nightwish, does everybody a favor and contributes her magic voice to “In The Picture.” Smolski demonstrates that if you want to use Tarja, you don’t necessarily need to write a slow song for her, even if your name is not Tuomas Holopainen, She is very energetic but still is at her sweetest.
Why only four stars then? Well, it’s the songs themselves. Save for the highlights, the material here is enjoyable but not really super-exciting, although the musicianship is, of course, top notch. I like it, I will listen to it again and again, but nothing really makes me bang my head or dissolve in the emotions conveyed. Peavy’s lyrics are exactly what you’d expect from the man. This will likely make the Year’s Top 10, but only by virtue of it not being a standout year.
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