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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Creatures Of The Night (KISS)
02. The Number Of The Beast (IRON MAIDEN)
03. Highway To Hell (AC/DC)
04. Burnin' For You (BLUE ÖYSTER CULT)
05. God Of Thunder (KISS)
06. Screaming For Vengeance (JUDAS PRIEST)
07. Dead Babies (ALICE COOPER)
08. Cities On Flame (BLUE ÖYSTER CULT)
09. It's A Long Way To The Top (AC/DC)
10. Black Sabbath (BLACK SABBATH)
11. Hallowed Be Thy Name (IRON MAIDEN)
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When I came across this album in an HMV (surprisingly, not in the used bin), my first thought was "Great Googly Moogly, what a terrible album cover!" A mosaic of childish looking gremlins and critters: you'll find them more laughable than scary. Then I flipped the case over and perused the track list. If you're driving around in your car, make sure you yield to this album when you see it on the street corner... damn, is it pedestrian. Two songs from KISS, two from IRON MAIDEN, two from AC/DC, and two from BLUE ÖYSTER CULT make up eight of this album's eleven tracks. The remaining tracks are from JUDAS PRIEST, BLACK SABBATH, and ALICE COOPER, so it's a shame that this album doesn't drill deeper into the underground. Name one fan of ICED EARTH who hasn't heard of MAIDEN or SABBATH?
In contrast, look at a band like BLIND GUARDIAN. They have covered DEMON, SATAN, QUEEN and the BEACH BOYS, not always successfully, but these are bands that the average BLIND GUARDIAN fan wouldn't listen to. When I heard BLIND GUARDIAN's cover of "Trial By Fire", I felt like a fly hitting someone's windshield-kersplatt!! - and immediately wanted to check out SATAN. "Tribute To The Gods" lacks these surprise moments. The inclusion of only well-known bands wouldn't have been so bad if ICED EARTH opted to cover their lesser-known songs. I heard Jon mention in an interview that "To Tame a Land" is his favorite MAIDEN song, and that he planned one day to cover it. That would have been an awesome choice, but instead, we get "The Number Of The Beast" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", two of the best known tracks from MAIDEN's highest selling album.
If I were a Cheerleader, I'd ask Schaffer to "Give me a Why?" Musically, if you picture the original songs with Barlow singing and heavier guitars, you'll know exactly what to expect. The music is so monkey-hear, monkey-do that the pressure falls on Matt to deliver the goods vocally. But with the original cuts sung by such legendary and varied singers as Bruce Dickinson and Bon Scott, does Barlow really have a chance? Does any singer? Barlow could've lived in the shoes he had to fill, and there would've been enough room for his hair as well.
The covers range from pretty decent to pretty pretty decent. "The Number Of The Beast" intro sounds terrible. It took Bruce Dickinson many a frustrated take in the studio to get that intro right, and it's clear that less effort was spent on ICED EARTH's version. Listening to the opening of "Dead Babies", you'll be reminded of "Reaping Stone" from "Something Wicked". "God Of Thunder" is the most successful track, with Jon adding some demon vocals of his own. The best part of this release is not the music, but the candid liner notes, where Jon describes his influences and concert-going experiences. The booklet is adorned with ticket stubs dating all the way back to the early 80's.
I can only recommend this tribute to ICED EARTH completists, or that ever-so-rare metalhead who knows and loves ICED EARTH, but hasn't heard any AC/DC or MAIDEN. Although ICED EARTH is a quality band, don't expect them to improve on "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "Black Sabbath", "Highway To Hell" or other tracks that are simply unimprovable. As a freebie with the "Dark Genesis" box set, I'd take it, but if I could go back in time, I wouldn't have spent money on "Tribute To The Gods".
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