After MÖTLEY CRÜE's "Bastard" showed up on SIX FEET UNDER's "Death Rituals", it was pretty clear another covers album was on the horizon. Instead of unleashing an unnecessary mess like the last installment - a cover of AC/DC's entire "Back In Black" album - Barnes and Co. take on Thrash, Classic Rock and Punk. Once again, if you dig SFU, you'll probably dig this. If you hate the band, stop reading the review now.

Opening with MERCYFUL FATE's "A Dangerous Meeting", it's almost amazing on how heavy those riffs sound, especially all detuned and drenched in Death. Thankfully Barnes doesn't even attempt any of KING DIAMOND's acrobatics, but his guttural gurgle really drags on the song no matter how much guitarist Steve Swanson tries to invoke Denner and Shermann. Moving out of an opening rough spot, the chunky stomp of ANVIL's "Metal On Metal" is a great guilty pleasure. Things get a bit rough with METALLICA's "The Frayed Ends of Sanity", yet Swanson steals the show during the song's midsection and this time the bass is audible. The destructive version of BACHMAN TURNER OVERDRIVE's "Not Fragile" features some dangerously dense riffs and tight solos while VAN HALEN's "On Fire" is pure Death 'n Roll awesomeness. EXCITER's "Pounding Metal" is another good stomp, but somehow SFU makes TWISTED SISTER's "Destroyer" sound like one of their own. This version is even heavier than HAIL OF BULLETS' recent stab that was an audible giant in its own right.

But if there were three reasons to listen to "Graveyard Classics III", they would be SLAYER's "At Dawn They Sleep", THE RAMONES "Pyschotherapy" and PRONG's "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck". "Psychotherapy" is more goofy than good but makes for a lot of dumb fun. The original is a total classic and SFU doesn't do much for its legacy; but the snottiness of the original shows up here also and makes for one pretty annoying yet catchy moment on the disc. If those unfamiliar with SFU and the original version of "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" caught this one today, it'd be a hit. For being PRONG's only notable moment, it's altogether not that good of a song. But when SFU turns an early 90's trendy Metal anthem into poppy Death Metal, it has to be heard. The absolute gem of the disc is "At Dawn They Sleep". Probably the best song from "Hell Awaits", it's also the song that SFU treats with the most respect on this disc. First, the song sounds great and if SFU could write songs like this, more metalheads would take them seriously; but here is where Barnes really shines. Even in his unmistakable gurgle, the same rawness that Tom Araya had on the original is channeled by Barnes here. The song makes for one vicious cover and the whole band nails this one flawlessly.

Definitely not for everyone and more of a novelty and a whacky homage than anything else, SFU's "Graveyard Classics III" will really only appeal to fans of the band or those that like to hear non-Death Metal songs Death Metalized. There are bland moments, bad moments and grand moments. In a weird way, it's like the average SFU album, just not written by the guys in SFU. Spin with a bit of caution or when the party and keg is running low.