Year: 2013
Motörhead is a band that any true metalhead would be familiar with. They are one most revered and respected metal bands in the world. With their combination of the NWOBHM sound with fast punk elements, they re-energized the sound of metal. They have been around since 1975 and are still going strong. Many of today's emerging bands cite them as their influence. Such is the glory and legacy of Motörhead.
Iron Fist Records decided to do a tribute album for this legendary band and they got all the leading bands from India to perform on the record. The result is a tribute, in the form of some excellent thrash, doom, stoner, thrash, black and sludge metal tracks. One of the highlights of this tribute is that all the covers are done in a way they ought to be. Each band takes a song and makes it their own, while retaining the original flavor and not just blindly copying it. Praise also goes to the selection of the songs covered. The selection is diversely spread out over the band's career and not just localized to any particular time period of the band.
Millennium - Iron Fist
One of the first metal bands to be formed in India, Millennium render this track in true old school heavy metal style. With the riffs sounding like it came from the 80's, this cover captures the energy of the original in a perfect fashion. This is a short opener to the album and it leaves no doubt who this album is paying homage to.
Dying Embrace - Deaf Forever
Starting with a sample from the movie Mad Max, this song feels like a groovy stoner metal anthem. The mixing of the vocals could have been way better. The stellar guitar leads standout on this track.
1833 AD - Dead And Gone
India's premier black metallers take charge of this somber and gloomy track. They do justice to this song in capturing all the emotions showcased in the original. The acoustic guitar intro and the Black Metal vocals makes the song feel like a DSBM track. The atmosphere of gloom is a brilliant touch.
Bevar Sea - Turn You Round Again
Bevar Sea play this track in true Stoner Metal style. The bluesy guitar riffs and the vocals make this one of the highlights of this tribute album. The guitar solo is an added bonus to an already flawless track.
Albatross - God Was Never On Your Side
This ballad is rendered well by these heavy metallers. The vocalist does a good job in imparting an almost gothic feel to the song. I might even dare say, that this vocalist is better suited to this track than Lemmy's voice in the original.
Shepherd - Sacrifice
The Sludge Metal band Shepherd offer a muddy and grimy rendering of this track. The track could have been shortened as it tends to get a little tedious over the full play length.
Witchgoat - Death Or Glory
The song selection for this band couldn't have been better. Their mad blend of thrash and black metal fits in perfectly with this fast paced classic. There is some brilliant guitar work to be found here. The tin can vocals could have been avoided though. It sounds too hollow, as if the vocalist is singing inside a cave.
Djinn And Miskatonic - I Dont Believe A Word
The slow and doom laden sound makes it hard to believe that this is a song by Motörhead. Though the original track wasn't very fast, it wasn't this slow either. But surprisingly, the doom and gloom treatment is not all that bad.
Mortar - I Am The Sword
Another excellent song selection. It sounds excellent when played in a style of old school Thrash Metal. The drumming on this one is tight and the song is filled with loads of adrenaline. The band perform this song with all guns blazing and end up delivering a brilliant cover.
Solar Deity - Orgasmatron
This is the second Black Metal to be found on this record. The track is raw and evil. The guitar riffs are good and vocals are handled well. The drumming could have been done in a better way. Variation of the drumming could have saved this track from monotony.
Purgation - Terminal Show
Surprisingly, this is the only Death Metal cover on this entire album. The song does not diverge much from the original. But in the end, it turns out to be a good cover as any other. The death growls and the crazy guitar solo take this song to a new level. The drummer shows a lot of variety and it makes the song an engaging one.
Dormant Inferno - The Game
A slow rendition one of the most famous tracks by Motörhead. When the vocalist starts the singing, it sounds absolutely menacing. The overall song sounds wicked and evil. The synth atmosphere adds to the evil of this track.
Hidden Track
There is even a hidden track on this album. It is an alternate take on 'Ace Of Spades' by Bevar Sea. It is a laid back acoustic version of Motörhead's most iconic song. While the original was fast and heavy, this one is slow and mellow.
This is a collection of good covers coming from some of the big names in the Indian Scene. Each song is given a special treatment and the end product is something that is very interesting and fun.
The album can be streamed and purchased on this link : http://motorheadtribute.bandcamp.com/
Bevar Sea - Turn You Round Again
Bevar Sea play this track in true Stoner Metal style. The bluesy guitar riffs and the vocals make this one of the highlights of this tribute album. The guitar solo is an added bonus to an already flawless track.
Albatross - God Was Never On Your Side
This ballad is rendered well by these heavy metallers. The vocalist does a good job in imparting an almost gothic feel to the song. I might even dare say, that this vocalist is better suited to this track than Lemmy's voice in the original.
Shepherd - Sacrifice
The Sludge Metal band Shepherd offer a muddy and grimy rendering of this track. The track could have been shortened as it tends to get a little tedious over the full play length.
Witchgoat - Death Or Glory
The song selection for this band couldn't have been better. Their mad blend of thrash and black metal fits in perfectly with this fast paced classic. There is some brilliant guitar work to be found here. The tin can vocals could have been avoided though. It sounds too hollow, as if the vocalist is singing inside a cave.
Djinn And Miskatonic - I Dont Believe A Word
The slow and doom laden sound makes it hard to believe that this is a song by Motörhead. Though the original track wasn't very fast, it wasn't this slow either. But surprisingly, the doom and gloom treatment is not all that bad.
Mortar - I Am The Sword
Another excellent song selection. It sounds excellent when played in a style of old school Thrash Metal. The drumming on this one is tight and the song is filled with loads of adrenaline. The band perform this song with all guns blazing and end up delivering a brilliant cover.
Solar Deity - Orgasmatron
This is the second Black Metal to be found on this record. The track is raw and evil. The guitar riffs are good and vocals are handled well. The drumming could have been done in a better way. Variation of the drumming could have saved this track from monotony.
Purgation - Terminal Show
Surprisingly, this is the only Death Metal cover on this entire album. The song does not diverge much from the original. But in the end, it turns out to be a good cover as any other. The death growls and the crazy guitar solo take this song to a new level. The drummer shows a lot of variety and it makes the song an engaging one.
Dormant Inferno - The Game
A slow rendition one of the most famous tracks by Motörhead. When the vocalist starts the singing, it sounds absolutely menacing. The overall song sounds wicked and evil. The synth atmosphere adds to the evil of this track.
Hidden Track
There is even a hidden track on this album. It is an alternate take on 'Ace Of Spades' by Bevar Sea. It is a laid back acoustic version of Motörhead's most iconic song. While the original was fast and heavy, this one is slow and mellow.
This is a collection of good covers coming from some of the big names in the Indian Scene. Each song is given a special treatment and the end product is something that is very interesting and fun.
The album can be streamed and purchased on this link : http://motorheadtribute.bandcamp.com/
Disagree with a lot of your review. Dormant Inferno sounds the weakest of the lot. Mortar's drums are programmed. Purgation does not do the song justice at all. Vocals out of place and programmed drums again. Djinn's is a very good track, but if you think Shepherd is monotonous, I'm wondering how you liked this one. 1833 is bland as always. Bevar Sea is good expect for the compressed vocals. Same problem with Witchgoat. Bad production for vocals, nothing wrong with the recording aspect. And same problem again for Dying Embrace. I expected more class from Millennium. They sound like a a hip hop band. Using 'motherfucker' again and again was out of vogue since Russell Simmons brought in hip hop.
ReplyDeleteThat's your opinion. and what i postes is my opinion. But, you are wrong to claim that Mortar's drums are programmed. I can very well assure you that they were not programmed drums. Djinn and miskatonik were the better among the doom tracks. Shepherd was monotonous to me. 1833 A.D. had the better black metal cover among the two and not bland in the least. And as for millennium, just because a band says motherfucker a lot, it does not make them a hip hop band. In the witchgoat song, what i meant was the vocal production work.
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