Masters of Misery
Well, well. This one's truly a catch. There's like, a million Black Sabbath tributes in this world, all no doubt covering the same s**t over and over and over (Iron Man for the rockers, Hand of Doom for doom metal bands in the making, Changes for the saps...and Ozzy with his kid.).
If I left any implication that this tribute features unique Sabbath covers, I'm kind of bullshitting you, but at the least the covers manage to sound different from the originals, which may or may not be good. Let's just jump in.
Cathedral - Wheels of Confusion
Now Earache was mostly a death metal label but they had these guys, a doom metal act with disco elements that sang about witches and skeletons minus all the spookiness of a typical horror-punk tune. Anyways, Cathedral worshipped Sabbath enoguh to recruit Tony for one song and call Kind Diamond a bunch of ******** pussies and it shows here. This cover is very faithful to the classic, except for Lee Dorrian's voice. The Coventry Cokehead has a grating voice to listen to at times, but here he kinda lays back a bit and sings, which isn't bad but not necissarily great. It's faithful but it's bland, and they fade out before we get to hear "The Straightener". 3 outta 5.
Now you'd think this sets the ground for one shitty cover after another, but thankfully I was wrong...then right, but at least wrong for the next song...
Sleep - Snowblind
This is the greatest cover on planet Earth. Period. Sleep don't just stay faithful and stay heavy to their Sabbath-worshipping veins, they absolutely destroy it and make the old Harbringers of Metal look like old codgers and stuttering retards. Seriously, Ozzy himself commented about how amazing this cover (and the band.) is. It's slower and more massive, and the solo-ing is ******** strong! ******** the original, this is where it's at (And that's saying a lot, because Snowblind is easily Sabbath's best song.)! The more I listen to this, the more I miss Sleep. 5(00) outta 5.
Godflesh - Zero the Hero
Odd cover, as they cover a song from "Born Again", that infamous Gillan-Sabbath album with the satanic baby for the album cover. I haven't heard the original, so I'm kinda stumped here. The instrumental is plodding and sludgy, but the vocals are kinda...bland and catatonic. I can't say much here but the song I will give a 3 outta 5 for it's morbid sound.
Confessor - Hole in the Sky
Faithful to the original, catchy, vocals are kinda cheesy sounding. I think this is the cover that ends with the coughing intro to Sweet Leaf. I'm not sure exactly, but one of the covers on here ends that way. 3 outta 5.
a**l c**t - Killing Yourself to Live
It's a**l c**t, covering a song. Pretty run-of-the-mill, but catchy in a disturbing sense. It's a shame they didn't include the other covers they did (Sabra Cadabra, It's Alright, and Blow on a Jug.) as they culled this from the Hydra Head split. a**l c**t have to be the only band to have covered Blow on a Jug. I do admit their picture is funny, as they're holding up a vinyl of "The Eternal Idol" and giving a thumbs up. 3 out of 5.
Fudge Tunnel - Changes
Even covers of this song suck. I mean, it's Changes. I don't care what you do to it, this song is s**t. And oddly enough, there are bright spots about this cover.
1. Instead of pianos, they use a BAD-a** downtuned riff and rhythm section. Seriously, someone should take this instrumental and make a better song out of it.
2. It's better than the original.
3. It's MILES better than the duet re-make with Kelly Osbourne.
So overall, I give it a 2 outta 5 (It'd be more like a 20 compared to the original.)
O.L.D. - Who Are You?
Another Sabbath song I've yet to hear, but I don't really care. This song KILLS. Lots of bizarre synthesizer work, fast-a** drumming, and Alan Dubin's (Khanate) sick vocal performance. ********, after hearing this (and a few other covers of it), do I really need to hear the original? 5 out of 5.
Brutal Truth - Lord of This World
Grunting Death metal with guys with creepy smiles (and one off-shoot shirtless guy looking "tuff" wink . I guess you'll like it if you're a fan of the band (and no doubt you'll own the Melvins' single with them covering Zodiac as well!). 2 out of 5.
Ultraviolence - Paranoid
What in the ********, this is hilarious. Unlike the other bands here(extreme metal acts), Ultraviolence is an extreme techno act. This song has lots of repetition and the ends of each line repeated 3 or 4 times, plus a lot of monotoned "Oh yeah!". You'd think a techno remix of Paranoid would be the ultimate bastardization, but this is way too comical to be so bad it's bad. Plus Ultraviolence in his picture looks like he's about to bust out a light-saber from his wrist and take on the putty patrol.
4 outta 5.
Pitch Shifter - N.I.B.
This cover is annoying as s**t. Too much break-downs and not enough uhh...not sucking? No wait, they're missing the "Oh Yeah!". The original was lots of fun to listen to. This isn't. 1 outta 5.
Scorn - The Wizard
"The Wizard" by Black Sabbath - a folky, hard-rockin' number with some mean ******** harmonicas. I bet Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! would have sucked less with some harmonicas. This song is about 4 minutes long.
"The Wizard" by Scorn - A slow, plodding industrial number with watery, mellow vocals. Repetitive and trippy...and a sign that Earache has dawned to s**t by opening to more genres. I like it, but it IS odd. Oh yeah, it's about 13 minutes long. 3 out of 5.
Iron Monkey - Cornucopia
Oh snap! It's Iron Monkey, the European EYEHATEGOD! (Or as some people call them, EYEHATEMONKEY). This cover is much sludgier than the original, and it makes me want to go ******** INSANE! It's arranged differently from the original as well, and John Paul Marrow's vocals fit the Earache monicker all too well. 3 outta 5.
Cathedral - Solitude
God, another cover by Cathedral!? It sounds more like a darker Jethro Tull. I dunno why it's there. Thankfully, it's shorter than the original. But still...2 outta 5.
Overall, it's pretty diverse, which I say is damn good but typical Sabbath fans and people stuck on one genre will probably be turned off. Too bad there's no Napalm Death, who were pretty much the poster boys for Earache (You know they could have thrown in like, a five-second cover of Faeries Wear Boots or SOMETHING.).
I give this compliation a 7 outta 10.
