Archive for cover songs

Two Giants Of Metal GEORGE LYNCH And JEFF PILSON Reteam For A Killer Covers Album Heavy Hitters!

Posted in Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Music, music news, news, rock music, rock music news, world news with tags , , , , , , , on December 11, 2020 by Metal Odyssey

Los Angeles, CA – Guitar-shredding virtuoso George Lynch has reteamed with former Dokken bandmate Jeff Pilson for a set of new studio recordings that turn pop music classics into powerful metal anthems! The two have previously made metal magic together as a duo on the 2003 album Wicked Underground, which was recently reissued on vinyl, as well as with other projects such as T&N and The End Machine. But this new batch of recordings, entitled appropriately enough Heavy Hitters, stands apart not only for its outstanding roster of players and vocalists including head Bulletboy Marq Torien, Fishbone’s Angelo Moore, Kansas native Wil Martin (Earshot) and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake/Ozzy) but for the jaw-dropping song selection. If you’ve ever wondered what an amped-up, full-throttle version of Carole King’s “I Feel The Earth Move” or Prince’s “Kiss” or Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” or Madonna’s “Music,” then this is the album for you!

As a special treat, the band has released the first single from the album – a powerful rendition of Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” – featuring Martin on vocals, offering just a small taste of what’s in store.

As Lynch himself explains, “I was never a huge Duran Duran fan but I always loved this song. It was just so majestic and emotional. It was an honor and a challenge to cover it in that we had to thread the needle between respecting the original vision of the arrangement but putting our stamp on it as well.”

Pilson, meanwhile, says “The purpose of this whole record, besides having a lot of fun making it, was to take amazing hit songs and interpret them in a way that was true to the greatness of the original but that also brought something new and fresh to the song. ‘Ordinary World’ is such a great melodic and emotional song, a song I think George and I have always loved. We just wanted to add some heaviness, a little George Lynch soulful playing and then let Wil fly with that phenomenal voice.”

Stream the single: https://orcd.co/george_lynch_jeff_pilson_ordinary_world

Heavy Hitters will be available on both CD in a deluxe digipak and on limited edition colored vinyl starting December 18, courtesy of Deadline Music, a subsidiary of Cleopatra Records, Inc.!

Order the album: https://orcd.co/george_lynch_jeff_pilson_heavy_hitters

Track List:
1. One Of Us (Originally by Joan Osbourne)
2. You Got The Love (Originally by Rufus & Chaka Khan)
3. I Feel The Earth (Originally by Carole King)
4. Ordinary World (Originally by Duran Duran)
5. Music (Originally by Madonna)
6. Apologize (Originally by OneRepublic & Timbaland)
7. Nowhere To Run (Originally by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas)
8. Kiss (Originally by Prince)
9. It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (Originally by R.E.M.)
10. Champagne Supernova (Originally by Oasis)
BONUS TRACK [CD ONLY]
11. Lucille (Originally by Little Richard)

Source: Glass Onyon PR

LONG LIVE GEORGE LYNCH, JEFF PILSON And MARQ TORIEN.

STONE.

W.A.S.P. COVERS CHUCK BERRY CLASSIC – “PROMISED LAND” ON “BABYLON” ALBUM

Posted in 1960's rock and roll albums, 1960's vintage rock albums, 1960's rock & roll, 1960's rock music, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, collecting rock music, cool album covers, current heavy metal albums, current heavy metal bands, current heavy metal music, current heavy metal songs, essential heavy metal albums, essential heavy metal songs, essential rock and roll albums, guitar legends, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands, heavy metal cover songs, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal songs 2009, heavy metal vocalists, independent metal music record labels, metal music, Metal Reviews, Music, new heavy metal album, old school heavy metal, rock & roll, rock & roll hall of fame inductees, rock and roll, rock music, scary album covers, vintage rock and roll songs with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 14, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Chuck Berry "St. Louis to Liverpool" small album picW.A.S.P. has brought the Chuck Berry 1964 Rock and Roll Classic Promised Land to the Heavy Metal forefront. Promised Land is from the Chuck Berry album from 1964, St. Louis To Liverpool. Appearing on their new studio album Babylon, Promised Land is the last song, closing out a tremendously catchy and hook laden, Old School Heavy Metal album. W.A.S.P.’s Heavy Metal lays down the riffs, leads and solos that resonates power and electrifies this song. The rhythm section of W.A.S.P. sets and maintains the Metal pulse of Promised Land, balancing out a groovy ride. When an early 1960’s Rock and Roll Classic like Promised Land can be covered with the passion and intensity that W.A.S.P. brings, it is the Old School Heavy Metal balance and basics that makes this song come to life. W.A.S.P. makes this song crush with heaviness without sacrificing any early 1960’s Rock guitar sound and energy.

Nothing is overdone with W.A.S.P. covering Promised Land. This is not a cover song that is a filler for this Babylon album. I always feel, that if you are going to cover a Rock and Roll Classic, there better be plenty of emotional integrity with the music and vocals combined. A cover song has to really convey the original song’s essence and fire. Blackie Lawless does live up to my expectations with covering Promised Land vocally, he really sings the lyrics as if he penned them himself. Blackie Lawless sings the lyrics of Promised Land as if he truly was the poor boy, (in this song), traveling across the country to California. To camouflage oneself within a song’s lyrics, to make the song sound so believable as Blackie Lawless does with his vocals, is worth taking a bow. In my Metal opinion, listening to Blackie Lawless sing Promised Land makes me believe that he would have owned an enormous crowd of frenzied Rock and Roll fans back in 1964. This same sentiment goes to the entire W.A.S.P. band here, based on how authentic Promised Land plays out on Babylon. W.A.S.P. would have torn the roof down, (literally), at any given theater that catered to Rock and Roll concerts – back in the early 1960’s.

Anytime a band of any Rock or Heavy Metal genre pays tribute to such an icon such as Chuck Berry, it makes for quite the Rock and Roll history lesson. Younger bands should take notice, saluting a Rock and Roll originator such as Chuck Berry, through a high quality cover song such as W.A.S.P. has done, is of the highest compliment to this Rock and Roll legend. This cover version of Promised Land had me hooked from the opening note, it is the Heavy Metal of W.A.S.P. taking over a soda hop from 1964 and bringing it into 2009.

W.A.S.P. is not the first band in Rock and Roll history to cover Promised Land. This song is too great for it not to have been previously covered. The late and unreal legendary Elvis Presley covered this song, found on his 1975 album Promised Land. Rock icon The Grateful Dead have covered this song, (it was a staple in their live sets), plus other Rock luminaries such as Meat Loaf, James Taylor and Dave Edmunds have covered Promised Land on album too.

W.A.S.P. "Babylon" large album pic #2

Children Of Bodom – “Skeletons In The Closet” Album Of Cover Songs Is Metal Thrashing Good

Posted in Album Review, cool album covers, cover songs, creepy album covers, current extreme metal albums, current extreme metal music, current thrash metal albums, current thrash metal music, extreme metal bands, extreme metal music, guitar legends, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal music, metal music albums, metal odyssey, Music, new thrash metal albums, scary album covers, spooky album covers, Thrash Metal, thrash metal 2009, thrash metal album review, thrash metal albums, thrash metal albums 2009, thrash metal bands, thrash metal cover songs, thrash metal from finland, thrash metal guitarists, thrash metal music, thrash metal music reviews, thrash metal songs, thrash metal today with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 5, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Children Of Bodom "Skeletons in the Closet" small album pic!I really get a kick out of Alexi Laiho, his lead vocals and lead guitar play are extreme to the Metal maximum. I know that sounds rather yahoo, only there is no other way to really explain it. I like this guys style, he is hell bent on playing some of the fastest Thrash Metal Music out there. On the new Children Of Bodom album, Skeletons in the Closet, (released on September 22, 2009), there are seventeen cover songs. Of the bands and musicians that are covered here, there is one song that I simply cannot get into or simply stomach. Hey, one lousy song out of seventeen isn’t too shabby. Consider the fact, that I really like the other sixteen songs on Skeletons in the Closet and I declare this album a Metal winner. Let’s cut to the Metal chase here and I’ll just state that the cover of the Britney Spears song, Oops… I Did It Again is equally lame as it is annoying. I have never been intrigued by Britney Spears, nor do I give her even one millionth of an ounce of respect for any music she has done in her life.

I don’t hold anything against Alexi Laiho and Children of Bodom for doing this crappy cover song, the liner notes spell out clearly as to why this song was covered in the first place. I will paraphrase the explanation found in the liner notes  – apparently, Children Of Bodom, during a night of heavy drinking, were listening to a party CD they made and this crap song was looping over and over. The members of Children Of Bodom made a pact that someday they would cover this crap song, obviously they did, on Skeletons in the Closet. The explanation, (in the liner notes) for this crap cover song goes on to finish: “… and pissed a lot of people off! That’s just what we do”. In the Metal end, sure, after listening to this crap cover of Britney Spears, I felt pissed off – now I think it is damn funny, a song intended to be a joke, not to be taken seriously like it’s original artist Britney Spears.

As I stated, the remaining sixteen cover songs I like a great deal. The Thrash Metal representation of these songs explode with the power and aggression that I have always admired with Children Of Bodom. Many of my favorite Metal bands are covered extremely hard and heavy on this album: Silent Scream from SlayerAces High from Iron Maiden, Hellion from W.A.S.P., Don’t Stop At The Top from Scorpions, Mass Hypnosis from Sepultura and Waiting from King Diamond. Children Of Bodom give these songs their stylistic Thrash Metal stamp on them, I find myself appreciating their versions a whole lot. Whenever it comes to covering Slayer, man, that is a tough Metal task to take on.

Other cover songs on Skeletons in the Closet that are powerful Thrash Metal listens are: Rebel Yell from Billy Idol, Hell Is For Children from Pat Benatar and Talk Dirty To Me from Poison. These three songs standout for I like them a great deal more than the original versions. Ghost Riders In The Sky appears on this album too, (it appears on the Children Of Bodom album Blooddrunk as an unlisted ghost song, excuse the pun). Somebody Put Something In My Drink from the Ramones is excellent! Alexi Laiho sounds like he is really enjoying this song as I listen to him sing it. Still, nothing can ever top the original version of this song by the unreal great and legendary Ramones. Trust me, you will NEVER know that the song Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) is from Kenny Rogers. NO WAY, am I ever interested in hearing the original version either… especially since this cover version Thrashes like there is no tomorrow.

Overall, the Metal verdict is Skeletons in the Closet is loaded with fiery Thrash Metal passion from Children Of Bodom, with their trademark keyboards only enhancing the experience. I will listen to this covers album for years, hopefully decades to come. I am soon going to use the “F” word… watch out… here it comes… Children Of Bodom made a darn fun album here. Thankfully the crap song is the very last on the track list, making it easier to just end the album at song #16. I recommend Skeletons in the Closet and always highly recommend Children Of Bodom to all.

Children Of Bodom "Skeletons in the Closet" large pic #2


ICED EARTH – “Tribute to the Gods” is a fine Metal tribute indeed.

Posted in Alice cooper, Century Media, Gene Simmons, Guitar, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Metal Reviews, Iced Earth, Iron Maiden, Metal, Metal Reviews, Music, Paul Stanley, Rock, Vocals with tags , , , , , , , , , , on March 30, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Iced Earth released the Metal cover song album – Tribute to the Gods in 2002. This album packs quite the Metal tribute, to some of the most revered bands in the history of Metal. A sampling of some of the songs covered, with their respective legendary Metal band: KissCreatures of the Night & God of Thunder, Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath, Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance, AC/DC – Highway To Hell, Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name & Number Of The Beast. There are 11 Metal cover songs in all, with Alice Cooper and Blue Oyster Cult rounding out the tribute list of Metal bands.

Jon Schaffer, founding member, plays rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar. Jon Schaffer is someone I hold in extremely high regard as a musician and song writer. Every song is covered with exceptional Metal brilliance on Tribute to the Gods, the musicianship that is heard here takes nothing away from the original songs. To put it plain and simple, this album is as fine a tribute as you will ever hear for these classic Metal tunes, giving nod of appreciation and a thunderous Metal thanks to all the legendary Metal bands listed earlier. Matthew Barlow on lead vocals is tremendous, I always look to him as the lead singer for Iced Earth. Matthew Barlow has his signature vocals that stand out, he never over reaches on any of these vintage Metal tracks. If you are new to Iced Earth, this is a great starting point for catching up on one of the Metal world’s most underrated bands to ever exist.

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