Iron Butterfly - Heavy

Like everyone born after, let's say 1975, the first song I knew from Iron Butterfly was In-A-Godda-Da-Vida. Unlike most people, my song knowledge goes beyond that song. It even extends past the album of the same name. I won't claim to be the biggest fan, but I will claim to own two Iron Butterfly albums, because aside from one Best of... package I once found, these are the only two CDs I've come across in my journeys.

I've personally owned two different versions of the aforementioned album. One was the standard CD release. The other was a special addition that only included alternate versions of the famous track that I purchased years later.

When I stumbled across the Best of... package I was just starting my CD collection and hadn't even bought the standard copy of In-A-Godda-Da-Vida yet. My dad, which introduced me to Iron Butterfly, didn't even realize that they had more than one album, since Detroit didn't play a lot of California Acid Rock in the 70's. So, when I asked him about if it would be worth picking up he wasn't sure.

Years later while in college, and long after replacing my orignal In-A-Godda-Da-Vida with the special edition version, I stumbled across Heavy. I was working part time, my only real expense was food and schooling, so I was more risky about buying music I had never heard. We didn't have youtube or napster (which I was against anyway) yet, so there was no way to preview the music.

I get home, throw the CD in the player, sit back and enjoy. I have enjoyed this CD ever since. It's my favourite of the two CDs I own from Iron Butterfly. This album was also the band's first.

It opens with Possession which is a heavy and haunting song about a man's possessive nature towards a woman he really seems not to care about. It's like The Beatles meet Type O Negative. In fact I often wonder how much Peter Steele and Josh Silver listened to Iron Butterfly.

Now I should mention that this album does have a differnt feel than the other mentioned because half the band changed from the first album to the second. Doug Ingle (vocals, organ) and Ron Bushy (drums) were the only members that stayed on. Musically this may have been for the best, since this allowed the band to get heavier in later years.

Unconscious Power, is the second song on the album. It's a fantastic number, that's really upbeat and has a fast boogey to it. I would say that the bass line gives it almost a Surf Rock feel.

The next song is a cover of Allen Toussaint's get Out of My Life Woman. After researching the name I discover it's the same guy that wrote Working In Coalmine, to which I love Devo's version. This song I don't care for as much. It's a little too slow and draggy on this album, and it slows things down in a way I don't like. The album picks back up with Gentle As It May Seem, and because of the heavy blues feel on the last song, this one seems very natural in it's placement afterward. This song's a bit Bluesy, a little Pop, and very cinamatic in a certain way.

Side one of the vinyl finished with You Can't Win. This would have been a fantastic conclusion to the first side. Musically it's more like the first two songs, but with a slower beat like Possession.

I also feel I should mention that the last two songs were written by two of the members that left the band after this album, Darryl DeLoach (tambourine, vocals) and Danny Weis (guitar). Jerry Penrod (bass guitar, vocals) also left after this album but had no writing contributions.

So-Lo opens up the second side of the vinyl. From this point on DeLoach writes all the lyrics and Ingle the music. Based on that, I must say that Ingel was definately the better music writer. Iron Butterfly's lyrics have always been a bit sketchy. The next song on the album should have opened the second side. Look For The Sun, the only song on the second side to feature Weis as a music writer as well. It is once again back to being haunting as all hell. For a bunch of hippies they sure got freaky.

Fields Of Sun is just as heavy as every other song on this album. I have no clue how the hell Ingle was able to constantly achieve such a beautifuly creepy sound with his vocals and organs, especially on songs that should be more sunshine sounding lyrically.

The second to last song on the album is Stampede Ideas. It's a fast paced, pleasantly happy sounding number. A little more Hippy typical, but not as loose and free.

I normally only like songs that contain the band's name because of camp value. However, the last song, Iron Butterfly Theme is a work of fucking genius. It sounds like a Mecha Mothra attacking a city. I mean a really big iron butterfly totally trashing the city of San Diego. Douglas Ingle is just absolutely brilliant when he is writing heavy instrumental based songs, and this one doesn't contain a single word.

As I said at the beginning this is my favourite Iron Butterfly album so far. There are three more I have yet to hear. However, based on just the two I have mentioned in this article, I have to say that the band members that stayed, except for Penrod, were the ones that needed to stay. Penrod's bass I think would have added to future albums. I don't really care for DeLoach's vocals, at least not as much as I like Ingle's. As for Ron Bushy, he was the only member of the band to play on every album, and his drums were one of the best parts of the band.

8/10 - content

7/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias

Last Action Hero - Music From The Original Motion Picture

As a movie Last Action Hero had one thing going for it. The soundtrack was chalked full of awesome goodies, from a variety of styles that help make up the world of Rock and Metal. There's even a little Hip Hop and Nu Metal (which didn't officially exist yet).

The main reason everyone, including myself, bought this album was for AC/DC's Big Gun. The boys from Downunder were riding high off the success of their double CD, Live. This was the only radio single the band had for the next four years or more. It was huge for them, and a great example of why some songs go on soundtracks. It's great in that cheesy kind of way.

I've never been a fan of Alice In Chains. What The Hell Have I was recorded during the Dirt album sessions, but was shelved. It later ended up on here, and it's okay. But this is a prime example of what soundtracks are really made of.

Megadeth Angry Again is a song I like. It's a bit of a throw away, and a little commercial, but other than that pretty solid.

Queensryche and Def Leppard help fill out this albums sissy girl quota. In other words they supply the two ballads for this album. Real World, from Queensryche, it at least pretty and nice to listen to. Two Steps Behind on the other hand is the reason I started to really dislike Def Leppard. In fact it was the reason I stopped listening to them for a couple years.

Anthrax is another band I normally have very little use for. East Coast Thrash Metal always seemed so much thinner than it's West Coast countrer parts. Poison My Eyes is one of the songs I've heard from them that I actually enjoy. However, it may just be from the amount of times I've listened to this album.

The Aerosmith version of Dream On is not the original. It was performed with an orchestra for MTV's 10th Anniversary Special. Except for the vocals, I like this version better than the original. The orchestra really adds to it.

A little Bitter is the second song Alice In Chains contributes to the album. Although heavy, and full of the rage I normally like, I can't stand the droning sound found through out all of their music.

Cypress Hill may be one of the few Hip Hop acts back in the early to mid 90's I didn't hate. Cock the Hammer was the reason for this. The only other song from them I knew was Insane In The Membrane, which had gotten way over played by the contingent of students that were stoned thug wannabes. However, this song kept me respecting Cypress Hill as musicians to some extent.

I know nothing of Fishbone. The song Swim is the only song to this day that I ever remember hearing. It was one of those songs that would be the prototype for Nu Metal, but I like this better than most Nu Metal.

Tesla performs the albums title track, or movie theme song if you prefer. Telsa was one of those hair bands I normally avoided. With the exception of their cover of Sign, I can't think of a single song I know by name and my step mom even owned one of their albums.

The last song on the album is the only song that is movie score like. Michael Kamen and The Los Angeles Rock And Roll Ensemble Featuring Buckethead performed Jack the Ripper. Let me start by saying this is the first time I had ever heard of Buckethead. It was also the last time until some point five or more years later. The song is really well done in a very standard action movie score sort of way.

On the whole most of my feelings toward this album are feelings of nostalgia. This album is a shining example of the confused and slightly sad state of music at the time. There was a lot of flash and styling, but the substance was missing. The heart and soul were absent in a body of splashy design. It's like a Corvette with a Chevette engine.

6/10 - content

7/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

Metallica - Hero Of the Day (Featuring The Whole Motorheadache Mess)

When Metallica started releasing singles for the ...And Justice For All album they did something awesome that most bands didn't do. They released songs you wanted to hear that weren't on the album as just b-sides. They were collectable, and oh yeah, they were also covers, not just studio out takes.

Breadfan by Budgie was the first song to start this awesome craze. This continued on with every single from the Black Album. By the time Load and Reload came out the band had shifted to releasing live versions of all those covers, for those like me that couldn't get them the first time around. However, we still got four new covers as well.

Overkill, Damage Case, Stone Dead Forever and Too Late Too Late, all ended up on a special Strictly Limited Edition version of Hero Of The Day. This was the only way to get all four songs together at the same time, and I made sure I had it.

The only reason I'm covering this album, and I won't cover any of the other singles, is due to the reason I will cover Garage Days Re-Visited. The Original Garage was only five songs, a Maxi EP, of covers. This album is the same, except it has one studio track and four covers recorded in a way that sounds like the original Garage. So, this review feels justified.

Let me start with Hero Of The Day. The Metal side of me goes, "What's this Alternative shit!?" The Hard Rock side of me goes, "This is a bit to mellow for me." The Classic Rock side of me goes, "This isn't too bad. Not great, but okay." The side of me that listens to everyhting else goes, "Ummm, hmmmm."

Eventually I'll write more on that song when I cover the Load album. Now on to the good stuff.

I would like to start by thanking Metallica for introducing me to Motorhead. I'd only ever heard Ace Of Spades prior to this, and a friend we shall call Varg, over played the shit out of the one song. However, thanks to this album I later ventured into Motorhead all on my own, and the first thing I picked up was the album Overkill.

The song that leads of this four song collection is the title track from that album. It's one of the heaviest, hardest, thundering songs I have ever heard. It is the perfect mix of Hard/Metal/Punk. This song makes Thrash Metal it's bitch, after snorting a line of coke and sodomizing anything that musically resembles Deathklok, has to offer. Oh yeah, the song doesn't have just one fake ending. It comes back to skull fuck you twice with bone rattling fury.

Also, the only differnce between the Metallica version and the Motorhead version is no one sounds like Lemmy.

At this point I would like to just say go out and buy the original versions because these sound just like those, but with James singing and James is not Lemmy. However, these songs are just fucking awesome. These covers rock hard.

As much as i love Overkill I think Damage Case is the best Metallica-like performance of the four covers. By which I mean that it's the only song I think James isn't chasing the ghost of Lemmy's voice. It sounds like it could easily be a Metallica song all on it's own.

Stone Dead Forever is a good song, but you can hear this is not really a produced track. It's awesome for the value that is this song, and the way it was released. It may be the weakest song on the collection.

I don't care for Too Late Too Late, including the Motorhead version. It's just the song. This version is just as good as all the other covers, and much like Damage Case sounds like it could even be a Metallica track. Just a track I don't care for. At the time I was uber happy I picked up this collection when I did, even if it was on the Hero Of the Day single. In retrospect I could have waited the extra two years to get them all together on Garage Inc., without the actually single.

7/10 - content

8/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias

Bonus Track: Kill/Ride Medley (live). I decided at the last minute just to mention that the other H.O.T.D. single I have includes a medley (not the same as a mash up, for today's musically retarded). The songs thrown into the mix, and in order, are Ride The Lightning, No Remorse, Hit The Lights, The Four Horsemen, Phantom Lord and Fight Fire With Fire. I love this medley, it's 10:17 of fast paced fury, that covers a great collection of songs from two different albums. When I saw them perform it live my only complaint was, that Horsemen was in there and not played as the full song. However, this track rocks my Mp3 player often.

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die

* Note from the Author. There is only one Black Sabbath, and they are Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne. All other versions of Black Sabbath may be referred to as Heaven and Hell to prevent confusion and my going off about the subject.

After writing the reviews for both Nativity In Black albums (Black Sabbath tributes) I decided I should write a review for an actual Sabbath album.

I only own two albums from the original Heavy Metal band, that are not compilations. The first one is Paranoid, a staple of any serious Classic Rock collection. Also you can't really be into Metal without owning that album. However, that's not the album I decided to review.

I decided to start reviewing Black Sabbath with their second most obscure album, and the last album with the band I consider Black Sabbath.

This album never should have been released. In fact Ozzy had already left the band, and the other three members had started working with Ronnie James Dio on what would become the Heaven and Hell album. Although after some discussion the group decided to try making one more album and see if they could recapture the old vibe. It didn't quite work, but they made one of their most unique albums.

In 1978 they released Never Say Die and then promptly fell apart, died, and released the album they in fact wanted to release with Dio, which was much better. However, that doesn't mean this album should be ignored. If you like Jazz, and I mean real Jazz, you may be interested in this one.

The title track starts the album off. It's pretty much the best commercial song on the album. In fact only one other song is in that precious 3:30 time limit of commercial success. I love the song Never Say Die, for one major reason. A Black Sabbath song that you can honestly dance to. It's not a dance song, or a slow song like Changes. This is more like a classic 50's style rock song that you might hear at a sock hop, or a bit poppy like early Beatles. Real classic Rock & Roll stuff.

Johnny Blade is the next track on the album. Very dark alley Jazz sounding. It's seedy in sound and really grimey in feel. It could kind of be considered proto Goth. I really like this one, in it's artistic capacity. From thethe first verse "Toutured and twisted, he walk the streets / People avoid him, they know the street's his own / Cold blade of silver, his eyes they burn so wild / Mean as a tiger, socety's own child", this song conjures up a victim of the wrong side of the tracks.

The second track flows so smoothly into the third that it's hard to figure out where one stops and the other starts. Junior's Eyes is listed as being 6:41 and when you tack that on to the 6:27 of the previous track it seems like a really big Jazz jam. This song isn't as good as the first two, and this is where the album starts to get shakey.

I swear that only Black Sabbath and Metallica can get away with having an average song length of five an half minutes on each album. A Hard Road is a bouncy track that comes in at 6:03, although the last minute or two are a bit repetitive for my likings. It would be an okay tune if it were done by someone other than Black Sabbath, but not that okay.

Shock Wave is okay. It sounds a bit like a filler track from Masters Of Reality or Vol. 4, but without the cool, heavy, scary sound that normally comes with a Sabbath song.

A very pretty, and totally out of place song, is Air Dance. I don't know how to describe this song correctly. It's like Zappa meets Bowie meets my Papa's Jazz collection. It's a really good song instrumentally, but it does not have that Sabbath feel or vibe.

Over To You picks the pace back up a bit, but only in a dragging your ass kind of way. Also what the fuck is with all the piano? I think if I had been in charge of the vinyl album cover production at the time, side two would have read Piano Side. There's nothing wrong with all the piano either. I liked it in Air Dance and I don't even mind Changes from a previous album, but Sabbath is not really a piano/keyboard band. They should have left that purely to Led Zeppelin.

The shortest song on the album is Breakout at 2:36. It's another really Jazzy kind of track, complete with a saxaphone this time even. It's a wicked instrumental, that sounds very jammy, and it seems to serve more as an intro for Swinging the Chain. Which is the last song on the album.

Bill Ward sings the final track, instead of Ozzy. This song is very much an old blues kind of song. Black Sabbath working on the chain gang would be the best way to describe it.

Over all this isn't a bad album, it's just a bad Black Sabbath album. If it were an album by Earth (when Black Sabbath was a Blues/Jazz band) it might be a different story. I wouldn't suggest this album to any Sabbath fan, but I might suggest it to someone that was looking for something dark, artsy and different.

5/10 - content

4/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias

Deep Purple - Come Hell Or High Water

I love Deep Purple, in a "Best of..." kind of way, based on my experience. I've never had access to proper albums, just compilations or live stuff. Anyone I knew with classic Purple vinyl didn't have a needle, and once CD's were around all anyone ever bought was Greatest Hits packages. To this day I've never ventured out of this myself except to buy a live album.

The very first Deep Purple anything I bought was Come Hell Or High Water. I picked this up through BMG, one of those mail order clubs. I don't remember if it was part of my 12 for 1 cent introduction offer, or one of those mandatory CDs to finish my obligation.

This album was recorded in two seperate locations, on two different dates, both in 1993. The line-up for this album was Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillian, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, and to be honest you can tell that they are feeling their age in the face of being forced out by Grunge and Alternative bands.

Most of the album is made up of Deep Purple standards, and a couple others I don't really know except for being on this album. I should mention that Deep Purple is one of those bands that Detroit Radio really liked when I was a kid, and they weren't afraid to play a variety.

The album opens with Highway Star. A song that I always thought was over rated, and on here it's really lack luster. It does nothing for me at all. In fact it sounds more like it was recorded during a soundcheck than in front of an audience.

Black Night, is good song normally on it's own. Not even close to one of my favourites, but a good song all the same. On here it suffers from the same piss poor production that hurt the opener.

A Twist In The Tail was the first song on this album I didn't know. It really sounds N.W.O.B.H.M., or what directly inspired it. I was happy to hear the song, is was a nice fresh breath of air. Sadly the production really hurt it too. But when I relisten to the song as i write this it inspires me to go search out the original and see if it blows my mind.

Deep Purple was, and still might be, the loudest band on Earth. When I say that, I mean they at one time held that actual distinctive world record. That being said, I will no longer mention the shitty ass production of this album, because it was a real bring-me-down. It is the reason I only listen to this album maybe once every half decade.

The next track up is Perfect Strangers. Another song I didn't really know from Purple. I've heard it before, maybe once or twice, but only enough to know that this version didn't sound very good.

I also don't know Anyone's Daughter. I don't want to know this song either. It's more humourous sounding than I like from a band that is so damn amazingly gifted. I also don't think Deep Purple should do country/folky sounding stuff like this either. I don't even want to look for the original.

Child In Time left me feeling a bit let down too. The keyboards, while sounding close to the original, were not close enough to be enjoyable. In fact they sounded dumbed down. I swear all the production value went into this song. The band finally opens up and explodes in just the right spot, and then slowly moves into a slightly disjointed exploritory rediscovery of a classic song.

I think at this point it switched from one show to the next, just due to the sound production changing. It actually get's much better on the second half.

The next track is really pretty and a sign of things to come from Blackmore. That is right up until Anya becomes big, brash and something more atuned to Rainbow than Deep Purple. Another song that I didn't know before hearing it here, but I don't know if I'd look up the original.

I would have to say that of all the songs on this album Speed King is another one I wish they wouldn't have used from the older days. I don't mind the song, but it isn't the Purple I like. It's one of those ones I don't understand why it's as popular as it is. I could also do without the extra goofy jam in the middle of the song. We didn't need to go there, or anywhere else extra that it went.

Okay, you know it has to be on the album. You can't have a live Deep Purple album without it. So here it is, 10:09 of Smoke On The Water. It's the last song on the album. The big encore that get's everyone moving and shaking and leaves you wanting more. It gets a really big build up. This has an exploration that I can understand. They work the crowd really well, something that only really shows up on this song, and go somewhere worth going, before getting where they need. When they do, they do it with a sledge hammer.

This is the only song on the entire album that clearly sounds like the original band is performing it. It's also the only song that really sounds like a live album. The way the crowd is worked and the music is played, has that great live feel and energy. Basically the production on this album sucks. It's complete and total rubbish. It's also easy to tell this is the end of the Blackmore era of Deep Purple. The band just doesn't sound together at all. Using today's technology, I would describe it as listening to a good tribute band that recorded a live performance for Youtube.

4/10 - content

3/10 - production

4/10 - personal bias

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

The full title of the album is The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. Originally released on vinyl in 1972, this album contained only 11 songs. The version I'm reviewing is the 1990 CD re-issue that contains five bonus tracks.

Let me start with I don't care what you say about David Bowie. I don't care if during the 70's he was enjoying being gangraped by all of The Rolling Stones at one time. He was making amazing music, that timelessly transcends so many boundries.

However, he was an ever changing face in music. More so, and with much more class, than Madonna. He went through so many phases, right up until the early days of main stream Goth/Industrial. Like many though, my favourite was the Spaceman/Ziggy Stardust period.

The album opens up with Five Years. It set's the mood, and gives a great opening. It's very strong and passionate, like the rest of the album.

Soul Love is very nice but doesn't do much for me. It's the only real filler to me, and I'm happy it's over and done with so early on the album.

Moonage Daydream is a fantastic song. The beauty of Bowie is his ability to perform as a true character. This song get's so crazy Sci-Fi, that you can't help but feel like you are following this beyond-gendered spaceman to the furthest reaches of the cosmos.

The song is only 4:37, but the epicness of it makes a person with eyes closed, and imaginations opened, travel for millions of light years. To quote a favourite movie of mine, "Lost in time, lost in space, and meaning." That sums up the feeling conveyed by the song, not my feelings toward it. There's a whole bunch of meaning in it.

Starman is a fun poppy tune. I like to sing along especially in the chorus "There's a starman waiting in the sky /He'd like to come and meet us / But he thinks he'd blow our minds / There's a starman waiting in the sky / He's told us not to blow it / Cause he knows it's all worthwhile", evertime I hear it. I never feel a need to skip, or turn it off. In fact I'd smack the hands of someone that tried. I wouldn't put it on my Mp3 player, though. Not the type of Pop Rock I enjoy listening to. It sounds too distant and orchestrated.

Now it should be said that this is a concept album. The trials and tribulations of the rise to stardom, and the inevitable crash that always follows. It Ain't Easy would be a fantastic song, although a bit of a filler, if it weren't for the fact that it's essential to the story of the album. The story of how hard it is to be a struggling up and coming band, because it ain't easy. That makes the song even better.

I'm not sure what to make of Lady Stardust. It's a great, smokey frontier bar, kind of song. In the idea and vain of Let It Be or more recently Lady Gaga's Speechless. Other than that it's like other songs from here. I wouldn't skip it, and I enjoy it, but wouldn't Mp3 it.

I feel the exact same way about Star as well. However, this song is more of a rockin' old school Rock & Roll song.

Hang Onto Yourself is a great ruckus of a song, in the classic whirlwind style of A Hard Days Night. Which at the time wasn't that classic, less than a decade old in fact.

My favourite Bowie song is Ziggy Stardust. It's my goto Karaoke song when in doubt. It's the one Bowie song I would have wanted to include in a set list with any band, no matter how Metal. I love this song. If I were to put together one mix tape that I could only listen to for the rest of my life, this would be on it.

Suffragette City taught me the expression "Wham, bam, thank-you ma'am." For that reason and that reason alone this song is totally cool to the thirteen year old boy in me. This song is just pure dirty, down on your luck sex, in a way that only a good upbeat Soul song can do. I have to say that David Bowie, especially in the 1970's, really knew how to use and exploit that Big Band, Soul, Stokes, Beatles Pop, combination that I've never heard done the same since.

The original vinyl ends with Rock 'N' Roll Suicide. This is in my top ten of Bowie songs. It starts so simple, with Bowie saying/singing "Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth / You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette / The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget / Ohhh how how how, you're a rock 'n' roll suicide", and builds up in a way that is so gradual that you barely notice it. By 1:20 it's clear that this song is going to get big. By the time you hit 2:12 the song has hit what could be considered arena status. It is the big closing number.

The bonus tracks begin with a previously unreleased mix of John, I'm Only Dancing. I'm not sure how the mix is that much different, but it doesn't matter because it's the same fun danceable song as always.

Originally an out-take that became a B-side from the Ziggy Stardust recording sessions, Velvet Goldmine, is a great song. It's so good that it's not only a song I enjoy on this re-issue, but it's become a fan favourite over the decades. To the point where it's included on most compliations that reflect that time period.

Sweet Head is another previously unreleased track and it's very easy to figure out why. I think the censors of that day would have gone ballistic about listening to Bowie singing/shouting "Give you sweet head." Especially considering he's clearly singing about another dude. The early 70's weren't that progressive. That aside, this is actually a good song.

The last two tracks are unreleased demo versions of Lady Stardust and Ziggy Stardust, except they appear in the opposite order. However, the Lady Stardust demo only deserves the mention of, it's a nice bonus for the fans that want it. The Ziggy Stardust demo is fucking fanstastic, if you want to listen to Bowie perform an accoustic version of the song. I do. I don't put it on my Mp3 player, but I do like cranking it up at home. I would put this on a mixed tape of various accoustic songs.

This album is considered one of the greats for a good reason. My main argument for that is, it's a fully functioning concept album, where each song works perfectly in an individual manner. Very few artists know how to do that as well as Bowie does on this album.

I wouldn't call every song a masterpiece, but they don't need to be. The beauty is in the rough edges, and off colour sounds, that have been polished to a spectacular shine, without over production. Were it not for my personal bias towards certain songs this would be a perfect album, without the CD's bonus tracks for extra points.

10/10 - content

10/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

Nativity In Black II - A Tribute To Black Sabbath

Six years! It took six long years to finally get a follow up to Nativity In Black, and it wasn't entirely worth it.

Most of the songs on the original Nativity were pretty faithful to the originals, but with personal tweeks from the bands so that the songs sounded like the artists/groups performing them, and not just blatant covers. This album went a little more to the personalized side. All the songs sound like the original, except for one, but the different stylization changes in some cases really hurt some songs while others were made into interesting listens.

Also like the original, this album mainly features groups performing the songs together, with the exception of Ozzy. This time he is joined by Primus. Also a quarter of the bands this time represent a new style of Metal that didn't exsist when the last album was released, Nu Metal. There's also Hip Hop/Rap elements on this album too. Yikes!

The album starts with Godsmack performing Sweet Leaf. I'm not a fan of Godsmack, but I don't dislike them either. This cover is pretty much the same thing. It's good, but not as good as the original.

Hole In The Sky, performed by Machine Head follows that up. It's pretty decent, not as good as other covers I've heard of this song, but acceptable.

Static-X crank out a version of Behind The Wall Of Sleep, which is impressive since it's not the *most common Sabbath song. That's where the praise stops, and the ripping on the album never starts.

Megadeth are the only returning band from the original Nativity In Black. This time they are performing Never Say Die, a song so rare that it never gets airplay of any type. In fact the Original band pretty much ignore this song and the album it came from all together. That being said, this is a great song, and the Megadeth cover is just as good, if not better, than the original one.

A uniquely stylized version of Snow Blind is played by System Of A Down. This is a band I've never really cared for. I respect them as musicians, but for the most part they are a little too screamy for me. This song doesn't have that problem. Instead it sounds like they only learned half the song and then faked their way through the rest. The product is actually a very interesting and still enjoyable rendition of the song.

Electric Funeral is done by Pantera on this album. I'm not sure why they weren't able to contribute to the last tribute record, but based on this performance that was a mistake. Pantera is one of the few yelling Metal bands I like. They also cover Black Sabbath better than anyone else I have ever heard. I would have paid good money for an entire Sabbath album done by them.

Primus backs up Ozzy for a stunning rendition of N.I.B. Much like the last album this pretty much sounds like a complete modern redo of the original, except Primus plays this complicated song with more of the same ease as the original band. In fact you would swear that Les Claypool studied every single finger placement that Geezer Butler originally played.

Aside from Seasons In the Abyss, and maybe one or two other songs, I have never had any use for Slayer. I owned a shirt I use to wear all the time from them, but that's only because my grandma bought it for me, and I felt I should wear it. However, this cover of Hand Of Doom is fantastic. They really did a bang up job on this song, while keeping it Slayer sounding.

Now Slayer is a band that's a little too much with the yelling and screaming for my likings, but they toned it down for their cover. Soulfly on the hand stunk up their cover of Under The Sun with nothing but boring standard punk growl yelling. Musically the song is very sound, but vocally I can't be bothered with it. Just not my thing.

Sabbra Cadabra is one of my favourite Sabbath songs, and I even come very close to saying that I like the Metallica version better than the original, because of the different arrangements. On this album that song is done by Hed (PE). It is like the original, more or less. This is the Hip Hop element I was talking about, which doesn't hurt the song, but it doesn't entirely help it either. It is the second most interesting (not best) song on this album.

Monster Magnet's Into the Void brings things back to normal, after an abnormal intro. I like these guys, they seem to know how to make good sounding music. I don't own anything from them as of this writing, but anything I've heard I've liked more or less. This song falls into that catagory too. My only real complaint is the track tends to drag on a bit longer than I would like.

The most interesting song on this album belongs to one of the few Rappers I actually like. Busta Rhymes performs Iron Man (This Means War). This is more Busta sampling Iron Man, but with actual musicians and Ozzy performing different/new lyrics that have nothing to do with the original. To me this is an entirely different song from the original, but is still very much a tribute in it's own way.

After this album I don't know if i would pick up a copy of Nativity in Black III if one ever came out, but it's cool to see the influence of Black Sabbath in different and unique ways. If I was a fan of more of the bands I would probably like this album more than I do. It's not that it's a bad cover album, I've heard worse. It's just not as good as the previous Nativity In Black.

7/10 - content

8/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias