Description

I have to admit that I've become just as leery of tribute albums as the next guy, but just when I was ready to give up on them entirely labels like D-Rock and Magna Carta come along with the brilliant idea of mixing and matching band members from different groups on the same song. "A Call To Irons" doesn't follow this format, which is one strike against it. On the plus side, only a few of the songs are ruined by out-of-place death metal vocals (Vital Remains' take on "The Trooper" comes to mind). Another thumbs up is the superb track listing, though it does focus on the earlier material, withmore… nothing newer than "Powerslave" (Ancient Wisdom) and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" (Opera IX). The latter is one of my favorite Maiden tunes ever, but I have decidedly mixed feelings about the rendition included here. Though it's played superbly, it's one of those with the black metal vocals, which in itself could have been a minor complaint, except that the screeching is alternated with unprocessed female vocals on the chorus. A jarring listen, more like fingernails on a blackboard than a repeat viewing of Eraserhead. Absu are widely considered one of the premier black metal bands around, and they get my vote by having the decency to pick an instrumental: "Transylvania" is capably handled by these Texan legends, at a faster tempo than the original of course. Even at the increased speed Absu never get sloppy, and for a black metal group the soloing is quite astounding. I'm definitely going to check these guys out. Another instrumental classic, "Genghis Kahn", is covered by Angel Corpse, who I'm assuming are another death/black metal band, but they also do justice to the Maiden legend with their experienced chops and faithfulness to the original. If there's one thing that can be recommended about the album as a whole, it's the outstanding musicianship, which is even better than many of the tributes I've heard with bigger name artists. If you're a fan of Iron Maiden and open to well-done tribute albums, you could do both better and worse than "A Call To Irons". My suggestion to the record labels is to start issuing these tributes at a budget price, kind of like a sampler. I doubt if any of the bands are making much money off of this, and like this Maiden homage, many of them are worth adding to your collection but only at a budget price. Approach at your own financial risk.

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Info:

Category:

Music > Collections

Case Type:

CD

Release Type:

Retail

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, Vol. 1 (1998) Retail CD

Part:

Back

Dimensions:

1764 x 1382 px

Size:

782 KB

Downloads:

483 (0 today)

Uploaded:

Report a Problem Wrong Cover Duplicate Image Bad Quality Wrong Info

16/07/07 by VNV

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