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Twisted Forever by: Jonathan Mariante |
| Well,
here we have it. A tribute to the great Twisted Sister! Just about any
headbanger who grew up in the 80's was a fan of Twisted Sister, and there
are some that still are (me included!) Whether they'll admit it or not
is a different story, but anyway, the Sisters are finally getting the
props they deserve from the bands and artists they inspired. We have legends
paying tribute to a legend here, as well as many newer bands. "Twisted
Forever" kicks of with Lit doing a cover of "I Wanna Rock". It's not as
heavy as the original and the Lit boys give it a "modern" twist (excuse
the pun) but it ain't bad. Next up are the mighty Motorhead (old buddies
of the Twisted ones), who steamroll their way through "Shoot 'Em Down".
Would expect anything less from Lemmy and the boys? They're followed by
the rough 'n' raunchy Nashville Pussy (soon to be legends in their own
right, no doubt) who do a rousing version of "The Kids Are Back". Then
things get weird for a minute. Nine Days (never heard of these guys before)
do their own version of "The Price" and it's worlds away from the original.
It's moody, brooding, and semi-unplugged, sort of like Staind's "It's
Been Awhile". And just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder,
along comes rap icon Chuck D, doing a hip-hop version of "Wake Up The
Sleeping Giant". Now I'm no big fan of rap at all, but I got to admit,
this did get my toes tapping. Hell, maybe this will turn on some rap fans
to Twisted Sister! Things go back to normal after this, as we have two
thrash legends up next; Anthrax with a mega-heavy version of "Destroyer"
and Overkill with a slamming version of "Under The Blade". After them
are two popular black/Goth metal bands, Cradle Of Filth and Vision Of
Disorder, doing wicked, sinister versions of "The Fire Still Burns" and
"Don't Let Me Down", respectively. I like their choices, as these are
two lesser-known Twisted tracks, the former from the overlooked and underrated
"Come Out And Play" album, the latter an album cut from "Stay Hungry".
Next we have the Step Kings with "Burn In Hell', and I have to say I was
not too impressed with their version of this song. Sounds weak compared
to the original, not half as heavy or as sinister-sounding. And Fu Manchu
are even worse with "Ride To Live, Live To Ride". These guys should be
shot, they totally butcher one of my favorite Twisted songs! The original
is heavy, fast, kickass song! The Fu Fools play it way too slow, it sounds
totally half-assed, and falls completely flat! Stoner rock bands should
not cover Twisted Sister songs! But those are the only weak links on this
album, as Joan Jett comes to the rescue with a rollicking, punkish version
of "We're Not Gonna Take It". Sure was different to hear a woman singing
this song, though. But kinda cool all the same. Next on tap in Sebastian
Bach with "You Can't Stop Rock And Roll". Now this kicks ass! Almost as
much as the original! Way to go, Bas! Same can be said for power metal
kings Hammerfall, who do a killer version of "We're Gonna Make It". The
only thing that keeps this from being neck on neck with the original is
that Joacim Cans (HF's singer) is slightly less aggressive that Dee Snider,
but they do a great job all the same. Hail, Hail! They're followed by
Sevendust who do a speedy, thrashcore version of "I Am, I'm Me". Not bad,
but I prefer the original. Twisted guitarist Jay Jay French used to manage
these guys, guess that's why they were on here. And finally, we have the
boys themselves, Twisted Sister, doing a cover of AC/DC's "Sin City".
First time I've ever heard a band making an appearance on their own tribute
album! And they do a pretty damn good job with this AC/DC classic. So
that rounds it out. Twisted Sister fans past and present should definitely
dig this. PLAY IT LOUD, MUTHA! (Just skip over the Step Kings and Fu Manchu!)
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