Acheron - Tribute To The Devil's Music
Black Lotus Records - BLR/CD048 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
Acheron have been knocking around the fringes of the extreme metal world now for around a decade and a half, and this is their first release after a two-year hiatus. Rather than plunging straight into a new album, it seems that Vincent Crowley's group of less-than-merry mentalists have decided to opt for the Garage Days Re-revisited option of compiling all of the covers they've recorded over the course of their existence into one big release. A good way to reintroduce us to the band, I suppose... but are the covers any good?
Well, they're all pretty faithful - musically, the songs remain generally untouched, which means the Venom cover 'Countess Bathory' sounds as rough and ready as the Tyneside trio ever did, and Motorhead's 'Don't Need Religion' (natch) sounds soaked in whiskey and feedback. More off-the-wall moments like Kiss's 'War Machine' and Judas Priest's 'Devil's Child' sound a tad out of place performed by a group of dyed-in-the-wool Satanist death/black metallers, but prove amusing when you factor in Crowley's growling and screaming as opposed to the more traditional vocal styles in each song.
Some may balk at the fact that occasionally, the song lyrics have been altered (Black Sabbath's eponymous track gets a slightly more devilish tone, for instance), but one can't fault Acheron's integrity, which even stretches to Crowley admitting in the liner notes that the Judas Priest cover sucks (which it does)!
Generally, this is about as worthy as any other covers album. For a slightly different take on familiar songs, it's worth a look, but there's nothing here that reinvents the originals or really stands up and screams 'listen to me!'. Here's hoping Acheron's new album will be a bit more impressive...
6/10
Acheron's Official Website
Black Lotus Records Website
Black Lotus Records - BLR/CD048 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
Acheron have been knocking around the fringes of the extreme metal world now for around a decade and a half, and this is their first release after a two-year hiatus. Rather than plunging straight into a new album, it seems that Vincent Crowley's group of less-than-merry mentalists have decided to opt for the Garage Days Re-revisited option of compiling all of the covers they've recorded over the course of their existence into one big release. A good way to reintroduce us to the band, I suppose... but are the covers any good?
Well, they're all pretty faithful - musically, the songs remain generally untouched, which means the Venom cover 'Countess Bathory' sounds as rough and ready as the Tyneside trio ever did, and Motorhead's 'Don't Need Religion' (natch) sounds soaked in whiskey and feedback. More off-the-wall moments like Kiss's 'War Machine' and Judas Priest's 'Devil's Child' sound a tad out of place performed by a group of dyed-in-the-wool Satanist death/black metallers, but prove amusing when you factor in Crowley's growling and screaming as opposed to the more traditional vocal styles in each song.
Some may balk at the fact that occasionally, the song lyrics have been altered (Black Sabbath's eponymous track gets a slightly more devilish tone, for instance), but one can't fault Acheron's integrity, which even stretches to Crowley admitting in the liner notes that the Judas Priest cover sucks (which it does)!
Generally, this is about as worthy as any other covers album. For a slightly different take on familiar songs, it's worth a look, but there's nothing here that reinvents the originals or really stands up and screams 'listen to me!'. Here's hoping Acheron's new album will be a bit more impressive...
6/10
Acheron's Official Website
Black Lotus Records Website
