Ten Masked Men Ten Masked Men, Strike Back EP, The Phantom Masked Menace, The Return Of The Ten Masked Men
Out By Five Records 1999, 2000, 2003
By Russell Garwood
Ten Masked Men are presumably well, ten masked men. They definitely wear masks, and - according to the inlay notes - there are ten members, despite only showing five. Those identified are vocalist Mark The Mauler, guitarists Dave the Chef, and Charlie The Knife, The Mysterious Horn on bass, and Pablo The Snoot on drums. It is unclear if the other members, be it Billy Bub The Janitor (PR), Gary The Gimp Hearns, Martin Meathead Matthews (removals), Neil Numbnut Matthews (friendly advice), or Ross Well The Incident (interstellar liaisons), play any purpose other than making the numbers. But really, who cares its ten men, in masks, playing death metal pop song covers! Growl along now
And yes, before you start re-reading what I have just said, these ten cuddly characters play unique renditions of acts like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, along with classics from the era of Spandau Ballet and mullets, before topping it off with a nice collection of James Bond songs. With guitars are tuneful enough to make the original tune recognizable, and a crunchy tone, there are an abundance of catchy melodies. The vocals are an easily decipherable but still harsh growl, often layered to mimic the original song. On earlier releases the drums sound programmed, but the addition of The Snoot is a definite improvement. The bass is powerful and easily audible in a well balanced mix.
The bands first, self-titled album and debut EP are available on one disk. Standouts include covers of Michael JacksonsBeat It, Oasis Wonderwall, The Polices Message In A Bottle, and Gold, by Spandau Ballet. On the EP is a version of Papa Dont Preach (Madonna), clearly superior in its death-metally goodness to other recent covers . My favourite tracks on Return Of The Ten Masked Men are a rather less forgiving version of Ricky Martins Livin La Vida Loca, Blue by Eiffel 65 and Britney Spears Baby One More Time, which despite its make-over is worryingly easy to identify. Their latest offering boasts 14 covers, including Cry Me A River, Hot Stuff, New York, New York, and Genie In A Bottle.
In case you hadnt guessed it by now, Ten Masked Men have their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks. This is made more entertaining considering the fact that they are all actually competent musicians, with a knack of completely rearranging songs while keeping them identifiable. As such, all these releases are highly entertaining, and well worth hearing for novelty value alone.
Official Ten Masked Men Website
Out By Five Records 1999, 2000, 2003
By Russell Garwood
Ten Masked Men are presumably well, ten masked men. They definitely wear masks, and - according to the inlay notes - there are ten members, despite only showing five. Those identified are vocalist Mark The Mauler, guitarists Dave the Chef, and Charlie The Knife, The Mysterious Horn on bass, and Pablo The Snoot on drums. It is unclear if the other members, be it Billy Bub The Janitor (PR), Gary The Gimp Hearns, Martin Meathead Matthews (removals), Neil Numbnut Matthews (friendly advice), or Ross Well The Incident (interstellar liaisons), play any purpose other than making the numbers. But really, who cares its ten men, in masks, playing death metal pop song covers! Growl along now
And yes, before you start re-reading what I have just said, these ten cuddly characters play unique renditions of acts like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, along with classics from the era of Spandau Ballet and mullets, before topping it off with a nice collection of James Bond songs. With guitars are tuneful enough to make the original tune recognizable, and a crunchy tone, there are an abundance of catchy melodies. The vocals are an easily decipherable but still harsh growl, often layered to mimic the original song. On earlier releases the drums sound programmed, but the addition of The Snoot is a definite improvement. The bass is powerful and easily audible in a well balanced mix.
The bands first, self-titled album and debut EP are available on one disk. Standouts include covers of Michael JacksonsBeat It, Oasis Wonderwall, The Polices Message In A Bottle, and Gold, by Spandau Ballet. On the EP is a version of Papa Dont Preach (Madonna), clearly superior in its death-metally goodness to other recent covers . My favourite tracks on Return Of The Ten Masked Men are a rather less forgiving version of Ricky Martins Livin La Vida Loca, Blue by Eiffel 65 and Britney Spears Baby One More Time, which despite its make-over is worryingly easy to identify. Their latest offering boasts 14 covers, including Cry Me A River, Hot Stuff, New York, New York, and Genie In A Bottle.
In case you hadnt guessed it by now, Ten Masked Men have their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks. This is made more entertaining considering the fact that they are all actually competent musicians, with a knack of completely rearranging songs while keeping them identifiable. As such, all these releases are highly entertaining, and well worth hearing for novelty value alone.
Official Ten Masked Men Website
