Metalliska: A Ska Tribute to 80's Metal

by

Various Artists

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While Ska music is generally a fun romp for only two or three tracks at a time, and hair-metal has thankfully faded into the humorous past, when brought together the end product is better than either of its "parents." Brought together, as they are on this cool compilation of ska bands covering 80s rock, it somehow manages to become one of the coolest disks around.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' punked-up version of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" and Reel Big Fish's horn-fueled romp through Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly" are keepers, but the best cut is the Slackers' tripped-out, ganjafied reggae rendition of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive."

This disk is great fun for even casual fans of either genre, and will make a terrfic addition to anyone's CD collection. Let's hope Amazon gets some audio clips up here, soon; these tunes have to be heard to be believed...

People who are thinking of buying this album should relly check out "Jump-Swing from Hell" by Lee Press-On and the Nails, and listen to their live cover of Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" to hear a swing/Ska genera cover of 80's metal done right... The Mighty Mighty Bosstones did their song as if they were trying to be an 80's metal band, not the Mighty Mighty Bosstones covering the song... All the horns of Lee Press-On and the Nails, copying Eddie's (Van Halen) riffs made their cover great, but the horns are strangely absent from "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love", except in that quiet part in the middle, where they only provide a counterpoint to the lyrics... "Big Balls" by The Pietasters is good, you can't screw that song up, I think, and "The Final Countdown" by Furillo and "Kickstart My Heart" by The Porkers are hilarious, more parody than cover... Some of the songs (Like "Wanted Dead or Alive" by The Slackers) are almost unrecocnizable, but thats okay... It's kinda worth having as an unusual album nobody's ever heard of before, but it's a big disappointment after good ol' Lee and his Nails...