Darkest Before the Light—Nativity in Black (A Tribute to Black Sabbath)

As I've written in earlier blogs, tribute albums have had a nice run for the last couple of decades. One of the albums that may have had a hand in starting the whole phenomenon is “Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath” (1994). Twelve selections are on “Nativity” from some of the leading heavy metal acts of the early 1990s and also from what were perceived to be up and comers and a couple of groups specially assembled just for this occasion.

Heavy metal veterans Megadeth and Bruce Dickinson (from Iron Maiden) turned in the most stalwart interpretations of Sabbath songs. Dave Mustaine lead singer/lead guitarist of Megadeth really brings it on “Paranoid,” taking the tempo of the original up a notch and giving it his patented machine-gun-style speed metal treatment. He does the vocals homage as well with that menacing growl that is so beloved by fans near and far. The funny part at the end is classic with the song ending and the drummer continuing as Dave yells out “Nick. Nick! Nick!!” before he stops. Bruce Dickinson (w/ Godspeed) takes up “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” in his own operatic style, paying the most tribute to Ozzy by not trying to ape him. When Bruce sings “When you ask the reasons why | They just tell you that you’re on your own | Fill your head all full of lies |You bastard!” drawing out the last line to a full soprano crescendo, you want to pump your fist and holler “Yeah!”

What’s interesting is that Ozzy and two other members of Black Sabbath put together separate appearances on their own tribute album. Ozzy w/Therapy? gives a standup sendup of “Iron Man” pretty comparable to the original, though there is no reproducing the licks the way Tony Iommi plays them. Meanwhile, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward joined up with Rob Halford from Judas Priest to form Bullring Brummies to perform their magic on “The Wizard.” Halford shows great restraint and contains himself to enunciate each word clearly and paint the picture of a beneficial magician spreading good tidings.

The CD closes out with Type O Negative offering an interesting tone poem cut of the band’s eponymous “Black Sabbath.” You won’t be uttering, “What is this that stands before me?” as your ears will be mesmerized being drawn in deeper and deeper. The sinister and slow drumming intro harkens back to something a coven of witches may have been casting as an incantation around a pyre.

All in all, this disc does justice to the mighty Sabs. This tribute album may have been the first salvo in resurrecting the band’s image and putting them on the track to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The dark poetry of four lads from the industrial north of England has a message for us all: Don’t fear the dark. Embrace it and make it your friend.

-Derek Handova
Appreciative Listener

Millions for Defense: A Call to Irons (Iron Maiden Tribute)

The tribute album concept has been around for a few years. With torchsong albums dedicated to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and others on the shelf, you would think anyone worthy of being done homage was already covered. However, a group that many in the public had overlooked but not the 90s generation of heavy metal and heavy music ensembles is the one-and-only Iron Maiden. With revisionism all the rage, perhaps Maiden can find its way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one day, seeing how now even RUSH has made it.

On this 11-track retrospective of Iron Maiden music, “A Call to Irons” (1998) contains a continuum of interpretations of the classic headbangers’ repertoire. The disc kicks off with Steel Prophet charging through “Ides of March/Purgatory.” What the take lacks in over-the-top treatment is more than made up for with raw energy. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the group did it in one take live in the studio.

Ancient Wisdom goes in a different direction laying down “Powerslave” as a more guttural growler—quite the departure from Bruce Dickinson’s operatic style on the original. Nonetheless, after several listens, this version came to grow on me. A couple of cuts that did not—even after extensive exposure—were Vital Remains on “The Trooper,” even though the guitar playing mimicked Steve Harris very effectively, and Opera IX on “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” for similar reasons—doing the songs in the manner of Gwar—Vital Signs as the masculine and Opera IX as the feminine. Gwar was a groundbreaking act in its own way, but one Gwar is enough for the recording industry.

Solitude Aeturnus imprinted on my mind the lyrics of “Hallowed be Thy Name,” with the imagery of a prisoner on death row waiting for sundown to be strung up. The earnest desperateness of the singing impressed no end. While turning in a reasonable cover job, Opeth nevertheless disappointed on “Remember Tomorrow.” Hailed in some quarters as the next great progressive rock group—they once opened for Dream Theater and couldn’t live up to the hype on that occasion either—Opeth brought forth no virtuoso performance. Evoken also reminded me of Gwar on “Strange World,” but the spoken-word interludes lightened the aural burden to some extent.

The compilation closes out again nearer to the actual driving Maiden sound with Absu on the instrumental “Transylvania,” bringing us back to the time of the Dark Ages, shadowy castles and when counts with questionable drinking habits went all medieval on our a***s. As Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, portraying the namesakes in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” might have said when confronted with the literal iron maiden, “party on dude!”

-Derek Handova
Appreciative Listener