Cost: Don't remember, a buck or two
I do appreciate that this is called a tribute to hard rock AND heavy metal, as typically glam and hair bands are casually lumped in together with metal.
As the cover helpfully points out, the hammy and cliche-ridden liner notes are by Martin Popoff (though to be fair, I doubt this was a priority project for him).
1. American Dog - Under the Blade (Twisted Sister)
I quote: "featuring true rock dudes from Salty Dog and Dangerous Toys." Except it's only one dude (see how crappy those liner notes are?), who was a touring bassist for Dangerous Toys. Decent cover. The vocals aren't bad per se, but they seem kind of unenthused and lack the sneer of the original.
2. Cage - Freewheel Burning (Judas Priest)
Solid, straightforward cover.
3. Southern Rock Allstars - Don't Believe A Word (Thin Lizzy)
The cover clearly says '80s, but this is the first of two '70s songs on here. Great cover, but I can't decide if I really like the talkbox effects on the guitar or not.
4. Guttersluts - Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N' Roses)
Odd rendition. The whispered/moaned vocals and the piano accentuations almost give it somewhat of a dark Type O Negative feel during the verses, even though as a whole it doesn't seem terribly gothic sounding.
5. Premonition - I Don't Know (Ozzy Osbourne)
Solid cover, and the Ozzy emulation is pretty darn close.
6. Straightjacket Smile - Photograph (Def Leppard)
Very good cover. Not necessarily a negative, but the vocals are much less distinct than Joe Elliott's.
7. Wraith - Bang Your Head (Metal Health) (Quiet Riot)
Seems like an okay cover, though I'm not a huge fan of the original.
8. Salvo - Orgasmatron (Motörhead)
Industrialized cover. The slower tempo could have made for an interesting take on this song, but unfortunately they made the poor choice of putting robotic effects on the vocals.
9. Tempered Steel - Revelations (Iron Maiden)
Yep, the old '80s band. Decent cover.
10. Detox Darlings - Smash Alley (Faster Pussycat)
Musically okay, but lacks the riotous feel of the original, and despite all the jokes that can be made about the femininity of glam bands, the female lead vocals here just don't have the same amount of sleaziness. This cover did make me realize how much the main riff sounds like a spy theme.
11. Black Widow - When Heaven Comes Down (Dokken)
This is the female-fronted Maryland band that released a couple of albums. As with their original material, the vocalist has a strong voice but tends to oversing. Instrumentally, don't really have anything bad to say about the cover, though Mr. Scary is the only post-debut Dokken I care about.
12. Red Hot - Kickstart My Heart (Mötley Crüe)
If the name wasn't a giveaway, apparently this is an actual Crüe cover band. Considering that, this is pretty average.
13. O.C.D. - I Love The Dead (Alice Cooper)
Another '70s tune (the liner notes excuse it by noting Alice Cooper was best known in the '80s for "Poison"). Has a much funkier feel, and I agree with Popoff that, at least at the beginning, there's sort of a Butthole Surfers vibe (but then again, he calls O.C.D. "grind merchants"). At first I wasn't into this but the chorus is catchy enough where I rate it as an alright cover.
14. Mudbone - Wait (White Lion)
Not a fan of the original, but okay as a cover. The guitar solo falls a little short and the vocals are whiny at times.
