Cost: $1.00
An experimental/indie tribute to Ozzy-era Black Sabbath.
1. Matmos - F/X
Disposable intro track. Replicates the guitar noises of the original with electronic effects.
2. Ruins - Reversible Sabbath
Short medley of drum/bass-only versions of several infamous Sabbath riffs. Midway through the track the entire medley is played through backwards, hence the name. The heaviest and most technically proficient track on here.
3. Grails - Black Sabbath
Twangy, feedback-laden instrumental version. Initially it seems as if it's going to be a fairly minimalist drone or sludge style cover, but they throw a violin in the background and as the song tempo builds it ends up being a very interesting rendition.
4. Four Tet - Iron Man
Acoustic rendition of the main riff over a beat track with minor electronic influences. Mellow and suprisingly pleasant.
5. Curtis Harvey Trio - Changes
Starts off straightforward, but 45 seconds in becomes an acoustic-guitar driven folk/country version. Due to the music style and it being the first track (and one of the few) with vocals, it stands out negatively compared to other tracks. Okay for what it is, but admittedly lacks the melancholic feel the original accomplished with just a piano and vocals.
6. Paul Newman - Fairies Wear Boots
Straightforward garage rock instrumental version. Unfortunately it's sorely missing the Iommi guitar tone and although well-played, has no real novelty that compels me to listen to it again.
7. The Anomoanon - Planet Caravan
No distortion on the vocals and the percussion is much less prominent than on the original. While the original has an extremely psychedelic feel, this is more mellow and spacey.
8. Racebannon - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Could have been interesting, but has noisecore-styled multi-layered snarling/wailing/screaming vocals. Yes, they're discordant on purpose, but too distracting to make the track enjoyable.
9. Greenness w/ Philly G - Sweet Leaf
Sort of a bouncy post-rock version with some electronic effects. Vocals are good but the main riff seems off.
Even with the varying styles the quality level here is generally high. My initial verdict is that this CD comes off a bit better than the typical "genre X covers genre Y" compilations, which are usually just excuses to be overzealously avant-garde or to make musically incongruous covers for irony's sake. While some of the tracks are adapted well, I don't see this escaping the fate of being played only a few times for novelty value. Time will tell.
