Track Listing
1. Stand up and shout 2. Eat the rich 3. Stay hungry 4. The prisoner 5. Live wire 6. End of days 7. Over the mountain 8. Blackout 9. Feel the burn 10. Riding on the wind Year: 2000 Label: Palm - Official Site |
Fozzy - 'Fozzy' - By S. Regan
A quick glance at this CDs inlay will provide you with a lucrative Biography into Fozzy�s dark and woeful story. The story here is that Fozzy, an 80s heavy metal band, found themselves stuck in a dead end contract with a ruthless Japanese record company. After having some of their greatest song writing efforts stolen by various other bands who went on to generate millions of dollars from them, Fozzy were finally able to break away from their no hope Japanese deal and retreated back to the hallowed shores of America where their long-awaited CD was released to the general public. Of course, that�s the story. The reality is of course that Fozzy is about as real as Spinal Tap! They are a band from America and Canada, consisting of pro-wrestler Chris Jericho along with former wrestlers and members of Stuck Mojo. Fozzy�s debut, self-titled album is a collection of classic heavy metal covers, which I must say, are done very well. These cover versions are right up there with the originals, rocking just as hard, throwing into the mix Fozzy's own unique style for good measure. Songs such as Ozzy�s "Over the Mountain," and Motley Crue�s "Livewire" are right on the button and Jericho�s vocals impress on every level! Their own take on Iron Maiden�s classic "The Prisoner" is nothing short of fantastic � even throwing in their own version of the �Well want, information� intro found on the original, it's laugh out loud fantastic! I�ve never really been the biggest fan of cover versions, let alone cover albums, as the songs on offer always seem to become a shade of their former selves and I must admit that the prospect of hearing Jericho�s vocals accompanied by the driving force of the former members of Stuck Mojo did entice me into checking out this album. To my utter joy, Jericho and company rock really well here, never straying too far from the original material and not trying to turn the versions into anything they clearly are not (see: countless Iron Maiden or Metallica cover albums). Fozzy may be having fun creating music by their favourite artists, but there is by no means any slouching when it comes to the musical aspect: Jericho's vocals are right up there and the music is precisely accurate and as thunderous as the originals! Cover versions, however, are not all that�s on offer here. Jericho (or Mongoose McQueen as he refers to himself here) and co prove themselves as worthy writer�s of original material and not just classic rock copy cats with the hugely commanding and sensational �End Of Days� and chug-along, almost dark and often melodic �Feel The Burn�. These are very competent and impressive musical works, and from what I�ve heard the bulk of the new release �Happenstance� is to be original material, and only a handful of covers. The story in the liner notes may be tongue-in-cheek make-believe fun, but the music is for real. Metal Obsessive Grade: 95% |