The Thing That Should Not Be

…or should it?

Originally, this was going to be a post about Metallica, which was to contribute to the many other posts out there on the Internet about Metallica. In particular, it was going to be a commentary on their collaboration (accurately, mash up) with Lou Reed, formerly of the Velvet Underground.

Those of you who have yet to hear this “project”, have a listen to the released single right here.

The commentary was to entail how I feel disillusioned with Metallica’s current efforts, but in fairness this came about not from their recent, inferior fare but a combination of reading more about the band’s history, watching ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ and picking up on what the hell other metalheads were going on about when they praised the Cliff Burton era.

Not to mention discovering what else thrash had to offer.

Nonetheless, I was prepared to delve into a post where I’d likely pour much of my heart out into a long, self-reflective lament on losing that special part of my youth to reality…

then a friend of mine had posted this.

Seven7 – ‘Under Eye’, MGP Records; 2011

Two years have passed since the release of debut album ‘Try Something Different‘, and already Londoners Seven7 have upped their game with an “epic” record in their field of progressive rock/groove metal. That is to say, that where some bands opt to repeat themselves the second time around – a tactic that could go either hit or miss – Seven7 have actually chosen to rethink their sound on a bigger scale – making ‘Under Eye‘ a stand apart release from various other records under the groove label.

Myrkgrav/Voluspaa split, Einheit Produktionen; 2011

Rich in rustic folklore as it is in viking history, Norway’s past serves as interesting inspiration for this split release from one-man bands Myrkgrav and Voluspaa.

Italian oil, English water?

Or, ‘Metal/Rock covers that should not exist’.

If you’ll recall, I took a look at what happened when Grecian black metallers Astarte decided to cover Accept’s ‘Princess of the Dawn’. The result was a fitting example of not only placing a (band’s) individual stamp on a previous song, but also a well-illustrated analogy for the evolution of heavy metal into one of its many, more extreme subgenres.

It was a case of when a song is covered right. But what happens when the reverse is true – when the artists’ rendition of another song, though somehow connected musically, comes out wrong?