Thriller: A Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson
A friend of mine sent a copy of this album my way, as he knows about my unapologetic love for the late Michael Jackson alongside my love for the metal. As the albums opening track faded out, I couldn't withhold the tears. Sadly they were not the tears of happiness, they were the result of the total molestation my ears were being subjected to.
The most disheartening aspect of this album is the total waste of talent that is promised from the album cover. It is painful to hear Chuck Billy--who is a hero of mine, along with other people whom I admire and respect such as Doug Aldrich, Doug Pinnick, Rudy Sarzo, Chris Jericho and Phil Campbell embarrass themselves in this soulless excuse of a paycheck that is paraded as art..
On the flip side of heroes, we have Danny Worsnop. Admittedly, I have never listened to a single song from his band Asking Alexandria's discography, but after hearing him vomit out his rendition of "Man In The Mirror", I believe I made a wise choice in deciding not to partake in that bands musical endeavors.
The boldness to do a retake on Eddie Van Halens guitar work on "Beat It", truly takes a massive amount of courage, however Bumblefoot's brass effort falls flat on it's face.
I get what they tried to do in the attempt at covering "Bad" however, I don't think Paul DiAnno and Craig Goldy actually came to an agreement on the final output, as the end results clash and crash into each other drastically.
The only redeeming quality that this album has for it, is the presence of Alien Ant Farm's"Smooth Criminal". However I feel that this is a bit of a cheat, considering that the song has been a popular cover for over 10 years now. The original fun factor quality of that song also seems to have been sucked from it, as it is presented right at the end of this terrible excuse of a karaoke album.
It's true that this review may be read as nothing more than the complaints of an irate Michael Jackson fan. However, not only is this a terrible tribute to the king of pop. It is a horrible listen to any fans of music, and especially insulting to metal fans. This album actually has the audacity to tag this album as Metal with the simple act of adding electric guitar parts to the original Michael Jackson counterparts, beat for beat without any originality or purpose.
I truly wanted to like this album. I wanted--for once, to be able play a rocking Michael Jackson song to my friends who continue to laugh whenever I bring up the fact that he is my favorite music artist. I still remain optimistic that a great metal cover of a MJ song will surface one day, until that time though, this compilation can just Beat It.
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