Various

Punk Goes Metal

BY Chris GramlichPublished Oct 1, 2000

Pop punk's insatiable quest to find a new (old) music to mock/pillage has now seen its insidious visage turned towards metal, more specifically, late '80s/early '90s metal of various pedigrees. While titling this compilation Punk Goes Metal may be a little misleading, a better title may have been "Punk musicians torn between their love of cock/glam rock and thrash reveal that their mandate of baggy clothes and Descendants records was just a front." Regardless, listeners will finally understand what really influenced artists such as Jughead's Revenge (Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me"), Ten Foot Pole (Tesla's "Love Song"), Strung Out (Ozzy's "Bark at the Moon"), Big Wig (Slayer's "War Ensemble") as well as a host of other pop punk purists intent on revealing those tight jean, big hair wearing skeletons that lurk in their closets. Surprisingly many of the songs are treated almost with reverence, slightly diverging from their initial compositions but not as dramatically as expected. AFI's version of Guns 'n' Roses "My Michelle," the aforementioned "Talk Dirty To Me" and Dynamite Boy's version of AC/DC's "TNT" are all prime examples. And even when the punk pop throttle is firmly engaged (Divit's version of Judas Priest's "Breakin' The Law," and the Skid Row double shot of "I Remember You" and "Youth Gone Wild," by the Atari's and Swindle,), the results are still more of a homage than mockery.
(Fearless)

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