A Call To Arms- A Tribute To Iron Maiden I am not a huge Iron Maiden fan, I sought out this release mainly to hear what some band's covers sound like. I am already familiar with the tracks by Angelcorpse, Opeth and Absu from different release formats. But the other main names that sold me where Evoken, Solitude Aeternus, Morgion, and Vital Remains. The first band Steel Prophet have the weakest track of the comp in my opinion, because of it's abominable power metal style. I always avoid bands that play this style like the plague, so it gets the skip treatment every time I spin this disc. If you are into this style it will probably be you're favorite and virtually every other song won't be you're cup of tea. So the preferred start is Ancient Wisdom who remind me a lot of the thrashy rockin-vibe of the Swedish band Bewitched, but with deathy-er vocals which expand into a cool solo towards the end of the Powerslave track. On to Vital Remains being forced to peg things back a few more notches than they normally would with The Trooper. The guitar melodies here are spot on, but the death vocals sound more generic than I would like and it could be by any old death metal band. Angelcorpse remedy this problem by attacking an instrumental Genghis Khan, and display expert musical ability when they don't vomit blasphemies in the vocal department. Track 4 is Solitude Aeternus' version of Hallowed Be Thy Name, probably the most faithful sounding cover here which makes me want to listen to Iron Maiden a bit more than I very seldom do. Next comes New Eden, a band that suffer from a similar style to the first track but not quite as cringe-worthy, usually it is quickly skipped over I have to say it doesn't warrant inclusion. Bringing us up to Opeth's Remember Tomorrow which although is quite subdued suits the song quite well. Next comes Morgion with To Tame A Land with a thick ambient vibe leading into a heavy mid-paced groove and back again and a dense guitar sound that sounds like it belongs on an album like Massive Killing Capacity by Dismember. The length of the track tends to overstay it's welcome though towards the end. Finally the real reason I needed to get this comp, Evoken's version of Strange Land which does what all Evoken's tracks do, which is draw you in in the first few seconds and don't let you out until the last note has subsided. Truly the most epic and original interpretation on this tribute in my eyes and would have fitted better closing the album, to give you a few seconds of silence to breathe and reflect on what you have just heard. Track 9 is by Opera IX doing a 13 minute version of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner which sounds like it is divided into about four parts. It is also the only track to feature female vocals, which I suspect are done by the same vocalist for the clean style as well as the black raspy style. The clean vocals aren't as good as the raspy vocals, but despite this it isn't a bad song because there aren't any other tracks similar to this elsewhere on the comp. Absu have the task of ending proceedings with their instrumental version of Transylvania which is every bit as accomplished as what Angelcorpse came up with. I would have liked to hear Proscriptor attempting another Maiden song with vocals, even if the result turned out a bit cheesy sounding. I think it may have been more enjoyable because of it. Oh, and the album cover looks cool too.Read full review
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