VA - 2002 - Hellfire: A Tribute To Tool

In the jazz world, tribute albums are inescapable. Every week, jazz artists are recording tributes to Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Cole Porter, or someone else they admire. But in rock, they aren't as plentiful -- for every Bob Dylan, Doors, or Rolling Stones tribute that gets recorded, there are a lot more Ellington or George Gershwin tributes coming from the jazz world. One of rock's more tribute-minded labels is Cleopatra, which has paid homage to countless rockers. As a rule, Cleopatra's tribute albums are interesting -- and this 2002 release (which finds 12 different artists providing Tool covers) is no exception. Even if A Tribute to Tool is mildly uneven; it has more ups than downs and offers a lot of intriguing takes on the headbangers' songs. The best covers are the ones that bring something new or different to a familiar song; operating on that premise, the artists on this CD acknowledge Tool on their own terms instead of slavishly emulating the band. While Tool's forte is alternative metal, A Tribute to Tool is full of industrial, darkwave, and goth rock interpretations of its songs. Not everything on the CD works, but most of the time, A Tribute to Tool hits its mark. Mists of Avalon successfully gives "Prison Sex" a goth makeover, while an industrial outlook works well for Translation Collapse on "Reflection," Beauty on "Disgustipated," and Razed in Black on "Part of Me." One of the best tracks is the Electric Hellfire Club's "Opiate" makeover; Hellfire's campy, over-the-top sense of fun is quite a contrast to Tool's artsy leanings. Do those with only a casual interest in Tool need to hear 12 Tool covers? Probably not. But Tool's hardcore fans will find this CD meaningful if they also have an appetite for industrial, darkwave, and goth rock.

1 Disgustipated Beauty 3:31
2 Reflection Fuchigami, Translation Collapse 4:44
3 Stinkfist Hyena 4:59
4 Part of Me Razed In Black 3:38
5 Intolerance Style 4:34
6 Die Eier von Satan Haujobb 4:49
7 4 Rosetta Stone 4:59
8 Ænema Collapse Into Reason 5:00
9 Hush Pistel 3:47
10 Opiate Electric Hellfire Club 4:38
11 Prison Sex Mists Of Avalon 4:38
12 Sober Butler, Enemies 4:43

¡Aquí!

Haujobb - 2003 - Vertical Theory

The best industrial bands, if they're commercially successful enough to stay in business long enough, eventually learn how to relax a bit and let themselves expand beyond the stylistic strictures of industrial's four-on-the-floor jackboot beats and Teutonic yelling. Vertical Theory marks Haujobb's tenth anniversary as a band and demonstrates that they have achieved that kind of maturity, a level of skill and self-confidence that allows them to explore everything from dubbed-out EBM to trancy dance music and a strange sort of ambient industrial. There is a nice variety of beats, sometimes within a single tune -- thudding house rhythms will suddenly give way to a funky breakbeat, and then back again. "Renegades of Noize" is an auspicious opener, combining a digital but warm and complex rhythmic texture with an almost melodic vocal line. "Noise Institute" starts off with a subtly jungly beat before lapsing into something a bit more gruff and housy; the dub-inflected "Slide" starts off in a cool industrial mode but eventually gets monotonous over the course of its six-minute length. What these songs are all missing, as usual, is anything approaching a real melody. That doesn't have to be a fatal flaw, if the beats and textures are interesting enough, and often they are on this album. But not always.

		1		Renegades of Noize	Myer, Samardzic	5:04
		2		S.adow	Myer, Samardzic	4:30
		3		The Noise Institute	Myer, Samardzic	3:43
		4		A Terrifying Truth	Myer, Samardzic	5:28
		5		Metric	Myer, Samardzic	5:05
		6		Concrete	Myer, Samardzic	5:03
		7		Slide	Myer, Samardzic	5:59
		8		Platform	Myer, Samardzic	5:10
		9		Claim the Planet	Myer, Samardzic	4:12
		10		Faith in Chaos	Myer, Samardzic	5:54
		11		Penetration (Fuck the Floor)	Myer, Samardzic	4:50

¡Aquí!