CoC : Megiddo / Rampage - Apocalyptic Raids: A Tribute to Hellhammer : Review

Megiddo / Rampage - _Apocalyptic Raids: A Tribute to Hellhammer_
(Unsung Heroes Records, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (7 out of 10)

Whilst I'm not the world's biggest admirer of tribute albums, Megiddo and Rampages' "split tribute" to Hellhammer made me sit up and take notice. This tribute features the above-mentioned bands covering Hellhammer's classic _Apocalyptic Raids_ album in its entirety, with Megiddo handling the odd-numbered songs and Rampage performing the even-numbered ones. Generally speaking, the covers are pretty straightforward with few surprises. Rampage sounds like, well, Rampage, who injects his covers with a raw, slightly retro sound, whilst Megiddo is a straightforward, "true" black metal band. The production on Megiddo's songs is inferior in comparison to Rampage's covers, but then again, since Megiddo is a black metal act, the inferior production does suit the genre, so there's no doubt that there will be those that appreciate Megiddo's primitive rawness. However, Rampage's previous flirtations with doom metal suggest that he could have done a better job with the painfully slow "Triumph of Death" than Megiddo. For some inexplicable reason, the beginning of Rampage's version of "Horus / Aggressor" is Mayhem's "Silvester Anfang". I'm a bit confused as to why a Mayhem cover would be on a Hellhammer tribute (the only connection I can think is that both Mayhem and Hellhammer are classic and influential bands), but it nevertheless serves as an interesting -- if somewhat unexpected -- intro. An interesting experiment that demands greater attention than the average tribute album.

Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA

(article published 3/7/2002)

ALBUMS
3/26/2003	M Noll	8.5	Megiddo - The Atavism of Evil
4/12/2002	Q Kalis	7.5	Rampage - Monolith to an Abandoned Past