Machetazo- Necrocovered

Official Site
Released: 2010
Labels:Parasitic Records (USA), Living Dead Society (Spain)
Release Type: 10" lmt 500, MCD
Genre: Various, tribute.

I've been waiting for this one awhile as it was announced in the spring and now Parasitic Records has finally unveiled it.

Necrocovered is much like Napalm Death's Leaders not Followers albums; it's just covers. That said, what makes Necrocovered so great and interesting is the cast of guest vocalists. You can see with the guests as well as the tracks Machetazo covers a wide range of genres. From sludge (Corrupted), black metal (Darkthrone), thrash (Kreator and Carnivore), punk (Septic Death) and death metal (Obituary and Master), almost all bases are covered (ha!). Not only is it fun to listen to, but I can't imagine how fun this was to put together; I can only hope that they met up and didn't do this by sending respective sections to some studio.

Here's the lineup as well as tracks:

1. "Sex and violence" (Carnivore), lead vocals by Chris Reifert (Abscess/Autopsy).
2. "Pay to die" (Master), lead vocals by Johan Wallin (General Surgery).
3. "Skald Av Satans Sol" (Darkthrone), lead vocals by Skrappar (Lobotomized).
4. "Tormentor" (Kreator), lead vocals by Kam Lee (Bone Gnawer/Death/Massacre).
5. "Arrastrándose sólo" (Corrupted), lead vocals by Tim Call (Aldebaran).
6. "Demon" (Septic Death) / "Dying" (Obituary), lead vocals by Santi (Nashgul).

While they're not stretches, and don't sound awkward, they're outside of Machetazo's immediate sphere of grindcore which is another reason why this is so cool. They handle all songs perfectly, as they're respectful of the orignial, but at the same time interested in making it their own, not mention adding in a particular vocalist for each one.

The delicate balance between homage and replication is tough with some bands as I never see the reason to do a cover that sounds identical to the original, but at the same time taking the original expanding it to something unrecognizable is just as uninteresting. Like I said, there's a good balance to be found here.

The tracks themselves are all great. My personal favorite is the Master cover, simply because I think it fits their style best and Johan Wallin sounds downright evil. I'm also a sucker for something this heavy to have d-beats. "Sex and Violence" has the necessary whistle and Reifert does an excellent job fitting in with the up-beat hardcore-ish song. "Skald Av Satans Sol" might be better than the original only because I hate the fucking production on that Darkthrone album. "Tormentor" is practically turned into a grind song with an ample dose of speed.

The Corrupted cover is maybe the most faithful of the bunch, I was very excited to hear a grind band play sludge, but as it turns out they sound pretty much like Corrupted, just a better mixing job (Tim Call sounds exactly like Hevi which is a bit scary). Because of its faithfulness, I find this to be the weakest of the EP (not to mention I never thought much of that Corrupted song). The Obituary/Septic Death mashup is most ambitious undertaking of the EP, and it works perfectly. Santi's voice is perfect for this track. While it wouldn't be my first pick of a Septic Death song to cover, after listening I can see why they picked it. The fun pick up and go style of the song just begs for blast beats.

Well worth the wait.

Check it out here, buy it here or here.

-F