Recorded over the course of five days last month, ATREYU have assembled COVERS OF THE DAMNED, a brief, 5-track collection of cover songs featuring collaborations with members of the bands with whom they will join on the CONGREGATION OF THE DAMNED Tour later this month.
“Livin’ on the Edge” (Aerosmith) – Performed by ATREYU
It starts off fairly straight-forward, bringing in the heavy groove on the first chorus. Unfortunately, Atreyu hits “the meltdown in the sky” verse and commits a crime often witnessed when a lot of these “core” bands (metalcore, hardcore, screamcore, core-core) pull off covers – they throw a little of their own scream-o vocals into the mix and sound like they’re literally puking out the lyrics. While that style may work well within the context of their original songs, doing it on a cover version comes off as disrespectful to the source material. They do a great job on the multi-vocal choruses though, and they add a nice groove to the breakdown mid-song.
“Holiday in Cambodia” (Dead Kennedys) – Performed by ENDLESS HALLWAY featuring Travis Miguel of ATREYU
This is a good cover. A little more polished than the original (which isn’t hard), there’s a good energy here. Respectful of the original, but with a modern flavor.
“Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood” (Volbeat) – Performed by ATREYU
The original version of the song is only a year or two old. Even in the cover version, you can hear the big influence that METALLICA had on Volbeat. It’s a good tune, and Atreyu plays it well despite it being a curious choice to do so soon.
“The Boys Are Back in Town” (Thin Lizzy) – Performed by ATREYU vocalist Alex Varkatzas and guitarists Travis Miguel and Dan Jacobs along with ENDLESS HALLWAY members Evan MacCarthy and Joe Mullen, CHIODOS vocalist Brandon Bolmer, ARCHITECTS (UK) singer Sam Carter and BLESSTHEFALL vocalist Beau Bokan.
There’s some good guitar work happening here, but Varkatzas’ vocals are back in puke-mode on the verses. There is a cool low-pitched demon voice doubling the puke-action at times. The choruses are faithful to the original, and overall this is a cool and appropriate tune for all of these bands to collaborate on. Hearing the different frontmen take turns leading the song is pretty entertaining. Hopefully they play this on tour with everyone coming on-stage to unleash their inner “rock gods” together.
“My Own Summer (Shove It)” (Deftones) – Performed by Atreyu guitarist Travis Miguel and bassist Mark McKnight with Brandon Bolmer and Tanner Wayne of CHIODOS, Sam Carter of ARCHITECTS (UK) and Jono Evans of ENDLESS HALLWAY.
The music sounds damn-near identical to the Deftones original. While the alternating vocals work well, nothing can top Chino’s hypnotic vox on the original. It’s a pretty faithful cover.
Overall, COVERS OF THE DAMNED is an entertaining little nugget, though not overly special. The EP will be available through digital retailers starting October 12, 2010, though diehard fans of the bands will want to snag the limited-edition vinyl editions that will only be available at the merch booth while on tour.
Rating: 3/5
