NATIVITY IN BLACK II

Black Sabbath songs are catchy and memorable, and it's great fun to play them. Whether it's necessary to record them is another thing, and looking at some of the bands featured here, my hopes aren't exactly high. But let's see and try to keep an open mind.

Godsmack "Sweet Leaf" is a more or less faithful rendition of the original. What's the point?

Machine Head "Hole in the Sky" is nerve-wrecking tough guy nu-metal or whatever. Cool bass sound though.

Static-X "Behind the Wall of Sleep" really puts the band's own touch to the song with fun "industrial" metal disco. Unfortunately it just keeps repeating that single idea and gets boring towards the end. Nice, unusual choice of cover, too.

Megadeth "Never Say Die" is a live recording and very much a playthrough of the original song. Cheers for picking a track outside the first six classic albums though.

System of a Down "Snowblind" is a definite highlight here. They really make the song their own quirky and dynamic alternative metal piece.

Pantera "Electric Funeral" is again more or less faithful to the original. Not bad but nothing special.

Primus with Ozzy "N.I.B." is another faithful rendition. It's sung by Ozzy and I wonder why Les Claypool wouldn't do it himself? Not bad but I expected something more freaky from these guys. Awesome playing throughout of course.

Slayer "Hand of Doom" is yet another near-carbon copy of the original. There's some rather freak out guitar playing though and solos have more notes than Iommi has played in his whole life. Nice to hear Slayer play a bit slower and dynamically for a change.

Soulfly "Under the Sun" is another tough guy version. Why do you have to be so angry? Dramatic outro part is excellent, however, played on acoustic guitar and ethnic instruments.

Hed(pe) "Sabbra Cadabra" begins smooth and jazzy with absolutely horrible vocals. The song grows heavier as it goes on but doesn't get any better.

Monster Magnet "Into the Void" is total space stoner madness. Not my scene, man.

Busta Rhymes "Iron Man" is another highlight. What we have here is the main part of the song and Busta Rhymes rapping on top of it. I'm no rap expert, but to me he does a good job and sounds like he really means what he's saying. As a chorus you got Ozzy singing the familiar melody but new words on the same riff. Nice one! There's also a middle section that uses two other parts of the song to a great effect. Excellent job here and certainly a different take of Sabbath.

Two great tracks, several mediocre or simply bad. Worth a listen if you're a fan of Black Sabbath or completist of any of the bands featured, but otherwise no great need to bother.