Remember the band
Dread Zeppelin? Well, here's a reminder -- they're a band that caused a minor stir in the early '90s when they took
Led Zeppelin classics, added a dash of reggae, and were fronted by an
Elvis Presley impersonator (who alternated between reciting
Zeppelin and
Elvis lyrics). It was perhaps only a matter of time until another group came along that mashed together two other renowned rock acts, and while
Zeppelin and
Elvis aren't exactly universes apart musically,
the Beatles and
Metallica are -- which makes the emergence of
Beatallica much more of a curiosity. And somehow the band (whose members go by such colorful nom de plumes as Jaymz Lennfield, Grg Hammettson, Kliff McBurtney, and Ringo Larz) mixes and matches
Beatles and
Metallica riffs/lyrics pretty flawlessly -- as evidenced throughout 2007's
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band. First off, it must be stated that it is absolutely eerie how much Lennfield is able to replicate James Hetfield's manly bark (it really does sound as if it's the actual
Metallica singer throughout). Some of the tracks are a bit silly -- such as "A Garage Dayz Nite" and "Ktulu (He's So Heavy)" -- but you have to give the quartet credit for how they craftily merge "Enter Sandman" and "Taxman" together, as..."Sandman." The next time you're going to party with headbanging pals, put on
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band toward the end of the night, and watch their mullets spin as they enter this bizarro world. ~ Greg Prato