PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Butcher Babies have just released an EP – “Uncovered”. It’s an EP of cover versions, from a fairly diverse range of artists – from The Osmonds to ZZ Top to Suicidal Tendencies. The tracks are the ZZ Top song “Beer drinkers & hell raisers”, the one hit wonder novelty song by Napoleon XIV “They’re coming to take me away”, The Osmond’s classic “Crazy horses”, Suicidal Tendencies “Don’t give a fuck”, and S.O.D’s “Pussy whipped”. It’s an interesting mix and is explained by the fact that each member of the band (yes there are 5 members not just the two that many people notice) chose a track.
The first thing I noticed was the cover – in a way it’s a cover version too as it’s basically the same design used for Guns n Roses “Lies” EP – a newspaper style cover, but with different layout and articles. The small bits of text are quite bizarre and fun to read including the report of Carla’s left breast implant exploding, killing three and seriously injuring hundreds.
The songs have all been given a Butcher Babies sound – some bands doing cover versions do their best to imitate the original version down to the small details, but Butcher Babies have taken the other approach – take a song and make it totally different to the original. The EP kicks off with the ZZ Top cover – “Beer drinkers & hell raisers”. With it’s chanted chorus, screaming vocals and heavy guitars it certainly sounds different to the original and I have to say it sounds great – I definitely want to hear this one performed live next time they tour the UK.
Next up is the most bizarre choice of cover – “They’re coming to take me away”. The original is a very silly song from 1966 that reached number 4 in the UK singles charts, and if you haven’t heard it then I suggest you check it out on YouTube before listening to the Butcher Babies cover…
Next up is the Suicidal tendencies cover, “Don’t give a f@#k”, and it’s a cover that’s closer to the original than the others, but this version does sound a lot louder and heavier, largely due to the age of the original and the changes in technology I suspect. A great cover.
Next up is a song that I’m a big fan of – “Crazy horses” by The Osmonds. Covers of well-known songs are a risky move as it’s very easy to alienate fans of the original, but I think Butcher Babies have done a great cover here. The distinctive guitar riff is still there, but the vocals are a lot heavier.
The final track is “P*ssy whipped”, originally by S.O.D (Stormtroopers of death). The original was extremely fast, and the cover is certainly fast too – it’s hard to tell what the lyrics are in the verses as they’re blasted out machine gun fast, but the chorus is slower.
It’s a great EP. All the song’s have been covered in a way that gives the song’s the Butcher Babies sound, so they’re nice and heavy but still retain the essential characteristics of the originals. Hopefully the EP will encourage fans to check out some of the band’s being covered too – releases like this do introduce fans to songs they may not have head before, but might love.
Track listing:
1. Beer drinkers & hell raisers
2. They’re coming to take me away
3. Don’t give a f@#k
4. Crazy horses
5. P*ssy whipped
