Atrocity

Werk 80 II (Napalm)
by Scott Hefflon

Uh, it’s a cover record of ’80s pop classics, evidently the band’s second, the first recorded back in ’97. I missed/skipped that one, or have drunk enough since to’ve blocked it, but here’s this one to deal with, and I’m only three drinks into the night.

First off: ’80s pop classics don’t need covering anymore, thanks. The Dita von Teese cover is nice, thanks. Admittedly, I’ve never had much use for Atrocity, cuz aside from marrying hottie Liv Kristie, the creativity/output of the band is simply ok. Give me Therion any day. The idea of covering these songs using soaring Gothic female vocals and growl/clean male singing is interesting, sure, but this speaks of production and string arrangement, not songwriting and creativity, yes? So perhaps that’s why I’ve never bothered with Atrocity: They’re a great interpretative cover band, but nothing special as an original metal band.

OK, dickishness aside, this can be a fun listen. Don’t know how often I’d whip this out, but lots of these songs were sappy and dumb to begin with, so a mediocre Goth metal version of them being silly shouldn’t be a surprise. But a handful here, the songs that clicked then and doomed-up now still work, yeah, they’re worth the price of the CD.

Here’s a song list, and man, just draw yer own conclusions: “People are People,” “Smalltown Boy,” “Relax,” “Don’t You Forget About Me,” “The Sun Always Shines on TV,” “Hey Little Girl,” “Fade to Grey,” “Such a Shame,” “Keine Heimat,” “Here Comes the Rain Again,” and “Forever Young.”
(www.napalmrecords.com)