Review: Metal Ikka - The Japanese Metallica Tribute Album

Tribute albums are a tricky thing. Covers in general are a bit on the lame side to begin with, and a straight up cover, without the band molding the song into its own style or reinterpreting the original content in a new way, is just an embarrassment all around. It's a fine line between paying homage to the original, and just using it as a crutch for inadequate creativity and a lack of talent for creating something new in the first place. Being able to not only make the song interesting to long time fans as well as totally change it in a way that seems to amplify its greatness, if not flat out improve upon it, is a rare feat.

We've seen some recent Japanese tribute albums that fell well short of the mark. The Weezer and Radiohead tributes come to mind. Both of these are riddled with too many bands taking themselves a little too seriously, and singing the English lyrics with more than a little trouble. A lot of that falls on the original content, which is already loaded with the respective band's heaping helpings of OMG we're Weezer or OMG we're Radiohead baggage.

Now we've got another tribute to another band who, in all likelihood, have had some influence even on bands like the two aforementioned trailblazers. Metallica, for many reasons, are one of the biggest bands on the plant, or at least they were a few years ago. They have legions of absolutely rabid fans that eat and breathe Metallica 24/7, who worship them like gods and follow their every move. It's safe to say that to many fans there will never be anything as great as the original songs, so any attempt at a tribute is doomed to fail even before it gets off the ground. Yet for those of us with a slightly broader perspective, there might still be room for some interesting interpretations.

That's where Metal Ikka comes in. It's eleven songs and forty-eight minutes of pure Metallica madness. Yet even these great songs are rife with chances to fail in the wrong hands. How does Metal Ikka stand up to the competitors? Can anyone hope to shred like Hammett or snarl like Hetfield? Let's take a listen and find out.

The album kicks off with “Sad But True” from 10 Feet. What starts off sounding like the aforementioned straight-up cover quickly jumps into all new territory with a fast break beat, then much heavier and faster guitars. Overall the band sound a little like Electric Eel Shock with bouncing nu-metal riff in place of the hard rock approach. They don't bother changing it up much other than to add a few breaks and builds. Still, a very rockin' song.

9mm Parabellum Bullet keep the energy high with “Motorobreath.” They play it pretty close to the original, a little faster and with their usual brash and noisy production. While they don't really add anything to the song other than a few new odd-time stops and starts, they do manage to breathe the same fire and brimstone that fuels the original. In fact, drummer Kamijo Chihiro adds a massive amount of fury to the drums, totally blowing away Lars' original performance.

After the extend intro, “Creeping Death” by Razors Edge is almost totally deconstructed and rebuilt into a very tight and very fast ska-punk blitz. They run the song through several time and tempo changes, mostly from fast to much much faster, which is nice since the original, while iconic to say the least, is also a bit on the slow and plodding side. These guys take all the time tested motifs and apply them in very cool new ways. It's a crazy, fast and, at time, pretty funny ride.

Fuck You Heroes run “Metal Militia” through its paces, stick very close to the original, mealy adding some incomprehensibly screamed vocals and a generally heavier sound. It's basically just an updated version of the original, which is fine, since the original is quite awesome on its own.

When I first saw that Beat Crusaders were doing “One” I knew we were in for a treat, and the good time, tongue-in-cheek, feel good rockers deliver. They turn one of the darkest Metallica songs into what is both a fitting tribute, and also something very close to parody. It's a funky pop-rock take, something that might only be hilarious to people who have the original song imprinted note-for-note into their DNA. They absolutely fly through all of the originally elongated sections, distilling their essence down to easily digestible pills, which actually amplifies the greatness of the original material. Again, it's done in a way taken to almost Weird Al-ian territory, but it's also done in a way the proves Beat Crusaders absolutely love the song.

“Through the Never” is an interesting deep-track choice by Uzumaki. Not exactly one of Metallica's most memorable songs, they nevertheless turn it into a slick nu-metal/industrial dance track. For the most part they ignore the original in favor of simply lifting a few riffs and beats and applying them to the dance-track structure. It's still plenty heavy and dark, but much more suited to, say, an intense driving game or football highlight reel.

The opening riff to “Seek and Destroy” is something that you don't want to mess with. It's one of Metallica's most memorable, and Insolence knows it. While keeping all the notes in the right place, they manage to add a White Zombie swagger to the song, with a deep, Ministry-esque yelling vocal style and deeper guitars. They slow the beats down to half-time and generally let the songs drag, turning it into a doom-metal piece with a few electro scratches and a hollow, echoing chorus. When the solo hits halfway through it suddenly goes into double time, with a break beat similar to that of 10 Feet's opener. Things then fall back into sludgy mode for the end.

Totalfat take on “Fuel.” They tread very close to the original, even singing very much in Hetfield's style. They break it up a bit with some speedy pop-punk breaks and stomping riffs, but for the most part it adds very little to the equation.

My most highly anticipated track is next, that being Polysics' cover of “Enter Sandman.” While they (in this case probably just Hiro) basically play the original, it's a totally electro/industrial version, almost devoid of guitars, pushing them very far back in the mix. It's just as much of a tribute to P-Model's “Enola” as it is “Enter Sandman.” Sadly, most of the performance is phoned-in and very flat, with Hiro's vocals being a real low-point. While as a fan I find it to be a big disappointment, it also won't be winning over anyone new to Polysics.

2Side1Brain continue the album's second half decline with are very whiny emo-metal version of “St. Anger.” This is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping would be absent from this tribute, and up until this point Metal Ikka is a very pleasant surprise. Unfortunately these guys really drag the rest down with a pretty limp effort. The touchy-feely style has never suited Metallica, as evidenced on some of their more recent output, and 2side1Brain only make things worse.

Thank god Outrage is there to save the day with a blistering version of “Fight Fire With Fire.” Sure, they play the song note for note along with the original, but in this case it's a welcome pallet cleanser after the previous misfires. If you're at all familiar with Metallica's original, then you already know what Outrage's version sounds like. Much like the rest of the album, they bring a heavier overall feel, more a result of modern production techniques than anything else. If this were placed high up on the track list it would probably be much less of a stand out, but as it is it ends the album with a very sweet stamp of pure heavy metal.

Long story short: if you are a true Metallica fan, then you must get Metal Ikka. If you are a fan of several of the bands in the line-up, then you must get Metal Ikka. You will not be disappointed. Sure, it might quickly fade in glory, but the rush of nostalgia and the kick-ass energy it delivers are well worth the price. There are probably a few tracks that will be constantly skipped, but they are very few, and conveniently grouped together.

Finally, if you haven't noticed by now, there is one almost unforgivable omission from the track list. There isn't a single track from Master of Puppets! How this is possible is well beyond my own ability to reason. I suppose everyone has their own favorites, but why anyone would want to do something off of The Black Album or St. Anger in lieu of, well, anything off of Puppets boggles the mind. Maybe it's just too sacred an album to even consider the attempt? At any rate, absent friends aside, pick up Metal Ikka and rock the fuck out.

BUY METAL IKKA HERE!