Next up in the goodie bags, ok, well I’ve got a bunch of CDs that are going to all be 70s style hard rock and metal. We’ve got the new live Michael Schenker album, Mogg/Way and Thunderhead. May as well do them all at once. But first we have the new Overkill. Why lump them in with this lot? 80s thrash compared with "classic" rock. Yeah, but see, this is Coverkill, an album consisting entirely of cover versions. Hmmm, now where have I heard that before. Why why why why why why why? Why is everyone doing covers. Fuck it, the next issue of YAZ is going to be a cover version of Kerrang! I’m going to take an entire issue and just "throw my own slant on it". Now wouldn’t that be an utter utter waste of my time and yours? Pointless. Worthless. So where’s the difference between that and all these goddamn covers that are being released. I’ve nothing against covers. Hell, if I was in a band, I’d find it nigh on impossible to write music that I wanted to play more than that which has influenced me. But, there’s a time for this thing. There’s a way to do it, and this isn’t it. The internet - use that. Release these things for free on there - offer a "free" CD with your album - remembering that it means you don’t up the price. Anything but doing this. It shows a lack of originality, and it’s scary that labels seem to only have confidence in their bands covering other peoples material. No no no no no no no. Ok, so that out of the way, what about the album itself. Well, it starts with the song from which the band took their name, Motorhead’s Overkill, performed live if you’ll believe this. But I’m sorry, Overkill have never been big enough to gain a reception like the one that leaps forth from this "live" recording. You get the Sex Pistols - of course, cos I’m sure Overkill have been punk, like every other fucker. There’s Jethro Tull as well, the band that influenced Maiden. Punk man. Most interesting is the take on Sabbath’s Changes. You know, the piano only one. The one that I would love to see them play live at the farewell gigs if I go. Or even if I don’t go. Just for the little teensy weensy risk of it all. Well here it’s done on bass, which is interesting. Bobby "Blitz" does a reasonable impersonation of the Ozzmeister (when is that being turned into an alcoholic drink by the way? You’d have thought the Ozzman would’ve cashed in on that little beauty given his past or can I copyright the idea now and earn millions!), but then it deterioates by bringing in the whole band. The beauty of the original was that it was piano and vocal and no more. Here’s it’s almost turned into a power ballad. And that’s the most interesting!! Plenty of covers. Deep Purple, Manowar, Judas Priest and the likes. But next time, something Original eh?! Ta.

Teb Bullet. With a vocalist sporting a name like that, there’s no prizes for guessing what this is about. Inoffensive 80s metal, there’s the powerchords such as on Liar and Rock Bottom, the "heart wrenching" ballad such as Blood, the pseudo thrash of 35 Minutes and the acoustic instrumental of High and Don’t Care. Oh, and loads of guitar licks. It’s an indicator of how bland and predictable a genre of music can become. And in a way should serve as a warning to some of the current styles. Maybe I am turning my back on a form of music that I used to listen to, but it just serves to re-enforce why I like to listen to new things, different styles. Because the tried and trusted ways can be great and awesome. Or shite. I’m afraid that for me, this veers toward the latter.

Time then now for some Mogg/Way. And not Mogwai as the press release points out. Ah, that’s humour. I need a bit of a humour. ‘Scuse me, just going for a quick chortle. Ahhhh. Better. Let’s pop it in. The CD I’m talking about. Now, I best remember Pete Way for A) influencing the bass god that is Steve Harris, and B) cos his 80s band Waysted released what was actually a damn good album in Save Your Prayers which I lost and have never found since. Which I guess is why I call it lost. However, I never quite got the band this pair were more famous for, UFO. Wonder what that Mortiis chap thinks of the cover of this album. Likes it for the royalties I guess. Music. Well what do you reckon it sounds like? Go on, take a guess. Stop me doing all the work. But, if you guessed melodic hard rock, then pat yourself on the back and buy yourself a prize. 10 slabs of melodic hard rock in fact which at times reminds me of Magnum. Unfortunately, for all the quality on offer from these grizzled old campaigners, there’s nothing that reaches out and grabs the attention quite as it should do, and Jeruslam in particular just doesn’t sit well with me. Too Close To the Sun brings to mind Whitesnake, maybe as much in the bluesy style vocals of Mogg. Tracks like King Of The City have the elements in place, but as my tastes have evolved over the years, something like this needs to be pretty special to make a mark, and this instead just exists.