Ten years ago, Green Day released "American Idiot", which became one of the most successful albums of all time from the alternative rock scene. Today Kerrang! magazine brought out their own version to celebrate its anniversary, featuring bands such as Neck Deep, You Me At Six and Falling In Reverse. Personally, I've never been a Green Day fan, but I absolutely had to hear this.
The album opens with a cover of American Idiot by Australian pop band, 5 Seconds of Summer and it is truly atrocious. Essentially, the vocals aren't that bad, and neither are the instrumentals, but when you remember that this is meant to be a Green Day song its boy-band pre-teen pop sound is just embarrassing.
Thankfully, the rest of the album makes a quick comeback and isn't too bad. Some of the tracks, including The Blackout's cover of Holiday and Bowling For Soup's of St. Jimmy are actually pretty jammy, but there's a huge problem in that most of the songs completely lack imagination. LostAlone's cover of Letterbomb and The Defiled's cover of Wake Me Up When September Ends are unimpressive and simply sound like weak replicas of the originals. Obviously this was intended to be a tribute to Green Day, and they will have obviously heavily influenced the majority of the bands on this album, but it really feels like there's been a missed opportunity here.
Neck Deep's version of Boulevard of Broken Dreams is one of the stronger points. Whilst far from exceptional, they give it their own twist with fast-paced pop punk guitar riffs and drum beats. Rise To Remain's cover of Jesus of Suburbia is also good with some heavier drumming and backing vocals. Interestingly, Falling In Reverse's cover of She's A Rebel is also one of the better done tracks, featuring a screamed verse and breakdown which actually adds a really good variation to the song.
The catchy, quick-pace is broken up by Escape The Fate's version of Give Me Novocaine and You Me At Six's We Are The Waiting. They're both pleasant to listen to, but again, are unimaginative.
The album also features two bonus tracks from Green Day's revolutionary third album, "Dookie", which itself turns 20 this year. State Champs' version of Welcome To Paradise is predictable and sounds nothing like their own material, but it is catchy and has the potential to be a good summer jam. The Swellers' cover of Basket Case is also very typical, but is definitely another one of the best from the album, providing an overall good finish.
Considering this album is completely free (unless you count the £3 you pay for the magazine), it's definitely worth picking up, although you'd probably be severely dissapointed if you had to pay the price of a regular CD. There are definitely more letdowns than successes; a nice idea, but executed very poorly. However, it is certainly not a bad album and is more a bit of harmless fun than anything, and there are definitely a good few tracks that are not to be missed.
The album opens with a cover of American Idiot by Australian pop band, 5 Seconds of Summer and it is truly atrocious. Essentially, the vocals aren't that bad, and neither are the instrumentals, but when you remember that this is meant to be a Green Day song its boy-band pre-teen pop sound is just embarrassing.
Thankfully, the rest of the album makes a quick comeback and isn't too bad. Some of the tracks, including The Blackout's cover of Holiday and Bowling For Soup's of St. Jimmy are actually pretty jammy, but there's a huge problem in that most of the songs completely lack imagination. LostAlone's cover of Letterbomb and The Defiled's cover of Wake Me Up When September Ends are unimpressive and simply sound like weak replicas of the originals. Obviously this was intended to be a tribute to Green Day, and they will have obviously heavily influenced the majority of the bands on this album, but it really feels like there's been a missed opportunity here.
Neck Deep's version of Boulevard of Broken Dreams is one of the stronger points. Whilst far from exceptional, they give it their own twist with fast-paced pop punk guitar riffs and drum beats. Rise To Remain's cover of Jesus of Suburbia is also good with some heavier drumming and backing vocals. Interestingly, Falling In Reverse's cover of She's A Rebel is also one of the better done tracks, featuring a screamed verse and breakdown which actually adds a really good variation to the song.
The catchy, quick-pace is broken up by Escape The Fate's version of Give Me Novocaine and You Me At Six's We Are The Waiting. They're both pleasant to listen to, but again, are unimaginative.
The album also features two bonus tracks from Green Day's revolutionary third album, "Dookie", which itself turns 20 this year. State Champs' version of Welcome To Paradise is predictable and sounds nothing like their own material, but it is catchy and has the potential to be a good summer jam. The Swellers' cover of Basket Case is also very typical, but is definitely another one of the best from the album, providing an overall good finish.
Considering this album is completely free (unless you count the £3 you pay for the magazine), it's definitely worth picking up, although you'd probably be severely dissapointed if you had to pay the price of a regular CD. There are definitely more letdowns than successes; a nice idea, but executed very poorly. However, it is certainly not a bad album and is more a bit of harmless fun than anything, and there are definitely a good few tracks that are not to be missed.
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