The covers album…they’re strange things. For me they spark an interest, not just for the way a band covers a song but the actual song selection. Obvious classic tracks or a deeper cut? Stay true to the original or put your own stamp on it? Spirit Adrift have decided to keep it lean and done a little of both on “20 Centuries Gone” by choosing six tracks as covers and throwing in two of their own self-penned numbers for good measure. The Texans have been knocking about since 2015 and have four full lengths along with a string of EP’s to their credit. Their own brand of honest, classic heavy metal heft is pleasing and made for live consumption and a strength of the band is that they manage to translate this into the recorded medium.
The band choose to separate the originals from the covers and come out of the blocks with their own work. “Sorcerer’s Fate” and “Mass Formation Psychosis” are both old school slabs of heavy metal. Swaggering, chunky riffs bring to mind early Dio and indeed Ronnie James Dio era Black Sabbath. The hooks are irresistible and sort of make you want a whole album of this. This is a band that knows how to limber up your neck muscles and while not necessarily pushing genre boundaries, it’s just good old fashioned riffage. And so to the covers…
Nothing will change a tone or mood quicker than Type O Negative. The chosen track is “Everything Dies” and the band capture the bleak hopelessness and Pete Steele’s delivery very, very well. With its shades of Andy Prieboy’s “Tomorrow Wendy” it’s an immediate direction shifter for this release. Equally haunting and magisterial, it is still a statement piece despite being a cover. Followed by Pantera’s “Hollow”, there’s a definite melancholy vibe swing that starts to about face when Metallica’s “Escape” shows up next. Perhaps an unlikely choice from an album like “Ride The Lightning” with its smorgasbord of classic cuts. Nevertheless, the song is again covered faithfully and with a rawness that is pleasing.
The final three run really nicely together. Starting with Thin Lizzy’s “Waiting For An Alibi”, the boys capture that sense of urgency and give the bass some prominence in the mix. The requisite Lizzy riff punch isn’t lost either…nice. Moving from the punch into the warm, fuzzy ZZ Top groove of “Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings” and the Southern swampiness of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Poison Whiskey”, this has been a brief but insightful journey into a young band’s psyche.
How does it stack up? Plenty of bands have done covers albums. Metallica’s “Garage Days Revisited” contained some crackers and even Saxon’s recent attempts contained some interesting insights. The running order on “20 Centuries Gone” is one I find more a talking point and mainly for the Type O Negative and Pantera cuts. Part of me wants to say put them at the end and a part wants to say start with them and finish with their two fine self-penned tracks. Small meandering thoughts aside, Spirit Adrift have opened the door to their history and shared some solidly delivered renditions of some quality tracks. Respectful and with a live feel, it’s worth a spin
(7/10 Johnny Zed)
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