ELLEFSON – No Cover

Skilled Megadeth bass wizard David Ellefson recently released this highly entertaining 2CD slab of exciting, fist-pumping cover renditions via earMUSIC and the various line-ups that appear on the discs are jaw dropping and include past and present members of Anthrax, Ministry, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Last in Line, Slayer, Cheap Trick, Megadeth, and Twisted Sister just to list a few.

Honestly, not every tune on ”No Cover” rules but overall, this is a damn fine celebration of all things rock ‘n’ roll. Ellefson and his talented cohorts are burning on all cylinders much of the time and deliver energetic performances, but most importantly, it sounds like they are having fun tearing through classic cuts by Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Billy idol, Def Leppard (how could they not cover Leppard when glancing at the…ehhh, ”artwork” that adorns ”No Cover”), AC/DC, Fight, Sweet, Kiss, Cheap Trick, and other legendary outfits. Although the version of Nazareth’s ”Love Hurts” is dreadful, the majority of these tracks range from solid to utterly thrilling with the best of them arguably being ”Over the Mountain”, ”Freewheel Burning”, ”Love Me Like a Reptile”, and ”Sweet F.A.”.

The thing about ”No Cover” is that it lacks warmth and to some extent dynamics due these guys having recorded their respective parts at studios all over and sending things back and forth between them, but that is to be expected these days with the pandemic and all of that. I think the most important and impressive thing about this passionate record is that shows a bunch of talented musicians having the time of their lives paying tribute to classic rock and kick-ass heavy metal. This package is as heavy as it is uplifting, and it certainly brightened my mood. You should check it out.

https://www.davidellefson.com/