Well, did it measure up...

I'm talking about Kerrang!'s remastered compilation of band's doing Master of Puppets...eight bands doing a track each - and a few surprises...

This had the potential to be a complete waste of space, despite the good intentions of paying homage to one of the greatest albums of all time. And the varying production and engineering standards make it too erratic in terms of mix to make it truly great.

But - the tracks:
Battery - Machinehead turn in an energetic and faithful cover - capturing the energy and Robb Flynn really sounds like he is enjoying himself.
Master - Trivium try to be too faithful - almost too respectful the sheer exuberance of their playing has been lost; maybe they were too much in awe
The Thing - Mendeed are one of the few bands who try to give their own interpretation of a song off Master. It takes a lot of swallowing to listen (excuse the mixed metaphor) to someone doing this differently; but after their average showing on the Trivium guest slot, this was a wee bit refreshing. It's not great and barely manages good, but brave try.
Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - You'll love this 'Slinger - actually no you'll love my comment - Bullet for My Valentine don't do a particularly good cover of this. Again more workmanlike than inspired.
Disposable Heroes - Chimaira are one of those bands forever bubbling under - but here they blast through Heroes. The vocal style takes some getting used to - a cross between Araya, Hetfield, Lemmy and Howard Johnson (of Killswitch Engage). It won't be too everyone's taste (you'll hate it Baal :) ) but it is a good cover.
Leper Messiah - The REAL SURPRISE! Let's face it Fightstar are a joke hardcore band formed by Charlie Simpson of Busted, but this is probably the second best cover on the album!!
Orion - Mastodon prove they are simply one of the best of the new generation of metal. You can almost imagine Cliff looking down past those enormous bell bottoms and headbanging in approval!
Damage Inc - Errm, Funeral for a Friend have produced some good songs and some average songs - they have murdered this classic!

In summary - I would have rated all of the bands, with the exception of Fightstar and Chimaira as either good or potentially great, but only Fightstar and Mastodon ended up capturing the spirit of Master of Puppets, an album that mixed technical perfection with metallic aggression.

For the rest of the bands - stick to your own material; you have paid homage - now move on!