This is an interesting compilation from Arch Enemy. As someone may guess from the title, it only has covers and nothing more. They gathered any cover they’ve ever done, either for special editions of their albums or for tribute albums, they put some new inside and the result is a tracklist that has 24 songs in it. Not bad at all.
“Covered In Blood” is divided, as I see it, in two parts. The first has covers on hardcore/punk bands that Michael Amott appreciates a lot. They are recorded in an old-school way, having a dirtier sound in order to keep the feeling. Without knowing the songs of these bands, I can say that the final result is pretty good. The bands are Moderat Likvidation, Anti-Cimex and Shitlickers (what a name) from Sweden and the well-known Discharge and Charged G.B.H. from the UK. Fun fact, Alissa sings in Swedish when necessary.
The other part, sort of speak, has to do with classic bands and songs. For example, the hits “Shout” from Tears For Fears and “Shadow On The Wall” from Mike Oldfield. Their wandering on classic rock paths takes them to Scorpions (“The Zoo”), Kiss (“The Oath”) and Europe (“Wings Of Tomorrow”, “Scream Of Anger”). As for the metal side, they chose Judas Priest (“Starbreaker”, “Breaking The Law”), Iron Maiden (“The Ides Of March”, “Aces High”), Queensrÿche (“Walk In The Shadows”), Pretty Maids (“Back To Back”), Dream Evil (“The Book Of Heavy Metal”), Megadeth (“Symphony Of Destruction”), Manowar (“Kill With Power”) and strangely Carcass, because “Incarnate Solvent Abuse” is one of the tracks that Amott wrote when he was part of the legendary Brits.
It’s worth noticing that this compilation has to do with the entire career of the band, so besides Alissa we listen to Angela Gossow and of course their original singer Johan Liiva. All the covers are done with respect to the original artists and they manage to imprint the style of the band on them. They don’t just make a copy-paste job and that’s the meaning behind it after all. The ones I liked a bit more than the others, were “Shout”, “Walk In The Shadows”, “Breaking The Law” and “Aces High”. A release that it very entertaining and the fans of the band will surely have a good time listening to it.
