These Are Evil Times

These Are Evil Times

Sweden’s Hellsongs will determine what kind of heavy metal and industrial fan you are. The band's lounge-pop albums divide audiences pretty consistently. If you have an ear for pop music, their interpretations should force a smile and some begrudging praise, since any band that can transform Black Sabbath’s classic “Iron Man” into what opens this album deserves your respect. You might not recognize it the first few times around—and when you do, it might make you uncomfortable (Can they do that?). But once the novelty factor wears off, it’s apparent that these are talented and demented individuals. Rammstein’s “Engel” gets a giddy, roller-rink organ interpretation. It’s said that this album is a departure for Hellsongs, since they’ve written a few originals for the project, but it’s hard to discern which tracks they might be. It’s not too often that you’ll be hearing a catchy little synth-pop album only to realize much later that the ditties are classic metal tunes being reworked beyond recognition. 

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