Rating 3.5

You love those Rammstein vocals--they are sexy and HARD

Locust take the opposite approach on "Master and Servant" and come up with similar results. I've never been able to take the original vary seriously. It has always possessed a high camp value for me mostly because I've seen Martin in his chainmail. The song threatens something sinister and exciting but it never comes off for me. Now Locust turns a silly song into a wondeful lounge piece replete with alternating vocals between a male and female voice. The result is jarring and far more subversive than the original. Again, DM pose the threat. This is the promise.

The Cure turn "World in my Eyes" into a strange middle-eastern number. As usual, Robert's inflections are sublime. I get closer to swooning every time I hear it. It is starting to have a similar effect on me to the Rammstein track.

Monster Magnet articulate the rage that is implied in "Black Celebration". They also brings forth a tasty dose of machismo with the Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzy vocals that build in intensity over the course of the track. It is heavy, sexy and very direct. Somehow, I imagine that their "Black Celebration" is going to involve debilitating alcohol abuse and varioius criminal activities. The original made me wish desperately for a black mass held in the forest. Monster Magnet doesn't get that, but they've at least got naked sororiety sisters dancing about a fire and that is good enough.

The Deftones shoud have amended the title of their track to "To Have and to Hold (under the water). It is dark, supremely spooky and perfect for those long jaunts alone into the woods. It reminds me of Tool somewhat, and Metallica, oddly enough.

Of the rest of the bands, I like Gus Gus and the Smashing Pumpkins a bit. Dishwalla is alright but becomes less the more I hear it. The only tracks that are completely reprehensible are by Varuca Salt, Apollo 440, and Self. Skip those every time.

Overall, this compilation features tracks by several bands not intent on just copying the master. The result is a pretty good album overall.

Hit and Miss

Let's consider what was done right. The Cure and DM already have a major overlap in fan base, so I expected a good interpretation of "World in My Eyes" right off the bat. I was not disappointed; this version is more fast-paced and has almost an Arabian feel to it. Very cool and just as good as the original, in its own way. The Deftones' "To Have and to Hold" is creepy and morose, a perfect song choice to create a nexus between the bands. Chino Moreno's vocals here are less breathy than on some of his more recent albums such as White Pony, but the Deftones were still relatively new when this CD hit the shelves. I also was drawn to Gus Gus' take on "Monument", which is frankly a DM song I was not previously aware of (probably a B-side from the early days... DJs have a talent for digging up obscure early Depeche Mode stuff to show how far back their obsession really goes. Find Danny Tenaglia's remix of "I Feel Loved" for further evidence.) Between this track and their two remixes of "Only When I Lose Myself," I became a huge Gus Gus fan in no time. I like Hooverphonic's attempt at "Shake the Disease" very much, a sultry trip-hop reinvention with the same heavy heart as the original. Veruca Salt's retread of "Somebody" is not bad either, as the song already seems like it might come from a feminine perspective.

There are also some in-between efforts here that could have been so much better with just a few minor changes. Failure's take on "Enjoy the Silence" is initially stunning because it is a pretty effective acoustic interpretation of a totally synthesized song. Then the drums hit a little harder and suddenly you get whacked upside the head with a slab of distorted(...)guitar. All of this would work really well if it weren't for the vocals. This singer has a very whiney yet flat delivery that really disfigures what would otherwise be a pretty cool take on a well-known DM song. Same goes for Dishwalla's "Policy of Truth." Good sonic arrangements are ruined by a guy who sounds like he wants to be Michael Hutchence but is really pretty far off the mark.

The rest of these tracks just sound very odd and quite often get skipped. I have to admit, though, that Rammstein's "Stripped" is kind of addictive in its ridiculousness.

Worth buying if you're a deep DM fan and you don't mind skipping tracks to find the good covers.

God Lives Underwater