Review of Various Artists - MTV2 Headbangers Ball: The Revenge (2 Discs)

Lets be honest with each other, somehow I doubt you actually want me to spend the time to analyze thirty eight songs and their immediate value and worth on an individual basis, so I’ve left the scores blank. The fact of the matter is if you enjoy any of the bands featured here you probably already have releases that contain a good 80% of the material on this compilation. Similarly, if you gave a damn about any of the bands who’s releases you don’t own, you’d be better sticking with getting whatever respect album these songs come from. For what it is, this is an enormously large and impressively varied compilation offering several different genres and many different overall styles of music. The problem is I don’t expect the three live songs or the six exclusive/unreleased songs warrant shelling your hard earned money

This compilations main strength comes from is hard hitting metalcore/hardcore sections featuring the infamous pomp of heavyweights Hatebreed, pop media darlings Killswitch Engage, ex metalcore gods now turned shall we say emo core Underoath, technically compelling metalcore aficionados As I lay Dying, and solid if not predictable contributions from the likes of Chimaira, Still Remains, God Forbid, Throwdown, 36 Crazyfists, A Life Once Lost, and Walls of Jericho.

Extreme metal highlights for me on this release consisted of the live version of “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden, Mastodon’s “Blood & Thunder”, In Flames “Take this Life”, Arch Enemy “Nemesis”, Opeth “The Grand Conjuration”, and High on Fire “Devilution”, yet I still walked away unsatisfied from this release considering most of these songs I didn’t care for that much the first time I heard them like the Arch Enemy or the new Opeth.

Even some tracks which could be construed as extreme metal offer little to no appeal for me as I’ve never cared for Trivium, Lamb of God, Dragonforce, and Devil Driver. Nor do I have much concern for what Lacuna Coil is doing currently.

For those of you who read this site I expect this release to pass by relatively unnoticed if not scoffed at by the extreme metal community for its more controversial inclusion of pop metal superstars ala Slipknot, Korn, and Mudvayne. Point being, if you are an avid listener of extreme music with little concern for what passes as good in the mainstream nowadays, this disc will be useful maybe perhaps as either a coaster or a gift for a little brother who’s just started to like material with growled vocals. However, if by some miracle you love these bands and have never heard these songs it is worth checking out as each performance is solid, but I’d still wait for one of your buddies to get it first. I leave it to you to decide this things relative worth.

Track Listing:
Disc 1:
1. Slipknot - Before I Forget (Exclusive mix never commercially released)
2. Korn - Liar
3. Iron Maiden - The Trooper (live)
4. Hatebreed - To The Threshold (Brand new exclusive song)
5. Mudvayne - Forget To Remember
6. Avenged Sevenfold - Burn It Down
7. HIM - Vampire Heart
8. Trivium - A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation
9. Lamb Of God - Now You've Got Something To Die For (live)
10. 10 Years - Wasteland
11. Disturbed - Guarded
12. As I Lay Dying - Through Struggle
13. Lacuna Coil - Our Truth
14. Underoath - It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
15. Mastodon - Blood & Thunder
16. Killswitch Engage - A Bid Farewell (live) (Unreleased on CD)
17. Black Label Society - In This River
18. Bleeding Through - Kill To Believe
19. In Flames - Take This Life

Disc 2:
1. Chimaira - Nothing Remains
2. Bullet For My Valentine - Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)
3. Arch Enemy - Nemesis
4. It Dies Today - Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads
5. Opeth - The Grand Conjuration (Exclusive edit)
6. Norma Jean - Liarsenic
7. DevilDriver - Hold Back The Day
8. Still Remains - The Worst Is Yet To Come
9. God Forbid - The End Of The World
10. Throwdown - Burn
11. From First To Last - The Latest Plague
12. 36 Crazyfists - I'll Go Until My Heart Stops (Previously unreleased)
13. Dragonforce - Through The Fire And Flames Previouslyy unreleased in US)
14. A Life Once Lost - Vulture
15. High On Fire - Devilution
16. Bloodsimple - Sell Me Out
17. Haste The Day - When Everything Falls
18. Walls Of Jericho - A Trigger Full Of Promises (Brand new exclusive song)
19. Kingdom of Sorrow - Buried In Black (Brand new exclusive song featuring Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, Kirk Windstein of Crowbar/Down & Derek Kerswill of Seemless)

Release Details

Various Artists

MTV2 Headbangers Ball: The Revenge (2 Discs)

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