Review by Jason Guest
Compilation albums are curious entities. On the one hand, they can perhaps transform one or two speculative shoppers into lifelong devotees of the band and, maybe, the genre they are associated with. On the other however, they can do some serious damage. By sticking that dreadful label ‘Best Of’ or whatever naff equivalent all over the collection (‘Greatest Hits’ is another belter), they reduce a band’s identity and their entire career down to just ten or so tracks plucked from their back catalogue. The implication that the band neither has done nor will do any better surely defeats the purpose of releasing anything else by the band (for instance, how many people do you think own one of the countless ‘Best of Black Sabbath’ compilations but couldn’t name the albums any of the tracks are drawn from?). Record labels love compilations – or at least used to – because they are the winners in either scenario. And they usually arrive just as Christmas is approaching…
To celebrate their thirty year history, Roadrunner Records they have brought unto the merry metal masses this four-disc, almost five-hour retrospective that contains the ‘Best Of’ what they’ve brought unto the metal-headed multitude the world over since their launch. From Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Obituary, and Deicide through Type O Negative, Machine Head, Soulfly, Fear Factory, Trivium, Dream Theater, Opeth, and Megadeth into Gojira, Airbourne, Korn, and Rush, it’s quite the collection. A quick look through the full track listing (below) will make you realise how much of the music we’ve been listening to for the pat thirty years has come from Roadrunner Records. What’s also interesting to is see how many of the bands included here are no longer signed to the label (particularly those that were allegedly treated badly by the label when “fashions” changed). Of course, with this release, Roadrunner – under the guiding hand of the Warner Music Group – may be showing off, but given what the label have brought to the metal community in the last three decades, I suppose they could be forgiven, a little at least. Anyway, at least they’re owning up to Coal Chamber, Cradle of Filth, and – hold on to your turkey – Nickelback.
7 out of 10
Track listing:
Disc 1: Foundations
- Evil – Mercyful Fate
- Power Thrashing Death – Whiplash
- Abigail – King Diamond
- Carnivore – Carnivore
- Slowly We Rot – Obituary
- Alison Hell – Annihiliator
- Sacrificial Suicide – Deicide
- Infecting The Crypts – Suffocation
- Punishment – Biohazard
- Christian Woman – Type O Negative
- Matandos Gueros – Brujeria
- Veil Of Maya – Cynic
- Through And Through – Life Of Agony
- Excess And Overdrive – Treponem Pal
Disc 2: Horns Up
- Wasting Away – Nailbomb
- Imperium – Machine Head
- No Fronts (Jam Master Jay’s Main Edit) – Dog Eat Dog
- Crystal Mountain – Death
- Roots Bloody Roots – Sepultura
- Loco – Coal Chamber
- Eye For An Eye – Soulfly
- Shock – Fear Factory
- Spit It Out – Slipknot
- New Disease – Spineshank
- Pure Hatred – Chimaera
- Bloodwork – 36 Crazyfists
- What Comes Around – Ill Nino
Disc 3: And Metal For All
- My Last Serenade – Killswitch Engage
- Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr – Trivium
- I Could Care Less – Devildriver
- Nymphetamine Fix – Cradle Of Filth
- Destroy Everything – Hatebreed
- Inflikted – Cavalera Conspiracy
- The Dagger – Roadrunner United
- Fear Of A Blank Planet – Porcupine Tree
- On The Backs Of Angels – Dream Theater
- Heir Apparent – Opeth
- Headcrusher – Megadeth
- Witchtripper – Down
- Bible Black – Heaven & Hell
- L’enfant Sauvage – Gojira
Disc 4: Rock For The Ages
- Side Of A Bullet – Nickelback
- Anger Rising – Jerry Cantrell
- 30/30-150 – Stone Sour
- Ma Petite Mort – Karma To Burn
- Pretty Lush – Glassjaw
- Girl Anachronism – The Dresden Dolls
- No-One Fits Me (Better Than You) – Airbourne
- Dead In Hollywood – Murderdolls
- Bad Girlfriend – Theory Of A Deadman
- Lonely Train – Black Stone Cherry
- Get Up! – Korn feat. Skrillex
- Headlong Flight – Rush
- Still Unbroken – Lynyrd Skynyrd
