Description:

A compilation of metal – what else? – as a soundtrack to accompany the Ultimate Fighting Championship (like wrestling, only more brutal).

Which means?

What it says on the tin. Rock/metal has always gone along with dangerous/violent sports, much like being a 14-year-old boy or having a frontal lobotomy.

Is it much cop?

I wouldn’t say so to their faces but, not particularly. A couple of decent songs, a whole bunch of average ones and no real relevance – it smells just like a cheap cash-in to me.

How many good tracks?

Maybe a handful. Sepultura’s cover of U2’s ‘Bullet The Blue Sky’ (only a bonus track on their Roorback album) is intriguing enough to have been put on repeat on my stereo – far better than POD’s version at any rate. Fear Factory, Damageplan and Slayer prove ever dependable, with solid contributions of their own, but all are standard album tracks.

And the worst?

After a passable first half, the compilation rapidly descends into a procession of nobodies. Ever heard of bands like Icepick, Stemm, Black Flood Diesel or Scars of Life? No? Nor had I, and frankly I can forget them.

Biggest disappointment?

That the muscle-bound oafs in tight trunks pictured in the sleeve – such as Tim ‘The Maine-iac’ Sylvia – presumably ‘stars’ of the associated ‘sport’ don’t sing. I still remember a bunch of WWF (now WWE) wrestlers, such as Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and the like releasing an album of their own songs back in what must’ve been the early 90s…

Verdict?

Half of this album is simply adequate, and the rest poor. With the possible exception of the UFC intro (‘Optimus Bellum Domitor’) there’s no real link to the sport, just a gratuitous tie-in, and everything that’s vaguely worth having has long been available elsewhere (no rare or exclusive tracks). If it came to a fight, this is a compilation that’d probably lose on points.

(2½/5)

Release Date: 07 February 2005

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Ultimate Fighting Championship – Ultimate Beatdowns Vol. 1 Metal