Out around the time of Halloween but evergreen enough to be interesting beyond the Yuletide period, “Thriller: A Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson” sees the hard rock veterans play the late great artist’s best pieces. Which is only logical given Michael’s heavy tastes when it came to picking such accompanists as Eddie Van Halen for “Beat It,” Steve Stevens for “Smooth Criminal” or Slash for “Give In To Me.” Now, there’s a lot more performers present their interpretations of Jacko’s tunes and, although one of them expressed to this scribe his dissatisfaction with his contribution to the collection, it’s surely of much interest.
Says one of the players on the album, Tony Franklin: “It’s cool how these classic pop songs translated to the metal genre. It’s the sign of a great song and a great production and arrangement. I like how the guest artists interpreted these songs. It brought out a different side of them – a side we wouldn’t usually hear. It was a fun album to be part of! “Black Or White” had a heavy funk groove, which I enjoyed a lot! Funky and heavy. That’s me!”
A Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson
1. Thriller – Chuck Billy
2. Man In The Mirror – Danny Worsnop, Billy Sheehan
3. The Way You Make Me Feel – Angelo Moore, Doug Aldrich, Rudy Sarzo
4. Black Or White – Lajon Witherspoon, Bruce Kulick, Tony Franklin
5. Beat It – Priya Panda, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
6. Billy Jean – Corey Glover, Phil Campbell
7. Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) – Elias Soriano
8. Rock With You – Doug Pinnick
9. Dirty Diana – Chris Jericho
10. Bad – Paul DiAnno, Craig Goldy
11. They Don’t Care About Us – ICARUS WITCH
12. Never Can Say Goodbye – Lonnie Jordan
13. Smooth Criminal – ALIEN ANT FARM
