So has Dave Grohl done it again with Probot? The simple answer is yes. The longer more convoluted answer is available by sending ten milk bottle tops and a SAE to the editor.
Taking some of the biggest (and oldest) names in metal Dave has turned what could have been a greatest hits album into one which can slug it out with the big boys.
Probot offers us new material from the likes of Cronos (Venom), Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly), Lee Dorian (Cathedral, Napalm Death), Snake (Voivod), Lemmy (Motorhead) and King Diamond (Mercyful Fate)
How some of these guys are still actually alive beggars belief but here they are with not only the vocals but also the lyrics.
The opener is Centuries of Sin with Cronos of Venom fame which could have graced any early work from the pioneers of Black Metal.
From there we jump ahead to the present with Max Cavalera. Being a huge Sep and Soulfly fan there was a certain amount of breath holding to see what Max had come up with and he didn’t fail to impress with Red War. The lyrics were written a week before 9-11 during a trip to NY. He wrote about a war with Afghanistan and the whole war vibe but little did he know that a week later the lyrics would take on a whole new meaning.
Then we move onto to the lord of all that is metal, Lemmy. The first single released from the album Shake your Blood is already getting a lot of air play. Whether this is down to Dave Grohl fans or Lemmy fans waits to be seen but either way it is one of the highlights on the album.
From then on it’s a mix of old and new, including doom merchant Lee Dorian (a personal favorite) and Eric Wagner of Trouble.
The only tunes which may have you reaching for the stop button are Access Babylon on which Mike Dean may well be taking the piss and Sweet Dreams with King Diamond who must have put on the face paint too tight as he squeals through the closing track.
So should you beg borrow or steal this album? All of the above. Dave’s put together an album which acts as a road map upon which metal has traveled over the years.
Put it this way, the more albums bought the better chance of a tour. Now that would be a line up to die for. Though how Grohl would mange to play all the instruments as he does on the album would be anyone’s guess.