Beatallica is a band that combines Metallica and Beatles songs to make a mesh mash of songs that usually have the melodies of Beatles songs with a heavy sound to it ala Metallica. Beatallica is comprised of Jaymz Lennfield (combination of James Hetfield and John Lennon). Grg Hammetson (combination of George Harrison and Kirk Hammett), Kliff McBurtney (combination of Cliff Burton and Paul McCartney), and Ringo Larz (combination of Ringo Starr and Lars Ulrich).
For over six years, the band have been playing clubs and gaining recognition in the metal scene. They were also famously involved in a legal issue with Sony over the concept, but Lars Ulrich stepped in and provided the band with a lawyer to defuse the situation, which eventually happened. Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band is Beatallica’s first album and one in which the band is trying to make a name for themselves and prove that they are more than just a joke band.
The title track starts the album off and the song is basically a heavier version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The lyrics are more comical, dealing with drinking many beers and banging people’s heads all day. The track leads into “Revol-ooh-tion,” which is a much faster version of the Beatles classic. The bass drums sound very tight, especially in the pre-chorus. The Metallica influence comes shining through halfway through with a Hammett-style solo that ends in a duel guitar solo.
“Blackened the U.S.S.R” is catchy and short with a nice bass solo fitted in near the end of the track. “Sandman” starts out just like the classic Metallica track, “Enter Sandman,” just with the bass line from “Taxman” added in. The song mixes the “Taxman” melody with the classic “Enter Sandman” riff. The song is very catchy and mixes both songs very well. The song resorts back to the beginning section in the middle of the song before ending “Sandman” with a long solo that fades out.
“Helvester of Skelter” is a dull-sounding track. It is a slower-paced song, but it just seems to plod along with little to no direction. The band made the best out of the combination, but “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Helter Skelter” don’t make a good match. “A Garage Dayz Nite” brings the album back on track with a catchy and quick (only two minutes long) number. Kliff and Grg gets some nice backing vocals in as the band sounds like it got some energy back.
“Anesthesia (I’m Only Sleeping)” starts off like the classic bass solo from Cliff Burton on the record Kill ‘Em All. Kliff does a stellar job of replicating Cliff’s best solo. Halfway through, the “I’m Only Sleeping” melody comes in on bass and Kliff replicates this brilliantly. “Anesthesia (I’m Only Sleeping)” is a great song, with some superb bass work.
“Leper Madonna” is another quick number. It’s a decent track, but nothing special or memorable. After this song, “Ktulu (He’s So Heavy)” begins, which is the longest song on the album at a little shy of eight minutes. The beginning sounds like the classic Beatles epic “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” The song starts off very slow and gloomy, with very few words in the song, like the Beatles song. The lyrics are basically “Ktulu, Ktulu so bad” over and over again. Acoustic guitars pop their way in about three minutes in to jam a bit. The song then turns into “Call of Ktulu” with a very emotional bass and guitar solo that sound very similar to the Metallica instrumental. The band sounds great on this track and is one of the best songs on the album.
“For Horsemen” is another fast song with a nice solo on top of everything. “Hey Dude” is the second epic track on the album and is based on the Beatles song “Hey Jude.” Like that song, the first half is entirely acoustic guitars. The lyrics are changed to talk about drinking beer and listening to heavy metal. The electric guitars come in halfway through and then the real jam begins. If anybody has heard the original Beatles track, they know how the tracks end (a lot of na na na na’s). The guitar work in this section is very Metallica sounding with some crazy guitar solos throughout the jam section. “Hey Dude” is not as good as the original, but then again, “Hey Jude” is one of the best songs ever written.
Like the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the next song is the reprise to the title track. The song is basically the same melody and riffs as the title track, just with different lyrics that thank the listener for listening to the album. This would have been a great way to end the album, but for some reason, Beatallica decided to add one more song on. “…And Justice For All My Loving” is a very disappointing song to end the album on. The track isn’t even two minutes long and just seems out of place at the end.
Jaymz Lennfield does a pitch perfect impersonation of James Hetfield. If anybody did not know who the band was that played on the album, they would definitely say Metallica as their first guess. Grg Hammetson does a good job on lead guitar. His solos are very reminiscent of Kirk Hammett’s with a bit of the melody that George Harrison was able to put on display while lead guitarist of the Beatles.
Kliff McBurtney’s bass work is the highlight of Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band. His bass is right up front in the mix and he has some great solos and bass melodies. At times, McBurtney actually sounds like Cliff Burton from the grave. It’s spooky, but also amazing at the same time. Ringo Larz puts in a fine performance on drums. His double bass work is good, but is used sparingly.
Beatallica’s album has its shares of ups and downs. The two epic tracks (“Ktulu” and “Hey Dude”) are the highlights of the album, with the band sounding motivated and in charge. Some of the faster songs are not as good (“Leper Madonna”) and the track listing is a bit odd (“…And Justice For My Loving” ending the album?!), but Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band is excellent enough to get a recommendation from me. If you ever wondered what Metallica and the Beatles would sound like if they made an album together, you have your answer!
The 411: I love the idea behind this band and think it is an absolutely brillant idea. The album is worth the price just for the two epic tracks ("Ktulu (He's So Heavy)" and "Hey Dude."). The other tracks aren't bad either, and except for a strange track listing, are mostly good parodies of classic Beatles and Metallica songs. If you miss the old Metallica, Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band will put a smile on your face.
