You can find the strangest things on Wikipedia. A search for Beatles tribute bands led me down a path to a band called “Beatallica.” A name like that–was it a mash-up of the Beatles and Metallica? I had to investigate.
And that led me to Beatallica’s website, beatallica.org.
They are just like they sound, a band mixing together the Beatles and Metallica. Beatles tunes, Metallica lyrics and style. They have two albums available for download for free on their website, mangling songs like “Hey Jude,” “Sgt. Pepper’s,” “Let It Be,” and “And I Love Her.” Obviously this is music ill-suited to an everyday listen, but when you’re in the right mood it’s absolutely hilarious. Take, for example, this quote from their parody Derek Taylor liner notes for their album Beatallica:
The sarcasm and bitterness that have always given their music its unease and edginess still bubbles out like an oozing sore–“Life is very short and there’s no time for sleeveless flannels, you poseur!”; “Let me tell you how shit will be.” The harshness of the imagery is, if anything, even harsher-“Don’t you play that Trixter crap until I can’t go on!” Beasts, witches, Kip Winger, warm beer, destruction. And, most grotesque of all, there is a terrifying track called “Got To Get You Trapped Under Ice” which comprises a hellish combination of layered guitars, a Jaymz seemingly insane, and janglings from the subconscious memories of a floundering civilization. Cruel, paranoiac, freezing, agonized, hopeless, it is given shape by the awful rendering “Bananarama’s all they play there-fuckin’ nooooooo!”-that makes you want to scream. Jaymz’ drifting melancholy overhangs the entire proceedings like a bloody veil of shadowy doom-dripping, final, hating.
Clearly, these are four guys from Wisconsin wanting to have some fun, taking the cherished memories of youth, and then tossing them in the blender just because they can. Their music is absolutely demented.
I’m not a heavy metal guy, and so I’m probably missing some of the joke. That doesn’t matter–even if they’re poking at the sacred bull that is the Beatles they’re clearly doing it with a lot of love and affection. What does matter is that I had a real laugh listening to Beatallica, and if they ever release a third album I’ll be downloading that one, too. 😉