The Big Bang!

Rockosaurus Rex

Huge Wonder, 2006

http://www.rockosaurusrex.com

REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 06/29/2007

As a metal fan, I have tried to introduce my kids to the genre over the years, which proves to be difficult inasmuch as many of the songs delve into inappropriate lyrical content.

I don't want my kids singing along to Guns 'n' Roses' heroin ode "Mr. Brownstone." While Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean" and "Stairway to Heaven" are okay, the one about the lemon juice dripping down Plant's leg is definitely not. KISS, who I love, is one of the worst offenders. It will be a cold day in hell before my kids hear "Burn Bitch Burn" or "Cold Gin." And while I have gotten away with playing Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and "War Pigs" and almost the entire my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 Metallica album from Metallica, hair metal is out (although it's quite funny to hear my four-year-old daughter sing Dokken's "I'm a prisoner chained by love" from "Back For The Attack").

But I digress. Metal-loving parents like myself will enjoy The Big Bang because it mixes timless kid's songs with crushing metal beats. These are songs everyone has heard, like "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Three Blind Mice," but the tempos are faster, sometimes, than the original and there's a heavier guitar sound. Opener "Six Little Ducks" sets the mood for this release with the chug-chugging distorted guitar riff. The really fun part of this release is that you don't need the lyrics to immediately sing along - you probably know the words.

It's not quite as goofy as Green Jelly doing "Three Little Pigs," mind you. It's kind of interesting how "Ants Go Marching" uses a slow drudgy tempo to change the original appropriately. The arrangement of "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" toggles between a clean guitar and a distorted guitar that rocks. "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" is a fast-paced thrash metal epic that closes out the release.

When you go to Rockosaurusrex.com to order this CD, and you will do so or else, you'll read about the whole alternate identity idea this band has going on, a la GWAR or Slipknot. You could easily replace a more traditional rendering of these 21 nursery rhymes with this release and get away with it. Try it. Your kids might thank you.

Rating: B

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 2007 Paul Hanson and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Huge Wonder, and is used for informational purposes only.