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I've tried with no avail to convince my fellow editors that I'm the worst person to tackle this review.

It's not so much an age issue, as like many of my generation I've had no problem immersing myself in punk material from the 70s despite not being around then (or at least too young to be conscious of it). 80s metal on the other hand represents a big gaping void to me, something I'll respect for what it is but can't rightly pass judgment on. What makes Probot so interesting to me is how much of a labor of love this was to Dave Grohl and how much that's reflected in the end recordings.

Rightfully the songs here fall more on the side of hero worship then they do on parody, which is always a risk when dealing with a form of music with so many well-recognized and oft misunderstood extremes. Grohl plays most of the instruments on the record, his characteristic drumming shining on every track. Soundgarden's Kim Thayil contributes some guitar work as well along with Zwan/Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney.

However it's the vocalists that make this project. Grohl not only collected an all-star cast of metal vocalists but he wisely let them write their own lyrics over his music. This gives the songs an air of authenticity that a tribute like this might otherwise lack.

Cronos from Venom kicks things off, followed by a raging track from Soulfly / Sepultura's Max Cavalra. Motörhead's Lemmy appears on the infectious "Shake Your Blood," an obvious single and a highlight of the album for me. The same can be said of the contribution by DRI's Kurt Brecht. Also appearing are Corrosion of Conformity's Mike Dean, Lee Dorrian of Cathedral / Napalm Death fame and Wino of Palace Of Skulls / Obsessed and others. Filling out the roster is Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost / Apollyon Son, Voivod's Snake, Trouble's Eric Wagner and King Diamond of Mercyful Fate. Diamond's collaboration is the album's most blatantly theatrical song, and one that almost borders on self-parody.

Probot should be an absolute joy for anyone who had even a passing interest in the 80s metal scene. For those of us outside that crowd there's still a lot to like here. The effort Grohl threw behind Probot goes a long way in turning this curious concept for a sideproject into something far more legit and endearing.



People who liked this also liked:
The Clash - Sandinista!Weezer - PinkertonPixies - DoolittleTelevision - Marquee MoonSex Pistols - Never Mind the BollocksRamones - RamonesThe Clash - The ClashThe Weakerthans - Reconstruction SiteThe Hives - Veni Vidi ViciousX-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents [expanded]



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    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 15, 2004 at 3:41 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Score's for Raffi. And the '80s, when I was also listening to oldies and Desmond Dekker.

    - Fatty Arbuckle

    Posted by moneenerd on 2004-03-14 19:41:25
    My Score:

    I honestly can't tell if this album is supposed to be a joke or not... cheesy lyrics, god awful vocals for the most part, and is no different from any of the chugga-chugga meaningless metal I see on MTV everyday. I can't believe this asshole is supposed to be a legend! (RIP Nirvana)

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 14, 2004 at 4:56 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Well, since he was probably listening to INXS in the early 80's, that will be forgiven. :)"

    I'm in my early 20s. So I was probaby listening to Raffi in the 80s.

    -adam

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 13, 2004 at 3:25 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    corporate whores they are all together..heavy metal review..what a joke.
    Fuck Nirvana, Fuck Heavy Metal, Fuck MTV

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 13, 2004 at 2:00 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Reviewer forgot to add that one of greatest guitarists of "the punketh rocketh" from the 80's, Bubba Dupree from DC's Void also makes an appearance. (on the Mike Dean track.) Well, since he was probably listening to INXS in the early 80's, that will be forgiven. :)

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 13, 2004 at 2:45 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Heavy Metal sucks and so do the Foo Fighters. I hope he is the next after Cobain who shoots himself

    Posted by Chips on 2004-03-11 20:35:43
    My Score:

    The song with Lemmy is obviously going to be the single. Partially because Dave and Lemmy have been doing all the promotion together in mags and stuff.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at 4:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    If u don't like real metal, you'll hate this..Other wise it DESTROYS!

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at 2:35 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    score is for airheads quote

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at 10:19 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    King Diamond "Abigail" is better than your favorite cd. "Them" is better than your second favorite cd.

    Posted by gladimnotemo on 2004-03-11 09:44:32
    My Score:

    The song with Lemmy and the ones with the guys from C.o.C. and DRI are excellent. The rest of the album is a bit too metal for my tastes. But I bought it based off "Shake Your Blood", so my opinion doesn't even count.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at 11:15 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    wow this band is terrible. kitch bands die, please.

    Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2004-03-10 22:03:37
    My Score:

    Shake Your Blood is a great, great song.

    anyone read Lemmy's book?

    Posted by Sureshot on 2004-03-10 15:44:34
    My Score:

    Dave Grohl reaffirms himself as one of the greatest musicians of the last 20 years, good stuff.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at 2:33 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Brave Brave sir Lemmywinks and katata fish

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at 1:10 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    -Who would win in a fight Lemmy or God?

    -...God?

    -Wrong, Lemmy is God!

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at 8:51 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    just listened to this one on the way to work and i'm feeling very metal.

    say what you will about the foo fighters, but dave grohl is the fucking man. this album is metal at it's best.... kinda evil, scary, and funny.

    the hidden track with jack black (i am the warlock) is worth the price of the cd alone. stare into his scepter biatches!

    ps kind diamond rules!

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 at 4:31 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    this score is for king diamond.

    -pwfanatic

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 10:31 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Metal.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 6:11 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Bloodlust" by Venom opens my newest CD-R comp.

    -BSD

    Posted by GregSka on 2004-03-09 17:44:59
    My Score:

    Yeah, Lemmywinks is awesome

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 4:41 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    incredible, you have to love dave grohl

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 4:35 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I heard it was Jack White.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 4:35 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Transformers!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 3:27 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    really?
    that makes sense.
    awesome.

    Posted by shindo on 2004-03-09 14:36:33
    My Score:

    Jack Black

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 2:24 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    there was suppose to be a secret track with another singer that was kept a secret.

    anyone know who it is?

    Posted by t-rav on 2004-03-09 13:56:40
    My Score:

    Lemmy rocks harder than most retired guys his age...although i do want to poke that "thing" on his face...just an obsession, fuck off!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 1:38 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    cronos and lemmy...fuck!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 12:58 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    kind diamond rules. he killed his grandma and resurrected his dead sister. plus he fought some mythological tiger or some shit in a cave. what more can you f'in say!?!?

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 11:57 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    This album rocks.

    -sickboi

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