Metal Underground.com

A host of truly weird stuff arrives in my email pretty regularly seeking review at Metalunderground.com, with some very tongue-in-cheek and others more straight faced. Steve'N'Seagulls is more the former, essentially starting as a joke but gaining steam after going viral online. A bunch of Finnish bluegrass hillbillies covering rock and metal tunes certainly isn't the most outlandish thing I've heard over the years, but its up there.

The cover artwork for “Brothers In Farms” pretty much tells you everything need to know about the album: a dude in overalls wearing bucket armor and a washboard astride a horse wandering through the wilderness. It's a ridiculous juxtaposition, but a fun one. From “Aces High” to “Born To Be Wild” to “Symphony of Destruction,” Steve'N'Seagulls offers up very different renditions of classic tunes.

Although I love the idea in theory, there is an issue here: “Brothers In Farms” is much more amusing in theory than in execution, as the joke sort of overstays its welcome over 14 tracks. The lack of power in the vocals and backwoods string picking is funny with some of the songs, but sort of head-scratching or even annoying on others.

The vocals on “Symphony of Destruction” and “Sad But True” in particular don't really work in this format, and rather than leading to laughter or simply enjoyment at a different interpretation, they sort of just make me want to listen to the original songs. That being said, the bluegrass renditions overall are amusing for a listen or two, if for no other reason than to say you've heard “November Rain” performed by guys probably brewing moonshine in the backyard near the outhouse.

The massively cross-genre cover formula seems to work better the other direction, with metal bands covering pop or country songs, and as a whole “Brothers In Farms” is an interesting idea that just fails to hold attention from beginning to end.