with

by 
antiGUY

Fozzy � Happenstance
Label: Metal Blade
Rating: 

If you have heard of the band Fozzy then chances are that you know the whole PR story behind them. The actual band was conceived by WWE�s Chris Jericho and Rich Ward of Stuck Mojo fame but when they hit the scene a Spinal Tap like cover story was concocted to give the group some attention. For those who don�t know the cover story, here is a brief summery. 

The Legend of Fozzy

The band Fozzy was founded around 1980 by a group of teenagers in Delaware, who in a backlash against disco and new wave conceived of a new heavier type of music that built upon the metal of bands like Black Sabbath. 

The group put together a demo of some of their songs and the demo somehow ended up in the hands of Masami �Sammy� Tomami, the president of Big Happy Rock Mountain Records, once of Japan�s largest record labels.  Tomami liked what he heard and flew the Delaware youngsters to Japan and seduced them into signing an exclusive 20-year contract that limited their music to release only in Japan and kept the members from leaving the country. 

Four fateful days after Fozzy had signed on the dotted line, the record label went under due to Tomami�s mismanagement and questionable investments. The record exec went into hiding and the band was stuck in Japan for the next twenty years. Legend has it that Tomami sent Ninja�s to threaten the band and their loved ones to keep them from leaving the country before their contract was up. 

The members of the group were stuck having to work in menial labor jobs to keep a roof over their heads but they didn�t let it keep them from rocking! They managed to record an album in one of the worst studios in Japan. About a year later they had discovered that their music had leaked out of Japan and landed in the US. They heard that the music was becoming hugely popular back home and they excitedly look forward to returning to America to play their new hit songs. But something more sinister was in store for Fozzy. When they happened to hear a music sampler included in a Japanese music magazine, to their horror they discovered that groups like Iron Maiden, Dio, Judas Priest and Twisted Sister had stolen their songs and were ridding them to the top of the charts and kicking off the 80�s metal explosion with Fozzy�s songs! 

The band became determined to return home and claim their rightful spot as the kings of metal! But they didn�t have the money so they had to save what little they could from their meager minimum wage paychecks in hopes of one day having enough money to get out of Japan and back on US soil. After twenty years they finally had enough money to make the trip, returned home and introduced the world to the original versions of songs that had become classic by other metal bands who stole Fozzy�s thunder and claimed the music as their own. 

Ok we know about the gimmick but is the music any good? 

Surprisingly, yes! Not to doubt a pro-wrestler who envisions himself a metal vocalist, but with a cover story like Fozzy�s you might expect the music to sound a bit amateurish like the music of Spinal Tap but leaving the silly story behind Fozzy did put real effort into the music and it shows. 

Now the group has released a new CD called �Happenstance� which includes several covers (oops we mean original Fozzy versions of songs that were ripped off by other bands) as well as four original tracks. 

If you can get beyond the groups bogus bio and listen to the music you will find some solid metal that actually stacks up against many of yesterday and today�s most respected �real� metal bands (nu-metal doesn�t apply). 

Once you�re into the disc you forget all about the ridiculous band bio and start rockin out. The covers are a lot of fun and do the original�s proud, Fozzy took the task of presenting their songs seriously and in some instances brought more metal to the mix, like their brain churning cover of �Freewheel Burning� which if you look at from a Spinal Tap perspective, the original Judas Priest version was delivered at 10 and Fozzy took things up to 11, for that extra push over the cliff. 

Their heavier than the original practice continues with their version of the Black Sabbath classic, �The Mob Rules� and their version of the Scorpions �Big City Nights� is faithful to the original but a with a lot more crunch and well just plain old metal flavor. 

By far the best track on this disc is the balls to the wall cover of Accept�s �Balls To Wall�, how could you not love this one? It actually songs a little like Motorhead covering Accept. It simply kicks ass. 

The provide an insane cover of Iron Maiden�s �Where Eagles Dare� where they really showcase their instrumental talents and Jericho�s voice gives the song an interesting new spin but it�s the music that steals the limelight with it�s slightly heavier approach to the instrumentation. 

The Fozzy remake of the W.A.S.P. classic �L.O.V.E. Machine� works musically but this is one song where Jericho�s vocals fall flat, Blackie Lawless has a distinctive metal voice that can�t be mimicked. The song still works but the vocals keep it from being a great cover. 

Fozzy prove themselves to be more than a great cover band with their original tracks as well. The music is quality and if you can get past the silly �fiction� of the band and give the music an honest listen most metalheads should love what they hear and bang their heads furiously to Fozzy�s high octane metal. 

The bottom line is this CD is a lot of fun and who could have ever imagined a pro-wrestler could actually deliver the metal! Simply ignore the gimmick and concentrate on the music.