Anatomy of Evil: The String Quartet Tribute to Iron Maiden (2003)

Vitamin takes on the brood and sway of Depeche Mode with this string quartet tribute, running through nine of the band's songs with the aid of violin, cello, acoustic bass, viola, and a bit of percussion. Like most string interpretations of pop music, the album can grow tedious over the long haul. However, there's plenty to like incrementally, especially for fans. Highlights include "Personal Jesus," with its hint of mouth percussion during the breakdown, and the violins aping the tradeoff vocals of "Master and Servant." There are a few glaring omissions – "Everything Counts" and "Policy of Truth" among them. Even still, Depeche Mode completists should get a kick out of the novelty and slight decadence of this collection.

As persistency goes, one must give credit where it is due to the Vitamin imprint. Their rigorous schedule of releases assures the public that there will be, at bare minimum, one to two releases per month paying homage to a current pop icon or legendary rock figure. With this installment, the label looks to honor one of grunge's most revered albums, if not the most revered album of the era: Nirvana's Nevermind. Stripped of the brutal percussion work, the squelching fierce attack of Kurt Cobain's guitar mastery and his trademark screams, the quartet find and emphasize layer after layer within the simplicity of Cobain's melodies and song arrangements. While some songs don't transfer over well in the process, others work quite nicely. While most people can easily dismiss this as a novelty (and to a degree, it is), there are interesting aspects to this album that the die-hard Nirvana fan will find intriguing and enjoyable.

A Tribute To Iron Maiden jewelcase CD feat. cover versions by Kreator, Doro, Testament, Trivium, Powefolf, Iced Eearth and many more.

As we all know, Iron Maiden is one of the essential names in Heavy Metal. As usual in our successful collection The Many Faces, we submerge ourselves to explore the lesser known works of the band. You will be able to enjoy the work of bassist Steve Harris as producer of the band Slammer. You’ll also hear Stratus, drummer’s Clive Burr band after leaving Maiden. Also included are the big hits of the first two albums of the band (their favorites for many fans) with the voice of Paul Di’Anno, the original singer. All these rarities and more, complete this important album not only for Iron Maiden fans, but also for all hard-rock music lovers. With extensive liner notes, remastered sound and beautiful cover art, The Many Faces Of Iron Maiden is an album to collect…and remember that this won’t be available on streaming platforms.