Antichrist Magazine's "A Tribute to W.A.S.P." brings to you a group of bands from four different continents, paying tribute to the longstanding Shock-Rock Californians. And it's all about sex, drugs and Rock and Roll...with growls!

Kick starting it with a Death Metal version of "Animal" is OCULUM DEI from the United States. The vocals are aggressive, well-executed, and their version is loaded with orchestrations and drum fills. Next up is the Mexican band DEVIL'S FUEL performing "I Wanna Be Somebody" in a Biker Metal version. Low vocals doubled with high screams, fuzzy guitars and a dirty mix grant this performance a very lively feel to it. Further down the Americas, Brazilians in THE UNHALIGÄST give you a reverb-ridden, as raw as possible, version of "Hellion". Attitude and fearlessness pour out of this performance, almost as if you were watching it inside a bar, all drunk and sweaty. Still in Brazil, TYRANNO follows up with a growly performance of the mid-tempo song "The Torture Never Stops". Very texturized growls, double bass pedals and cohesive guitar leads make the band sound like underground veterans.

Let's travel to meet neighboring South Americans in SERPHIKA, the only female-fronted band of the tribute. Their version of "Wild Child" is a bit more traditional with cleaner, higher, vocals than what we heard so far, although we still have growls in the background. Some Symphonic Metal thrown in with orchestral arrangements and operatic chants make this version stand out amidst the rest of the record. Back to Brazil, VENGEANCE OF MINE presents an almost Progressive Death Metal version for "Widowmaker" changing guitar patterns here and there and adding a darker element to the song. Next in line is North American from BEAUTY SCHOOL MASSACRE with a polished and well-recorded version of "Blind in Texas". Feels like walking into a bar along the road in the southern States. Back down in Mexico we have a gang chant-filled rendition of "9.5 Nasty", courtesy of THRASHOCK. Whammy bars and panned vocals were not held down in this performance and mix. Crossing the ocean to Eastern Europe we get low-growls and virtuoso guitars in this version of "Harder Faster" by Ukrainians in GASOLINE GUNS. Great contender for best guitar performance of the album. To close the record, you will travel all the way down to New Zealand to listen to a loose and reckless version of (again?) "I Wanna Be Somebody" by BELTANE. The repeated song choice forces you to, unfortunately, compare one to the other and that might harm the listening experience a little bit.

Fans of W.A.S.P. certainly will have a thing or two to say about the growling and the Death Metal screams in these versions, but this might actually be what makes this tribute tasteful. It's a collection of rawer, grittier, no-fucks-given, renditions of a band that might not have had much of a footprint outside their field and region but certainly preserved a solid fan base and a loyal following throughout the years. Take some time to appreciate it, have fun, and maybe get to know a band or two coming from countries you're not used to look for.