Various Artists – The Wall [REDUX]

There’s a lot of meat to be had

Whether it’s easy for some to admit or not, Pink Floyd’s The Wall is an opus in every sense of the term. The album and its coinciding movie explored bounds of creativity, concept and proper execution in a manner of which struck chords with the masses back in 1979 when it first came out, well into today’s era when many artists still find it influential. That’s likely why Magnetic Eye Records chose it for the third installment on their Redux series, which gathers varied bands to do their take on classics. The Wall [REDUX] is probably their most ambitious one so far. The pretty much doom-driven rendition of the Roger Waters fascist regime “utopia” is a perfect reimagined encapsulation of modern times, with each artist channeling their own particular frustrations with our current political adjacency to fascism into their respective cover. Despite these efforts, The Wall [REDUX] isn’t necessarily a cohesive package.

That’s because some of the covers are more fitting than others and at times, the record doesn’t flow very well. Pink Floyd’s original is already divided into two parts, with two sides each. One artist doing the whole thing allows for it all to sound unified, but when different artists with different styles come together to recreate the same effect, it often sounds disjointed and misplaced. Such is the case with The Wall [REDUX]. The Melvins did a very Melvins cover of “In the Flesh?” with a sharp and grating instrumental style accompanied by a surprisingly tender vocal take. It contrasts to the following track “The Thin Ice” done by Low Flying Hawks, which sounds like a ’90s acoustic ballad for breaking off into considerable heaviness as it begins to close.

Part one continues to stumble with these issues in the beginning. The triad of the first two parts of “Another Brick in the Wall” and “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” don’t flow together well at all. Ghostly Sound achieved a similar haunting air as the original part one of “Another Brick in the Wall,” but that is immediately broken up by Sergeant Thunderhoof’s “Happiest Days…” The transitions aren’t seamless and once Sasquatch’s thunderous second part of “Another Brick…” begins, the focus is less on their shot and more on the confusion of that series. ASG’s version of “Mother” throws another wrench in that sequence, the bluesy feel to it seeming out of place.

Part two tightens it up a bit more, though. Summoner’s “Hey You” is emotional and shred-filled and one of the more true-to-form covers on the record, and Scott Reeder’s take on “Is There Anybody Out There” succeeds it with a proper kick. The track on part two with the most cringe-worthy potential, “Comfortably Numb,” was actually done its due justice by Mars Red Sky. Their interpretation incorporated warbly and static guitar sequences and a hollowed vocal production for an all-around fuzzy effect that for some reason just works. Another instance that just works is the incredibly speed/heavy metal feel of “Run Like Hell,” done by Pallbearer. It’s one of the more outlying tracks, but it just sounds so good. To the opposite effect, Church of the Cosmic Skull’s “The Trial” sounds more like a scene from Hedwig and the Angry Inch than The Wall, though all the theatrics are present.

Even though The Wall [REDUX] has its issues as a singular unit, each of the individual tracks is perfectly fair homages to their originals. Taking on such a colossal feat as The Wall was striving enough, but since its meant more as a series of odes than a flawless repackage, it still gets the job done.