When 4 guys get together, that are well known for their musical prowess in the metal scene, to honor the greats from the past who might have inspired them, you know you’re in for some good old fun. So take vocalist Bobby Blitz (Overkill), drummer Mike Portnoy (Sons of Apollo, Metal Allegiance, ex-Dream Theater), bassist Mark Menghi (Metal Allegiance) and guitarist Phil Demmel (Vio-Lence, ex-Machine Head) and you have quite the supergroup. Then take the concept of covering ’70s tracks, some of which are absolute American rock classics, and that’s what BPMD‘s first record ‘American Made’ is all about.

What you get is an album on which you can hear that these guys just picked some tracks they liked and had some fun with them. No shame, no regrets and definitely no worries about what others might think. And in turn you can hear that this is really just loads of fun. Are all the tracks a hit? Not at all. But there are no complete stinkers to be found on the album either and the tracks are so damn well chosen that it’s a great record to put on while you’re on a long drive in your car.

Musically there are no real bad marks to be given. The songs are played quite close to the original usually, with the difference that they’ve all been dipped in a nice, sticky heavy metal sauce with at times a sprinkle of thrash added to the flavor. Nothing super exciting, but a well deserved update/upgrade for some of these rock classics. The one problem I have at times, is with Bobby‘s vocal delivery. That rather nasal gravel voice that is so typical for Overkill, just doesn’t work as well with all the tracks. I just puts me off in some of them. Though that’s just a minor grievance on a record that is heaps of fun to rock out to.

Some really easy top tracks are the rambunctious opener ‘Wang Dang Sweet Poontang’, ‘Evil’ that just thrives on that heavier sound, instant metal party classic ‘Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers’ and especially ‘We’re an American Band’ that could perfectly serve as a theme song for the supertroup named BPMD. As I stated before, it’s a really fun album on which the band provides American rock classics with a modern and heavy restyling, celebrating the rich musical history of the country, nothing more and nothing less. But sometimes you don’t need anything more than that. Except maybe for a couple of beers or whatever floats your boat.

Release date: June 12th, 2020
Label: Napalm Records
Tracklist:

1. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang (Ted Nugent)
2. Toys in the Attic (Aerosmith)
3. Evil (Cactus)
4. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers (ZZ Top)
5. Saturday Night Special (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
6. Tattoo Vampire (Blue Öyster Cult)
7. D.O.A. (Van Halen)
8. Walk Away (The James Gang)
9. Never in My Life (Mountain)
10. We’re an American Band (Grand Funk Railroad)