I remember sometime ago we had posted a news article here at Metal Reviews on Beatallica. Somehow since that time I forgot what they were all about. Just the other day I was surfing a Star Wars Club site and saw that one of the members posted a link to Beatallica's homepage (http://www.beatallica.org). I decided to click on it and see what they were all about. To my surprise, I found this to be a little gem of a discovery worth mentioning to the readers of this site who may not be familiar with Beatallica.......

By the name itself, one can deduct that Beatallica is a combination of The Beatles and Metallica. They are a parody band, similar to what The Rutles did with The Beatles music on albums like "The Rutles" & "Archaeology" and what Dread Zeppelin did with Led Zeppelin's music on the album "No Quarter Pounder". However, Beatallica takes things one step further. They borrow Metallica's guitar, bass, drum and vocal sound and styles and mix it with Beatle melodies. The band member names, song titles and lyrics are also a demented combination of Metallica and Beatles characteristics.

"A Garage Dayz Nite" is seven songs of sarcastic fun! The band consists of Jaymes Lennifield (vocals, lyrics, rhythm guitar), Krk Hammettson (all instruments, lead guitar), Kliff McBurtney (bass) and Ringo Larz (drums). The one amazing trait of this band that stands out the most for me is the vocals of Lennifield. He sounds and emulates James Hetfield's vocal style (the one from albums like "Load", "Reload" and "St. Anger") to a tee! Check out the track "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be", a combination of Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be" and The Beatles "Let It Be". The lyrics are very funny: "And in my hour of darkness, it is standing right in front of me . He is the thing that should not let it be . Let it be, let it be . Hybrid children watch the sea. He is the thing that should not let it be". Another highlight for me is "Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band", mixing The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Metallica's "Motorbreath". The lyrics go like this: "It was 20 years ago today, Motorhead taught this band to play. At first they were so out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise your bile. So may I introduce to you, the act that drank 1000 beers. Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath pub band!".

"A Garage Dayz Nite", as well as Beatallica's 2004 release, "Beatallica (The Gray Album)", are available in MP3 format for free download! Earlier in the year on February 17, Sony/ATV publishing (which owns the rights to The Beatles catalog), sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company hosting the band's web site. Then a week later, they sent one to the band's webmaster, claiming "substantial and irreparable injury" and threatening legal action if Beatallica did not take their twisted homages off the web site. The publishing company also asked the group to pay as-yet-unspecified damages. When Lars Ulrich, (a fan of Beatallica), got wind of this, he had Metallica lawyer Peter Paterno get involved to try and broker a settlement between the parties. Parody is protected by copyright law. The site was temporarily shut down but is now back up.

Beatallica DOES NOT sell any CD's because they do not have licensing or publishing rights to any Metallica or Beatles material. Beatallica's has the following disclaimer on their website: "Beatallica is not, I repeat, not Metallica in disguise. These tunes are parodies, and they are being offered free for download and distribution. If you like the tunes and want to burn CD-Rs for your friends, feel free! But please do not sell them. Free music needs to be free. If you discover someone trying to sell a bootlegged copy of these free tunes, let us know". There are also song lyrics, some live tracks and a video.

Beatallica is one crafty and creative band that offers a unique way to enjoy two different genres of music. They are very talented musically and are a tight unit performance wise. I truly feel any fan of The Beatles and Metallica will love these hilarious songs! I hope they do some more! Here's to Beatallicamania!

As a side note, Beatallica will be touring Europe this October. The band will be playing mainly in Germany and Austria with The Punkles and possibly other countries as well. Check (http://www.beatallica.org) for updates!