The metal-leaning label Magnetic Eye has a long-running series called Redux, in which tons of different underground artists pay homage to titans of the form. Yesterday, Magnetic Eye release two Ramones tribute albums, both of which were curated by the Italian-Swiss audio engineer Marc Urselli. One of the compilations is entirely dedicated to the Ramones' classic 1976 self-titled debut, and the other includes a bunch of tracks from across the band's career. The two albums contain tons of surprising one-off collaborations, and the most surprising of them might be the team of grindcore pioneers Napalm Death and Sonic Youth pioneer Thurston Moore.
Napalm Death and the former Sonic Youth co-leader Thurston Moore both have plenty of Ramones influence in their DNA, bu they've done radically different things with those influences over the years. Moore has dabbled in black metal, but I'm not sure I've heard him involved in anything quite as grimy and straightforward as Napalm Death's take on "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" in a long time. It's hard to hear what Moore contributed to this cover, which is in the same general lineage of Napalm Death's cover of the Dead Kennedy's "Nazi Punks Fuck Off." Below, listen to the Napalm Death/Thurston Moore cover and the Ramones original.
Magnetic Eye's Ramones tributes also include contributions from people like Bauhaus/Love & Rockets' David J with Paul Wallfisch, Kayo Dot with Emperor's Isahn, Foetus' JG Thirlwell, Queens Of The Stone Age's Alain Johannes, Battles' John Stanier, Gwar's the Berserker Blóthar, Entombed's Ulf Cederlund, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Brian Chase, the Gun Club's Kid Congo Powers, Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hűtz, and the late MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer. Stream both of those tributes below.
Marc Urselli's Ramones (Redux) and Marc Urselli's Best Of Ramones (Redux) are both out now on Magnetic Eye.
