Label: Century Media

Genre: Heavy Metal

Release Date EU: January 27^th, 2017

Tracklist:

N.I.B.
Tie Your Mother Down
My Generation
Wild Thing
The House of the Rising Sun
Rockin’ in the Free World
Gimme Some Lovin’
Whole Lotta Love
Summertime Blues
Born to be Wild
Quinn the Eskimo
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Backseat Rock’n’Roll

If legends bestow honor to their idols the result can become just something excellent. That this is far more than just a wild theory is what Swiss-based metal pioneers Krokus prove in the beginning of 2017. The quintet took some of their favorite rock/metal songs, gave them a ‘Krokus-appeal’, recorded them and put them on an album. And which title could work better for such an undertaking than “Big Rocks”.

Chris von Rohr and his gang put a bunch of iconic classics on this album, each of them a song that’s known all over the world. Tunes like “My Generation”, originally from The Who, and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” are real pearls that were made even shinier by the Swiss quintet. It’s Storace’s rough way if singing that gives each of the covers a dirty rock’n’roll vibe and it’s Von Arb’s, Kohler’s and Meyer’s guitars making classic like “Whole Lotta Love” irresistibly heavy. These three guys push hard and it’s a wall of riffs build by them.

Each of the tracks is a blast. It’s a brave challenge to do an album that just includes these milestone on rock. Things basically could go wrong since everybody knows those hymns and has a certain opinion too. However, Krokus manages to turn even “House of the Rising Sun” into a mean rock anthem – while not taking away the spirit that comes with the original.

“Big Rocks” is one of the best cover albums I have heard for many years. Krokus interpreting 60’s/70’s classics became an entertaining experience that you shouldn’t miss. These guys just did this longplayer due to passion for rock and no other reason. Thumbs up for this vitalization of rock history.

Reviewer: Markus Wiedenmann