Entertaining ride with odd choices - A review of Paul Di'Anno's Tales from the Beast

Every now and then, Paul Di'Anno comes around with yet another compilation or newly recorded versions of the tracks he sung when he was in Iron Maiden four decade ago. Tales from the Beast is no exception and throws in some other cover songs of Megadeth, Michael Jackson and Van Halen as well as a few of Paul Di'Anno's own tunes. This compilation is apparently going to support a documentary about the singer that should see the light of day very soon. Apparently, the aged veteran has been inspired by Bruce Dickinson's Scream for Me Sarajevo compilation and documentary released last summer. Paul Di'Anno has been kicked out of his own band Architects of Chaoz and needs to pay some expensive medical bills which explains this release strategy.

If you already own one of the numerous other compilations such as The Classics - The Maiden Years released thirteen years earlier, then there really is no need to purchase Tales from the Beast. If you however don't own such a compilation and like the early years of Iron Maiden, you might as well pick up this record that convinces with seventeen songs and a generous running time of seventy-six minutes. Newly recorded tracks like the energetic punk-driven Skyhooks cover ''Women in Uniform'', the gloomily atmospheric Iron Maiden classic ''Killers'' and the wonderful eerie progressive rock pearl ''Strange World'' by Iron Maiden are timeless classics that have therefore aged very well. The musicians involved in the songs perform with tight chemistry and Paul Di'Anno's emotional vocals stray at times from the original recordings by adding a few more growls and screams here and there to amplify the energy level.

Not all songs sound great as this compilation also includes some filler material. The cover of Megadeth's ''Symphony of Destruction'' is a head-scratcher to say the least. The instrumental performance is anything but impressive and the overtly emotive vocals don't fit at all. It seems that Paul Di'Anno has completely misunderstood the intention of the original version. The idea to cover Led Zeppelin's ''Kashmir'' wasn't Di'Anno's greatest either as the track plods on unspectacularly for nearly eight minutes without ever coming remotely close to the haunting atmosphere of the original progressive rock classic. Michael Jackson's ''Bad'' is also covered without any fresh ideas and fails to stay on your mind.

In the end, the majority of songs on Tales from the Beast are performed with tight musicianship and emotional vocals but there are also some odd fillers every now and then. If you like Paul Di'Anno's vocals and want to support the veteran, you can purchase this album but everyone else should stick to the original material and rather wait for the upcoming documentary about the famous singer.

Final rating: 67%