Maximum Metal Rating Legend

I’m a father to a little princess and husband to an older princess for 15 years. I live near Disney World, so needless to say this old head-banger has covered every square-inch of the park and has the t-shirt to prove it. My wife and daughter like to shop there and they have their favorite rides. Me, I can take it or leave it. I’m there as the proverbial third-wheel and offer support with a smile. Most of the time you’ll find me at Epcot near France, downing a tall one and listening to metal promos on my iPod. Heck, a lot of my reviews that you read are written in my head over at Disney, Legoland, and Universal Studios. So, it was with utter astonishment and overwhelming excitement that Disney went metal.

Metal? Disney? The same high-dollar corporation that once wouldn’t allow Machine Head to play the House of Blues at Downtown Disney. Yep. That one.

Walt Disney Records released ‘Metal Disney’ by the D-Metal Stars on 3/31/17. The album consists of 11 heavy metal covers of some of Disney’s most popular songs. All the hits are featured including sing-alongs like “It’s a Small World”, “Under the Sea” and “Beauty and the Beast”. It’s no joke. The album was released in Japan last year and sky rocketed to number three on Amazon charts. The band is definitely no stranger to metal. Hard music fans will recognize Mike Vescera as vocalist and coordinator for the project. He is the singer for Obsession and Vescera and previously performed with Malmsteen and Loudness. Bass player Rudy Sarzo is a metal journeyman, contributing to acts ranging from Blue Oyster Cult to Quiet Riot to Ozzy Osbourne. Vescera’s Obsession bandmate John Bruno plays guitar and BJ Zampa, known for his work with Dokken, is the group’s drummer.

Due to the theatrics of the subject material, neo-classical playing is typically the style of the songs. Vescera stays mid-range for a lot of verses but will hit some higher notes for chorus parts. His range on “A Whole New World” is the perfect example. Higher guitar notes, solos, marching percussion and some harmonized vocals are the tools of the trade for metalizing “The Little Mermaid”. Double-bass and some galloping riffs punctuate the faster paced “It’s a Small World” while “Under the Sea” has a little more groove on the backend. “Tangled” had a slower, more elegant song called “I See the Light”. D-Metal Stars really speed this up with the double-bass and higher vocal melody. “Beauty and the Beast” is extremely well done and isn’t the easiest thing to adapt into a metal song. “A Disney Medley” closes it out with a wide range of Disney tunes from “Cinderella”, “Winnie the Pooh” and “Mary Poppins”.

With just a few electric riffs every metal fan will instantly become a kid again. It’s the magic of Metal Disney.