Review by Greg on July 17, 2024.

Keeping the review-whoring to a minimum, I guess tackling a single, every now and then, ain't too bad. Plus, this one gives me a chance to talk about Silverchair here, which I never thought possible. The trio of Daniel Johns, Chris Joannou and Ben Gillies went on to grasp a place among the hugest acts in Australia, not just retreading the grunge explosion that was going on in the mid '90s, but eventually evolving in one of the most original and versatile rock bands around, as the splendor of records such as "Neon Ballroom" and "Diorama" can showcase, no doubt helped by Johns' ever-changing, multiform voice. 'Israel's Son' took on the task of introducing the world to their debut "Frogstomp", an album still dancing between grungy landscapes and teenage angst (not least since the band members were literal teens back in 1995) that was a massive commercial breakthrough, and it's also such a badass song that it was brought as evidence for a murder trial. What's not to like?

All of this wouldn't make any sense here, were it not for the fact that fellow countrymen Envenomed returned after five years of silence since their second LP The Walking Shred with a cover of this very song. As much as I'd like to say they add a distinct metal flavour to 'Israel's Son', the original (and "Frogstomp" as a whole) wasn't really any kind of soft stuff, either... the whole thing is actually very faithful, surely more than their Lenny Kravitz one, for better or worse. Okay, the obvious difference is in the vocal department, as Mav is of course distant from teenage Johns' Eddie Vedder impression, but he does make it work nonetheless with his grittier timbre. As for the rest, apart from Adam Bartleson's drumming which understandably tries to spice up the bare-bone OG performance with some more elaborated fills, the main features are all there, from the resonant bass driving the verses to the badass refrain, all the way to the gnarly acceleration at the end.

Oh, and the artwork/tribute is also one of the cutest things I've seen recently. Who knows what else Envenomed have in store for us?

Rating: 7.5 out of 10