  Driving Mrs Satan is an acoustic trio from London/Naples. Their album, Popsctoch is a collection of well known metal songs as you've never heard them before, with songs from bands such as ACDC, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica all peformed on acoustic guitar, double bass and other acoustic instruments.
The first thing that you notice is that they haven't just tried to play the songs in their original formats but with acoustic instruments. Instead the songs have been given a slower pace and a very different feel. The lovely soft female vocals sound gorgeous but also completely unlike any metal songs you might usually hear. Musically it's a mix of pop, folk and jazz
It's definitely strange hearing these songs sounding so different to the originals, but it does work very well. Driving Mrs Satan are certainly not the first band to radically reinterpret classic metal songs - Van Canto have done Acapella covers of metal songs for several years, Hayseed Dixie have done their bluegrass covers of metal songs, and Apocalyptica have done their cello versions of metal songs, so Driving Mrs Satan are simply the latest band to give metal songs a different sound.
I have to say I do like this album - it's very different, but that's what makes it work so well. The softer music, slower pace and beautiful vocals means you focus more on the lyrics than you might normally do. Yes plenty of fans will know the lyrics to some of these songs as they are so well known, but I suspect that with the Slayer song for instance, people know the overal feel of the song better than they know the lyrics.
Have a listen to one of the songs from the album by watching the video below and see what you think for yourself.
I think it's a great album - refreshingly different covers of classic metal songs, and people who enjoy Van Canto and Hayseed Dixie are likely to enjoy this. There will no doubt be some fans who see any different versions of songs by their favourite metal bands as sacrilege, but frankly I think they're missing out on a lot.
Track listing:
1. I Want Out (Helloween)
2. Battery (Metallica)
3. Killers (Iron Maiden)
4. Caught In a Mosh (Anthrax)
5. Killed By Death (Motorhead)
6. Hells Bells (ACDC)
7. 2 Minutes to Midnight (Iron Maiden)
8. Can I Play With Madness (Iron Maiden)
9. Never Say Die (Black Sabbath)
10. South Of Heaven (Slayer)
11. From Out of Nowhere (Faith No More)
http://www.drivingmrssatan.com
DRIVING MRS. SATAN are:
CLAUDIA SORVILLO - vocals
GIACOMO PEDICINI - double bass
ERNESTO NOBILI - acoustic and classical guitars, ukulele, backing vocal
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