405. Fozzy / Fozzy. 2000. 3.5/5

For many of us who have been amateur musicians who have put together bands with our mates to get together and jam to our favourite songs, this album is a dream scenario. Go into a studio, lay down a handful of songs from the bands' you love to listen to, and then release it on an album. Awesome. What more could you ask for? A couple of your own original songs in there as well, to hopefully create some interest in your own work so you can expand this in the future? Why not?
Fozzy began life when members of the band Stuck Mojo, led by Rich Ward, decided to go out and play as a cover band and play their favourite cover songs. The addition of high profile wrestler Chris Jericho as lead vocalist lifted the band's image, and brought forth this first album.

The two original tracks on the album are average hard rock songs. , "End of Days" and "Feel the Burn" are fine to listen to without being spectacular. The remaining eight songs on the album are all covers of their favourite tracks, and range from the average to impressive. Dio's "Stand Up and Shout" is handled with aplomb, while there is a certain humorous element lent to Krokus' "Eat the Rich". The middle section of the album continues in this vein, with Twister Sister's "Stay Hungry" followed by Iron Maiden's "The Prisoner" and Motley Crue's "Live Wire".
Perhaps the best two songs here are the versions of Ozzy Osbourne's "Over the Mountain", which sizzles with great riff work from Ward, and Scorpions' "Blackout" where Jericho offers his best work. Judas Priest's "Riding on the Wing" is a tough call to finish on, especially vocal-wise. No easy job trying to match Halford's vocals on this song.

As with most cover albums, there is an initial period where this is listenable, until such time that you just refer back to the original artist for the songs. However, as an introduction for this line-up, this is well worth a listen.