We’ve called this episode “The Covermount Mixtape” for now, but it hasn’t escaped us that a covermount essentially IS a mixtape, only one that was put together by magazines (with what is probably a fair amount of label/PR interference, but we digress…). So until we come up with a better name for this new series, we’re stuck with this for the time being. In any event, this is the first in what will no doubt be quite a long series where we discuss and dissect a covermount CD. For this one, we’ve picked Radio Kerrang! Vol.5 and friends, it’s weird. Alongside the usual nu-metal fare that was floating around in 1998, there’s also a few other interesting choices, such as Backyard Babies and a few bands that no doubt no longer exist, like Freekspert. There’s a surprising amount of Swedish artists on this CD too, much to our bemusement. It’s not all just banter about the music on the CD though, we also ponder what the conditions were to get on these CDs for smaller bands, and contemplate just how much sway the labels or PR companies of the bigger bands had over the selection. In doing the research for this new feature we found that it is very, very easy to get your hands on these CDs. People sell them by the box load on eBay. Probably because they’re all worthless and no one in their right mind wants to own them. So strap the fuck in folks, we’re plumbing the very, very depths of late 90s rock and metal with this one. If there are any covermount CDs that were instrumental to your musical development then let us know what they are. Or better yet, if for some reason you still own one of these CDs, we’d love to hear from you. Next week we’re back to the regular format. Vicki returns to chat about The Beach Boys. It’s going to be an epic.