A man singing into a microphone while playing a guitar
A man playing a guitar next to another man playing a double bass
A man is playing a red gibson guitar
A man singing into a microphone while another man plays a guitar
A man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket is singing into a microphone.
A group of people are standing on a stage playing instruments.
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Snakebites A Tribute To Whitesnake Vinyl Review

December 15, 2024
The cover of a game called the renfields

Deadline Records (Cleopatra) released a killer tribute to Whitesnake way back in 2000 called Snakebites. This was around the time that tributes were really starting to heat up, so the idea was fresh, and a lot of us aging Rockers were eating them up like dime store candy considering how awful Rock music had been in the 90’s.


Lately, these older tributes are getting some quality reissues on vinyl courtesy of Cleopatra/Deadline Records. Back in November, Snakebites, the Tribute Whitesnake finally hit the shelves in a vinyl edition. I’m not the biggest Snake fan, but this Tribute features one of my favorite vocalists – Steve Grimmett (Grim Reaper/Lionheart). If it has Grimmett singing on it, I’m going to blind buy it, no questions asked! I’m happy to say that Grimmett didn’t let me down here! “Still Of the Night”, “Slow an Easy” and “Fool for Your Loving” are all brilliant renditions!! Given Grimmett’s vocal range I’m surprised he went for something like this, but I do recall him sharing his love of Whitesnake in several interviews through the years. There’s also an incredible clip of him singing “Soldier of Fortune” on facebook somewhere. Grimmett paid tribute to Coverdale every time he had the chance. 


Something else I find unique about this tribute is that four ex-Whitesnake members make an appearance, (Marsden, Moody, Murray and Airey). I thought that was neat and a bit wild – pay tribute to a band you were a part of. It works though, musically every track on the album is spot on and the vocalist choices for the tracks are fantastic! Doogie White sings on 2 tracks, notably “Crying in The Rain” and that’s a majestic moment for real! Steve Overland, Bernie Shaw and Nicky Moore also guest on several tracks on the album. Again, I’m not the biggest Snake fan, but I can say without hesitation that this is one of those tributes you’ll enjoy pulling down and dropping the needle on. The 3 Steve Grimmett tracks are worth the price of admission! All the tracks here pay deep respect to the legacy of Whitesnake. This is a must have for serious Snake collectors/fans!

~Black Angel 

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