today’s theme: musical covers

I love music. Like with my soul, deep inside. My tastes are eclectic, although my general rule (with exceptions) is that “happy” music makes me homicidal. Bubblegum pop=death and destruction. The one true outlier to this “happy” music ban is Stray Kids, a South Korean boy band. Some days, it’s old-school rap and hip hop. Or 70’s-era classic rock, or 80’s-era hair bands. Other days, it’s all about the metal, the driving bass. Even my metal is eclectic and varied. I love Swedish death metal like Opeth, Mongolian metal like The Hu, New Zealand metal like Shepherds Reign, Japanese metal like Babymetal, French metal like Gojira.

Anyway, the point is… I love music. And I adore a good cover. So here are some of my favorite covers!

---

One of my favorites in the cover world is Anthony Vincent. His thing is covers done in the styles of other bands, like Wannabe by the Spice Girls in the style of System of a Down. He’s incredible, with a level of musical intelligence and style that is insane. A lot of what he does is non-metal songs reimagined into metal, but there are a lot that are not at all metal renditions. The aforementioned Wannabe…

---

Another favorite is Malia J’s cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. It is so incredibly haunting. The song was used in the Marvel Universe’s Black Widow. The original is an amazing song, but Malia J brings something undefinable to it. And before the song took off, she was a classic oboist.

---

I also love punk music. I spent a good portion of my misspent youth at punk clubs and concerts, so I love a punk cover. This one is Social Distortion’s version of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, so good. There’s shades of Johnny, but the feel of it is so different.

---

I loved Disturbed, so it’s not a surprise that this one is a favorite. I’ve been known to listen to it on repeat. David Draiman’s voice is magic to me. There’s a couple parts in the song where it really hits, and his voice always gives me full-body chills, around 2:33 and 3:19. The song could not sound more different than Simon & Garfunkel’s original version.

---

As a diehard Godsmack fan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include their version of Come Together by The Beatles. It’s not a drastic change in musicality, but the sound is incredibly different with Sully Erna singing lead. He’s another singer who’s voice is pure magic.