With its deep roots in blues and rock, it’s no wonder that cover songs are as essential a part ofheavy metalmusic as they are. Many garage bands got their start rocking out with their own versions ofclassic metal albumsand developing their own sound from there. After all, not every band has the ambition to retellJ.R.R. Tolkein’s mythology in a single metal album.
Nowadays, metal bands cover not just the classics, but also songs from all sorts of other genres, often to either epic or comedic effect. Some of these covers might flop, but some of them — like these — areso infused by the power and joy of metalthat they transcend their original genres.
Honorable Mention: Alestorm - “You Are A Pirate” (Originally By The Cast Of LazyTown)
Scottish pirate-metal scallywags Alestorm have been shredding sail on Napalm Records for over fifteen years. On the limited release of their 2011 albumBack Through Time, they included a pair of covers as bonus tracks, one an old Scottish drinking song, and the other a song from Icelandic kids' TV seriesLazyTown. While the lyrics are changed a bit and wind up no longer family-friendly, Alestorm’s version of “You Are A Pirate” isas rollicking and boisterous a drinking song as any folk-metal band could hope to record.
10Turisas - “Rasputin”
Originally by Boney M
Boney M.’s original “Rasputin” was an international chart-topping disco hit in 1978, and ironically found significant popularity in Russia even though the song was removed from the Soviet pressing of the album and the band was allegedly barred from playing it when they toured the USSR.
Finnish folk metal group Turisas put their own spin on Russia’s greatest love machine in 2007, when their cover of “Rasputin” was included on the director’s cut of their sophomore albumThe Varangian Way. More uptempo and frantic than the original but still keeping a similar rhythm, Turisas' cover hassome of the most metal use of violin and accordion you’ll ever hear. The music video juxtaposes a slick 70s nightclub vibe with some of the bandmembers in blood-smeared Viking garb.
9Disturbed - “Land of Confusion”
Originally by Genesis
While the aesthetic of both the song and the video for Disturbed’s cover of this Genesis classic are wildly different from the original,there’s no denying the spirit remains the same. Both songs' videos spoof celebrities and political figures from the era of their release, namely U.S. presidents, with the original Genesis video focusing more on Ronald Reagan and the Disturbed video skewering George W. Bush and his imperialistic foreign policies.
Although this isn’t the first time Disturbed covered an ’80s classic — that was “Shout 2000” on their debutThe Sickness— it’s certainly the time they had a lot more fun with it. With vocalist David Draiman forced to change his singing style after touring forThe Sicknessdamaged his vocal cords, Disturbed’s sound changed from their sophomore album onward into something a little more melodic, andthat shines through perfectly on “Land of Confusion.”
8Nonpoint - “When Doves Cry”
Originally by Prince
While Nonpoint have been sludging up the Florida nu-metal scene since the 90s, their cover of Prince’s classic “When Doves Cry” was part of 2021’sRuthlessEP, the band’s first release on their own independent label 361 Degrees Records. Although it failed to chart,the cover is a slick reinterpretation of the original, starting with atmospheric synths and guitar with gentle cymbal rolls that help build tension through the first verse until the tempo picks up on the chorus.
While the original Prince track notably has no bassline, Nonpoint’s bass thumps with that detuned nu-metal tone thanks to bassist Adam Woloszyn. Whether you like the club scene or Hot Topic,this track will make you want to headbang like it’s 1999.
7Korn - “Word Up!”
Originally by Cameo
Used as the opening track and lead single from their 2004Greatest Hits, Vol 1compilation,Korn’s cover of this ubiquitous funk hit is a surprisingly faithful recreation, given that the song is transposed down to their detuned seven-string sound. While Scottish hard rockers Gun had beaten Korn to the punch with a rock cover of “Word Up!” in ‘94, their cut pales in comparison to the icky thump that was the hallmark of Korn bassist Fieldy’s sound.
Allegedly,Korn’s cover of the song had its genesis in the band’s live show routine, as they often used the riff as part of their sound checks. Also, this was the only Korn single to get sent not only to rock stations but also to Top 40 radio, giving the band a novel form of exposure.
6Alien Ant Farm - “Smooth Criminal”
Originally by Michael Jackson
The second single off their second album, neither Alien Ant Farm nor the rest of the world was ready for how their cover of this Michael Jackson hittook over the global airwaves in 2001. Topping the charts in both the US and Australia, “Smooth Criminal” was a runaway success for the band that completely eclipsed “Movies,” their first single fromANThology. With a music video stuffed full of Michael Jackson references, “Smooth Criminal” is exactly what you should get when you combine the frantic energy of SoCal’s nascent nu-metal scene with one of Jackson’s strongest dance hits.
5In This Moment - “In the Air Tonight”
Originally by Phil Collins
“In the Air Tonight,” released in 1981, was Phil Collins’ first solo single, almost topping the singles charts at the time and becoming an essential part of rock and roll history, thanks to the iconic use of gated reverb on the drum machine to make one of the most memorable drum breakdowns of the 80s. It’s been covered by numerous bands over the years, including the aforementioned Nonpoint, butone version stands above the rest.
In 2017, pop-metal quintet In This Moment released their sixth studio album,Ritual, a concept album about the Salem witch trials. Less campy than their previous fare (like 2014’s gold-certified single “Sex Metal Barbie”), the album also included their cover of “In the Air Tonight,” which uses reverb on vocalist Maria Brink much in the way the original Collins version did on the drums, which helps build up an expansive soundscape that all comes crashing down asthe band puts every bit of fury they have into the classic drum break.
4Rage Against the Machine - “Renegades of Funk”
Originally by Africa Bombaataa & Soulsonic Force
Radical leftist rap-metal gods Rage Against the Machine actually broke up two months before the release of 2000’sRenegades, their fourth and final studio album, which consisted entirely of covers of everyone from Bob Dylan to Cypress Hill; because of this breakup, Rage wasn’t around to tour in support of the album, and were nowhere to be found a year laterwhen 2001’s Clear Channel memorandum stripped their music from America’s airwaves.
Their cover of “Renegades of Funk” takes a classic piece of 80s hip-hop and puts that furious RATM spin on it, turning the percussion intensity up by sampling beats from the Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” and combining that with Tom Morello’s eternally brilliant use of guitar distortion. Where the song really takes off is the mantra in the bridge of “destroy all nations”; while Africa Bombaataa’s version says this once, in the mouth of Rage vocalist Zack de la Rochait becomes as much an invocation of anti-nationalist intent as any of RATM’s original singles.
3Seether - “Careless Whisper”
Originally by George Michael
While the original “Careless Whisper” is mostly a meme at this point thanks to its classic but overplayed saxophone riff, Seether’s cover from the 2009 reissue of their 2007 releaseFinding Beauty in Negative Spacesis a surprisingly earnest take on George Michael’s regretful ballad. With Seether’s post-grunge style being a perfect fit for the lyrics' lamenting nature,the only flaw in this cover is that Seether didn’t indulge the meme just a little and keep the saxophone.
2GWAR - “Carry On Wayward Son”
Originally by Kansas
GWAR’s 2013 albumBattle Maximuswas recorded as a tribute for recently-deceased guitarist Flattus Maxiums (Cory Smoot), who passed in 2011; it was also the last album recorded by original vocalist Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie), who also died in 2014. The tenth anniversary edition ofBattle Maximuswas released in 2023, because that’s how math works, and contained two previously unreleased tracks: the original “Tammy, the Swine Queen,” and their cover of “Carry On Wayward Son.”
While live recordings of “Carry On” from before Urungus' death exist — notably the above video from 2012’s season ofA.V. Undercover—this studio rendition is tight and flawless, highlighting GWAR’s sludgy combination of prog-metal breakdowns and high-speed thrash riffs. Urungus takes the kind of filthy liberties with the lyrics that GWAR fans would expect, effortlessly going from verbally berating listeners to shrieking like the god of metal that he was.
1Anthony Vincent and Mac Glocky - “Spice Up Your Life”
Originally by the Spice Girls
Anthony Vincent, who until 2021 released music under his YouTube channel name Ten Second Songs, and Mac Glocky, a SoCal-based metal musician, have both gained significant Internet followings due to their shared skill set of emulating the styles of other metal and hard rock artists. While this seems simple on the surface,Glocky in particular is a genuine musical chameleon, effortlessly emulating both the guitar and vocal tone of seemingly any band he wants.
Together, the duo have released two Spice Girls covers, “Wannabe” and “Spice Up Your Life,” both styled after prog-metal legends System of a Down. While “Wannabe” is plenty of fun, especially with the bombastic bridge and its whip-quick transition to a shrieking breakdown,it’s “Spice Up Your Life” that will leave you breathlesswith how quickly and expertly the duo transform one of the greatest girl-pop party songs into a nu-metal whirlwind of call-and-response “la la la"s. If the existence of this song doesn’t spice up your life, you officially don’t know how to have fun.
