THROWBACK THURSDAY - HEAVY COVERS

What does one make of cover songs?  It seems like a common response to most covers is, "this is terrible, the original is so much better".  Well obviously!  99 percent of the time a cover is not going to be as great as the original, but it seems to me that many people are not looking at it from the right perspective.  Instead of shitting on a cover song for not being as good as the original, people should really consider how cool it is that a classic song is being covered in the first place.  Heavy metal has its fair share of classics, and they're classics for a reason; they were influential.  Cover songs are interesting to listen to because it gives the listener an opportunity to discover some of the influences of their favorite bands.  Below are a collection of cover songs that I found to be particularly interesting.

1. Upon a Burning Body - 5 Minutes Alone (Pantera Cover)

Pantera is easily one of the most influential metal bands from the 1990's.  5 Minutes Alone is easily one of their crunchiest tunes.  It's only natural that the Texas based deathcore act Upon a Burning Body would cover this song. This is a cover that definitely did the original justice.  And the fact that they gave the late Dimebag Darrell a shout out in the middle of the the song is nothing short of heartwarming.  Check it out!

Links: Pantera Facebook // Official Website // iTunes
Upon A Burning Body Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

2. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Paranoid (Black Sabbath Cover)

Boy has this cover gotten shit over the years.  It's understandable; how can The Dillinger Escape Plan cover a Black Sabbath song?  Part of the beauty of this cover comes from the fact that they didn't try to stay true to the original.  Dillinger has their own unique sound and it seems as though they stick to that even while doing covers.  Yeah, it's gonna piss off some old school metal fans but this is a cover definitely worth checking out.

Links: The Dillinger Escape Plan Facebook // Twitter // Official Website
Black Sabbath Facebook // Official Website // iTunes

3. Periphery - New Millenium Cyanide Christ (Meshuggah Cover)

Djent dj djent dj djent dj djent djent djent bowww... Well, you know where I'm going with this.  Periphery covering a classic Meshuggah song, how appropriate!  Meshuggah is one of those bands that only comes around once in a life time.  They are responsible for the creation of the sound that is commonly referred to as djent, and Periphery is partially responsible for bringing that sound into the mainstream.  Two great bands, one awesome tone, and one excellent cover!

Links: Meshuggah Facebook // Twitter // iTunes
Periphery Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

4. As I Lay Dying - Electric Eye (Judas Priest Cover)

"A Judas Priest cover? The nerve!  These little metalcore kids can't possible cover a song written by the metal gods". - elitist douche.

Yes, Judas Priest is awesome, but so is this cover.  In the contemporary metal scene, As I Lay Dying is one helluva band.  If anyone were to cover a Priest song I'm glad it was them.  As I Lay Dying demonstrates impressive technical skill, and as a whole, they are capable of covering some of the best heavy metal tunes.

Links: Judas Priest Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes 
As I Lay Dying Facebook // Official Website // iTunes

5. Children of Bodom - Aces High (Iron Maiden Cover)

If you spit in the air the chances are it's going to land on somebody that's an Iron Maiden fan.  Seriously though, who wasn't influenced by this band?  Just about every power metal and melodic death metal band was, therefore it wouldn't be surprising to hear band that embodies elements from both of those sub-genres cover a classic Maiden tune.  Children of Bodom not only did the original justice with this cover, they made it their own.  The keyboard especially added a nice touch.

Links: Iron Maiden Facebook // Twitter // iTunes // Official Website
Children of Bodom Facebook // Official Website // Merch

6. Killswitch Engage - Holy Diver (Dio Cover)

It takes guts to even decide to record a cover of Dio.  The man's voice is legendary.  Well in 2007 Killswitch Engage pulled it off, successfully.  Obviously no mortal man can top Dio, but Howard Jones did a damn good job as far as cover standards are concerned (and I don't mean that in a condescending way, Howard is an excellent vocalist).  The cover was very well received by critics and fans, and six years later Killswitch is still playing it live.  I can't speak for the masses, but I hope it helped to turn the younger generation of metal heads onto the classic metal act that is Dio.

Links: DIO Facebook // Twitter // iTunesKillswitch Engage Facebook // Twitter // iTunes      

NEW MUSIC TUESDAY - JUNE 11TH

Today is a one ridiculously solid Tuesday in the metal world. Three extremely notable releases drop today and there’s plenty more including the first Black Sabbath album featuring Ozzy in like a million years. Today is a day for buying metal.

The Black Dahlia Murder are death metal legends at this point in their career. 2011 album “Ritual” was a fantastic work of modern death metal, influenced both by the American death metal scenes of Florida and New York and the Swedish melodic death metal scene. The Black Dahlia Murder have 100 percent forged a completely unique and awesome signature sound. Metalblade records released a temporary stream of the bands newest album released today, titled “Everblack”, and I can assure you this album will not disappoint. The signature sound is further honed and expanded on. This album is worth your money. Buy it.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Merch

Instrumental, progressive, “adventure metal” band Scale the Summit is back again with their newest album “The Migration” out today! This album features some of the most beautiful music I’ve heard in a long time. Single “Atlas Novus” is just ridiculous. These guys are immensely talented players ad songwriters. “The Migration” clearly is a very large step above all of Scale the Summit’s previous work. The production on what I’ve heard so far is also fantastic and a new high point for the band. Overall “The Migration” looks to be a fantastic album. Fans of instrumental music, melodic playing, and progressive metal should get in their cars, begin moving to a record store by whatever mode of transportation you favor, immediately and purchase this new album.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Merch // More Merch

Children of Bodom are back, and this time with a higher content of your daily requirement of metal. The melodic death metal veterans return with “Halo of Blood” today. Much controversy has surrounded CoB and their recent releases. The previous albums certainly haven’t had the same drive and fury that the original CoB had that made melodic death metal classics. This time, Alexi Laiho and cohorts have released a record that looks to have a little more oomph. The black metal influence on lead single “Transference” gives a pretty solid indication that Children of Bodom has delivered with this one. This is another album worth buying.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Mercb

-Trisolino

BLACK SABBATH "13" ALBUM PREVIEW

The kings of heavy metal have finally returned (sans Bill Ward of course) with the earliest offerings from their new album “13” due out June 11th. The first single "God is Dead?" has been released and the first live offerings of the next single, that will be debuted on CSI May 15th, have surfaced on youtube. The most important to ask now is: how’s it look?

Well the answer to that question is a resounding “pretty good.” The riffs are doomy and heavy. The bass is classic geezer and the drumming by Brad Wilk is definitely a good enough fill in for Ward’s presence. "The End of the Beginning" to me sounds like a clear throwback to the track "Black Sabbath", you know the one that basically is responsible for the beginning of metal.

So the band is clearly trying to get back to the evil, doomy, metal that they pioneered in the early 70s. Can’t knock 'em for that. To be fair Ozzy still doesn’t sound that great and the two songs released have been on the long and repetitive side. Also the album cover and title suck but whatever. All in all the album is looking pretty good for a bunch of aging metal legends who released their best material (at least according to me) and were most relevant about 40 years ago. “13” may not be top notch, but like Metallica’s 2009 album “Death Magnetic”, it’ll serve as a celebration of past metal masterpieces.

If you're interested in some Sabbath, pre-order the album from their official website or on iTunes \m/

-Trisolino

 

Links: Facebook // Pre-Orders // iTunes