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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
New Music Tuesday is back! This one is a bit unconventional so follow along.
Okay, so maybe it doesn't count as new music, but this is certainly a new breed of release for the band. Meshuggah is celebrating their 25th anniversary by re-releasing limited editions of all of their albums from the debut "Contradictions Collapse" to the second latest "obZen". Bonus tracks included. Catch (33) is, there will only be 2,500 copies of each album so grab them while you still can!
Our Artist of the Week, Rivers of Nihil, happens to be putting out their debut full-length today! That's what I call good timing. One listen to "The Conscious Seed of Light" is enough to see why we nominated them for the position. This is an impressive, hard-hitting Death Metal five-piece worth your attention. Grab the "The Conscious Seed of Light", now out through Metal Blade Records!
Maybe we're slacking on new material or maybe we just want to melt your face off. Oblivion is another band doing a re-releasing an album today. At the beginning of this year they did a limited physical / digital release for their massive Death Metal debut "Called To Rise". Since then, they've been signed to Unique Leader Records and are now doing a much wider physical release. Featuring original members from All Shall Perish, Antagony, Hacksaw To
The Throat, Feast, and critically acclaimed composer Nick Vasallo - it's safe to say there's lots of talent here. And it shows when you hit play.
I'll be out of town until Wednesday but I didn't want to leave
The Circle Pit hanging. So here's something I set up last week to kill
all the memory left on your iPod.
THIS IS THE FREE MUSIC MARATHON!
We've
helped promote a lot of free music over time. This is the cream of the
crop. And it ranges from big bands to the deep underground. Click a
link, any link. You may just find a new favorite. No matter what, you'll
find free music and tunes available for the price of your choosing. All
of these artists deserve support, so don't be afraid to throw some
dollars if something really makes you happy.
This is the second lap of four. 25 links a day.
We'll officially be back in full operation on Wednesday.
Youtuber jsabbott0 just dropped a piano cover of the infamous rhythmical mountain that is Meshuggah's "Bleed". This version of the song should be called "Hands Bleed". Watch below and you'll see what I mean. Piano slapping at it's finest. Also check his steering wheel cover.
"No solo - maybe I'll give it a shot once my hands have healed." - jsabbott0
Ok. Wait. Colossal news here. Meshuggah will be headlining the 9th edition of Euroblast festival in Cologne this October... Holy shit.
You know, people at Euroblast had always been like “Wow! The line up is amazing! The only band left is Meshuggah” but it was like a joke...nobody ever thought that Meshuggah was actually going to play Euroblast in the near future. Or “If they call Meshuggah, they're done. Who are they gonna call the following year?”...Well, now everything has changed.
Meshuggah will be there, headlining the sickest prog/djent/tech metal festival in Europe (maybe in the world now?). This may really become huge, especially with other huge names bolstering the line up. The band that inspired this whole musical movement is headlineing the number one event in the genre. This is going to be legendary. Be there!
Also look at the media partners on the lovely poster below... You'll notice The Circle Pit. We shall be promoting this festival through it's cycle.
If you are like me, and are just finding out about this craziness now, then you may also be susceptible to mindfuck. I have been a Meshuggah fan long enough to be bewildered when I discovered this. Surely, some of you out there have listened to Fredrick Thordendal's "Special Defects" before, but I have not, until now, and I are disappointed that you no share mindfuck.
Meshuggah guitarist, legend and massive musical influence Fredrick Thordendal released "Sol Niger Within" back in 1997 with his solo-project "Special Defects." Yes...'97. "Sol Niger Within" appeared after Meshuggah's beginnings, but over a decade ahead of acts attempting to impose upon these once exclusive concepts.
"Sol Niger Within" is constructed as one single track divided into 29 individual segments. Within the lyrics there is plenty to be found in the ways of philosophical and demonic poetry. Spoken scriptures are delivered by none other than Thomas Haake, Meshugguh's percussion man. The album is seething with oddities beyond the puzzling chug patterns and polyrhythmic jazz drumming. Powerfully wretched organs and synthesizers, whacky saxophone, and high shrieks of the most unpleasant type, only enhancing the experience.
Fredrick Thordendal's "Special Defects" re-released "Sol Niger Within" a few years later after making some minor adjustments but here is the full stream of the original version. I hope you have as much fun as I did trying to follow the lyrics. All the kids are calling this a total "Jens-Face-Maker."
Math Metal legends Meshuggah just let loose with a brand new music video! In support of their latest album "Koloss", they pieced together a twisted presentation of the track "I Am Colossus" for your viewing / listening pleasure.
"I Am Colossus" is a phenomenal track which serves well as both the opener of the album and as a single in support of it. If you close your eyes and listen, the music may cause you to picture a
colossus stalking across a vast landscape, shaking the Earth with every
footfall. The video itself takes on a different approach. It is extremely well conceived with a plethora of dark, thematic animation and creativity. This is the stuff of nightmares.
Be sure to check it out down below along with more recent goods from the Mathematical titans \m/
It looks like the new Meshuggah release decided to arrive early. My night is made. The car manufacturer Scion
is a known, big time supporter of metal. They have a history of working
with / promoting awesome bands and releasing brand new music free of charge.
They've recently done this with Arsis, Revocation, and Immolation among
others. Turns out Meshuggah is latest band on this list. You read that correctly... FREE MESHUGGAH MUSIC \m/ (Jens Kidman Face) \m/ Go grab it below!
The single actually consists of two tracks, the first being the main event "Pitch Black". This is followed by a live recording / obZen flashback of "Dancers To A Discordant System". All in all it clocks in at nearly 16 minutes of the Math Metal innovators doing what they do best.
"Pitch Black" isn't a song, it's a slow descent into an endless abyss of polyrhythms (ok, maybe not endless). Meshuggah has a way of painting mathematical pictures through their music, and this single is no exception. Weaving through the eerie mists of deep grooves, you'll step into oblivion. Most of the song is instrumental and there's great musical chaos to be had here. Jens Kidman sits out as drummer Thomas Haake gives a spoken chant to send you off into awesome, groovy greatness.
The "Dancers To A Discordant System" live performance is spot on as to be expected. At The Circle Pit, we're fairly convinced Meshuggah are robots designed by the Swedish government. They never miss a beat, these guys. Hoping to see them very soon with Animals As Leaders and Intronaut. Click here to see what I'm talking about.
I can't criticize this release musically or objectively. Meshuggah is the shit. Period. I HIGHLY recommend you download this. If you didn't see the link, it's down below. If you wanna give it a listen first, both tracks are available right here, right now. Enjoy \m/
The car manufacturer Scion is a known, big time supporter of metal. They have a history of working with / promoting awesome bands and releasing brand new, FREE EPs. They've recently done this with Arsis, Revocation, and Immolation among others. And it looks like Meshuggah may be next with "Pitch Black"... possibly as soon as this Tuesday! The concept of a brand new Meshuggah EP out of the blue sounds amazing. It's been too long since the band's last EP "I". Nothing has been confirmed, but all the evidence points to new music or at the very least, a live recording. It is the Scion way. They posted the following along with the "Pitch Black" artwork.
"We’ve got something special coming to you from Meshuggah next Tuesday."
In other words, get stoked for Tuesday! You can ogle the artwork along with the hard hitting music video for "Demiurge", which was also produced by Scion.
Here is a collection of hyper talented drummers from behind
the kit. Enjoy the
insanity!
1. Upon a Burning Body - 5 Minutes Alone (Pantera Cover)
3. Periphery - New Millenium Cyanide Christ (Meshuggah Cover)
4. As I Lay Dying - Electric Eye (Judas Priest Cover)
5. Children of Bodom - Aces High (Iron Maiden Cover)
6. Killswitch Engage - Holy Diver (Dio Cover)
New Music Tuesday is back! This one is a bit unconventional so follow along.
Okay, so maybe it doesn't count as new music, but this is certainly a new breed of release for the band. Meshuggah is celebrating their 25th anniversary by re-releasing limited editions of all of their albums from the debut "Contradictions Collapse" to the second latest "obZen". Bonus tracks included. Catch (33) is, there will only be 2,500 copies of each album so grab them while you still can!
I'll be out of town until Wednesday but I didn't want to leave
The Circle Pit hanging. So here's something I set up last week to kill
all the memory left on your iPod.
