A theory about Pop and metal

I noticed some metal bands these days are covering 80s/early 90s pop songs metalheads back then cringed like Disturbed covered Land Of Confusion by Genesis (not so much) and Shout by Tears For Fears, a misc nu metal band covered Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal and I heard a misc metal band covered I got the power by that early 90s techno group. Anyway I now think in about 10 - 15 years time metal bands will start covering pop tunes we all dread and CRINGE now like James Blunt's You Beautiful and Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake . What are your thoughts on this?

Crowbar did Dream Weaver & slayed it. Celtic Frost turned Mexican Radio into one of their own. it's not really a new thing, covering pop tunes.

Also, Poison already did a cover of 'Sexy Back'. I love Poison, but that was possibly one of the worst things I've ever heard.

Gamma Ray did 'It's a Sin'.

I believe it's not just about covering pop tunes, it's more about cover tunes in general: bands always tend to cover songs that were originally recorded a long time ago. And it does make sense - it would be a bit silly to cover a song that's still being promoted and the original version can be heard on the radio. For instance, for Gamma Ray to cover a new Maiden song like Benjamin Breeg would be a bit awkard. If they'd cover a Maiden song, it'd have to be from their older records, something like Aces High or Wasted Years.

That's why Jorn covering Tarja Turunen seemed a bit odd. You don't see that a lot.

Also... the point of a cover song is to sound different from the original. Now with the advancements in recording techniques, you can make the song sound quite different from the original. Better, in most cases. But, covering a brand new song means you don't actually get that advantage.

You do have a point that it's probably more acceptable for a band of a more marginal style of music (like heavy metal) to cover a pop hit from the 80's than it is to cover a song that got played heavily on radio/MTV just months ago. That'd seem like capitalizing on the popularity.

They won't cover new pop songs because stuff like "Land of Confusion" sold 20 times more than "Sexy Back" and the whole point of a pop cover song is to get more exposure for your band.

Temple - I don't think you know how popular Justin Timberlake really is. He's no Michael Jackson, but he sells quite well. I didn't understand how popular people like he, Beyonce, Fergie, Black Eyed Peas etc were for a long time because, frankly, I wasn't paying attention. When I stopped and looked I discovered that these people are the Prince, Madonna, whatever of this generation...

And, I searched RIAA, Genesis' Invisible Touch is certified 6x platinum over 20+ years. Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback" single alone is 3x Platinum while the album it came from is 4x platinum in, I think, just the last 3 or 4 years...

Smindas wrote:

Also, Poison already did a cover of 'Sexy Back'. I love Poison, but that was possibly one of the worst things I've ever heard.

REALLY? I must give that a listen

fingers wrote:

Smindas wrote:

Also, Poison already did a cover of 'Sexy Back'. I love Poison, but that was possibly one of the worst things I've ever heard.

REALLY? I must give that a listen

You really shouldn't!!!!!! I am a causal Poison fan but this a version that only a contestant on the Rock of Love would rave about. It is by far that worst recording ever done by these closet sword swallowers and that is saying something!

August Burns Red did Britney's Baby one more Time on Pop Goes Punk 2 on Fearless Records.

Seether does "careless whisper"

Hammerfall-My Sharona
Firewind-Maniac
Dragonland-Neverending Story
Axel Rudi Pell-In The Air Tonight

This is not anything new. I do believe that the reason is no matter how we try to hide it, most of us like at least one or more pop songs. The artists we listen to are no different. I believe these covers are a way to pay tribute to pop songs they have enjoyed in a style they love.