Best Metal Cover Songs of All Time
Honourable Mentions of the Metallica Kind
If Black Sabbath is—in all likeliness—the most covered heavy metal band, then Metallica may very well be the heavy metal band that did the most covers. After all, they released so many covers that they decided to gather them on a full album—two disks, twenty-seven songs—called “Garage, Inc.”.
Anyway, here are the four covers Metallica did that I like best:
4. Breadfan—Metallica (original = Budgie)
Honestly, I liked this cover without knowing the original. The original is quite good, Metallica’s cover shows what a second guitar can do to the right song—making it heavier, more meaty, more filling. It also displays one of Metallica’s trademarks1; that is, making the breaks in a song sound like a continuous, smooth progression2. Just listen to it:
“Bread”—[break]—“fan”—[break]—“open up your mind”—[break]—“open up your purse”—[break]—“open up your balls3”—[break]—“never never gonna loose it”—[break]
While it’s already almost a minute shorter than the original, they could’ve shortened it even more by limiting the melodic middle part—which doesn’t add much—to ten seconds and shaved off another eighty seconds, cutting it to a lean four minutes twenty seconds: faster, harder, better!
3. The Wait—Metallica (original = Killing Joke)
This is from “The $5.98 EP4 — Garage Days re-Revisited”. And it almost wasn’t there, at all5.
With a band like Killing Joke the demarcations between goth, rock, new wave, industrial, and hard rock become one big borderless shadowland. This cover is an excellent example if one takes a Killing Joke song and relentlessly pushes it into heavy metal realms. The gothy guitar becomes a solid heavy metal riff while the crescendo of the chorus—Hetfield roaring “The Waaaaiiiit” while the music soars with perfect metal bombast6—is both an excellent expression of frustration and the perfect vehicle to unload your energy into7.
A step up from an already impressive original.
2. Blitzkrieg—Metallica (original = Blitzkrieg)
While everybody knows the EP “Garage Days Re-Revisited” (see above), there was no separate EP “Garage Days Revisited”, but rather Metallica called the B-side of the “Creeping Death8” single9 their ‘garage days revisited’. The two songs on this B-side form the top 2 in this “Honourable Mentions of the Metallica Kind” post.
Basically, the ‘Garage Days Revisited’ part of the “Creeping Death” single is meant to show how much Metallica was influenced by the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal). And they did this—very smartly—by selecting two of the very best songs of it.
If they had kept it at that, the “Creeping Death” single would have been one of the most legendary singles in all of metal. But no, they had to cover—at least—twenty-five more songs10. Anyway, “Blitzkrieg” has it all: great riffs, superb switches between verse and chorus, a blistering solo11, while the final part has tempo and mood changes that sound effortless12 and make the song even better13.
Sometimes life is good.
In the nostalgia circuit, plenty of NWOBHM bands have reformed and started touring again, Blitzkrieg being one of them. I went to one of their shows in the Little Devil in Tilburg, only to find that singer Brian Ross spent so much time between the songs talking about his favourite horror movies that they overrun their time allotment and had to stop before their final encore. And that final encore was “Blitzkrieg”, turning this gig into yet another horror movie.
Sometimes life is cruel.
1. Am I Evil—Metallica (original = Diamond Head)
I think it’s no exaggeration to say that this cover is solely responsible for re-igniting Diamond Head’s career. Make no mistake, it’s a great song, but—oh, blasphemy—Metallica’s cover version takes it to the next level.
With all due respect to Sean Harris (singer of Diamond Head and composer of the song) and Brian Tatler (guitar player of Diamond Head and the other composer of the song), but James Hetfield totally owns this one. A fantastic opening, but when the actual riff is played at the 1.40 mark, it is as if the Metal Gods have come down to Earth. It was already a great riff on the original, but Hetfield turns it into something heavenly14, the stuff that speeds up any headbangers heart. So crunchy, so heavy, so METAL!
When James Hetfield sings “Am I Evil?” while chugging that divine riff15—chugga-chugga-chugga—“Yes I fucking am!” then he is the living embodiment of metal—Metal, Inc16. To keep that idea in mind, do not buy any Metallica album after17 the third18 and—in the name of all that is unholy—do not watch the “Some Kind of Monster” documentary. You will thank me for the rest of your life…;-)
The solo is also superb. Did you notice? Not even the slightest sign of a wah-wah pedal. Metallica should take all Kirk Hammett’s wah-wah pedals and throw them into a black hole. Boom! Done.
In short, this is how a metal cover should be done, but rarely is. Absolutely superb.
If it’s so great, should it not have been in the Top 15?
Yes, but by making it number 1 here—a huge honour in itself—I could squeeze in another entry in the Top 15.
What? Are you evil?
Yes, I motherfucking am.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
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Author’s note: today was one of these days. I went downtown to get my Covid vaccination (as my left biceps had barely recovered from the flu and pneumococci shots), then I made a stupid manœuvre on my way to the Brabanthallen (where the vaccinations were given) and fell with my bike, suffering an abrasion of my right knee.
Oh well. As a true Brit Dutchman, I grinned and beared it. Luckily, the good people at the vaccination place were also able to treat my wounded knee. To recover, I treated myself to a Bossche Bol and a cappuccinno. To recover a bit more, I wrote this piece and, I have to say, playing these covers does make me feel better.
The healing power of METAL! (/s)
Many thanks for reading and welcome to another new subscriber.
While obviously showing one the influences;
Examples: “Whiplash”, “Trapped Under Ice”, “Damage Inc.”, and quite a few more;
This is not in the original. I think Hetfield added this just because he could;
This to prevent overcharging. As Metallica said: “If they charge more, steal it!”;
“The Wait” was omitted from the UK pressings in order to conform to local music-industry rules regarding the length of EPs;
Which probably could have been tuned up to eleven with a better production—like on this live version—but then it’s not a “Garage Days, Re-Revisited” cover anymore;
Which is one of METAL’s main functions; that is, to help you deal with the injustice of life;
There is a “Creeping Death/Jump in the Fire” EP version that also contains “Jump in the Fire” (worst song of “Kill ‘Em All”) and live versions of “Seek and Destroy” and “Phantom Lord” (best song of “Kill ‘Em All|”);
The only official single of their “Ride the Lightining “ album. There were two promo vinyl singles, though: “Fade to Black” (12”, green fluorescent) and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (12”, black);
Admittedly, not knowing when to stop is also METAL;
Take away the efffect pedals and Kirk Hammett is quite a good guitar player;
Not unlike Sacred Reich’s “Surf Nicaragua”;
Even if that final barf could have used a bit more oomph;
Actually, something straight from Hell if we follow the theme of the song;
On the same level: Sepultura’s “Roots, Bloody Roots”, Black Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe”, Dream Theater’s “The Mirror”, Savatage’s “Hall of the Mountain King”, and others. If these riffs don’t want you to bang your head right off your rump, then you’re not METAL;
I almost said “Metal God” but then Rob Halford threatened to perform an unholy act on a sensitive part of my anatomy;
There are three bands that have unleashed—what I would call—an unholy trinity of albums. Meaning their first three albums are so superb that everything else (including their own, later albums) pales in comparison. Which three bands? Metallica, Queensryche and Dream Theater;
They should have stopped after the first three albums, because these are as close to metal perfection as you can get. But, no, they had to make more, in search of commercial success, which is like turning into the snake that gave Eve the apple in the (misnamed) Garden of Eden. Don’t give Eve the apple! Keep Adam and Eve naked, naïve and in Paradise (another misnomer) while we—the metal posse—have all the fun in Hell;