Evil Lucifer's Origins (ELO); or, Metal Takes On Other Genres
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 12:01AM
I know. Not metal. I know. Not the best ELO song or album or video (what the hell is Muppet-head doing standing in a field of wheat?!?!). But I was struck by a thought: this would be an amazing metal song!!!
All Over The World: The Very Best Of ELO
Before you oil your sabers (or after a shower), hear me out. This quirky idea is not, obviously, without precedent. And far greater minds thought the same thing at some point. Judas Priest decided to update Joan Baez:
Admittedly, Sin After Sin (1977) isn’t the following year’s Stained Class (thanks Roger Glover!). But it was the album with “Dissident Aggressor” on it (later covered in 1988 by Slayer on South Of Heaven). And this was a perfect chance for Halford to pine away ambiguously. I rank it as a great Priest song and the perfect palate cleanser after “Let Us Prey.”
We can obviously also turn our ears towards Celtic Frost’s much loved(?) cover of Wall of Voodoo:
From the moment Mr. Warrior (nee Fischer) says “Hey!” you know you are in for a treat. And the backing vocalists in the chorus? They are either drugged, dead, or both. Who knew that Into the Pandemonium (1987) meant they were about to jump into Swan Lake the following year? Regardless, this marks one of those “what the huh” moments that turns into “that is pretty interesting.”
But back to ELO. I am sure others on this site have heard a song and thought, “Damn. Why won’t [insert metal band name here] rock/sleaze/glam the hell out of that puppy!?!?” So add your favorite song that demands the Celtic Priest treatment. Or throw in your favorite example of a metal band taking a song and making it their own. Who knows? I might listen to it as I stroll home one of these days
Reader Comments (12)
They took some pop songs like Jessie's Girl and mashed it up with, in this case, Ozzy's Crazy Train and made it sound pretty awesome. Same goes for Don't Stop Believing, which was mashed up with Metallica's Enter Sandman. The result in the latter case is the best cover version of Don't Stop Believing ever. Almost better than the original. Takes these songs to a whole other level. Check it out.
So, I hear you Him. Taking a song that's not metal, and making it metal, oftentimes creates a much, much better tune.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ST1Gwj0f550
And awesome replies Rita, Gary, and Shawn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChmJICg9Xs
I think about this ALL the time!!!
I always wanted to do a Metalized version of Carole King’s “It’s Too Late Baby” but could never convince my band back in high school to do it. But just picture it ... Opening killer bass line, AC/DC guitars and me singing it at the top of my lungs!
Another one I wanted to do and would still love to hear is a Power Ballad treatment of “Mandy” by Barry Manilow ... You know, really give it that “Home Sweet Home” treatment. Now, THAT would really blow their minds, hahaha!!
As you can see, my favorites are Metal transformations of Soft Rock classics. Probably, the best example of this AND also my personal fave is Saxon’s cover of “Ride Like The Wind” by Christopher Cross!
I could go on and on but for now, what l’m really looking forward to this Friday’s rerelease of Megadeth’s “Killing Is My Business” ... Why? Guess you’ll have to wait until Friday to find out!
p.s. Hey, Rita, my Heavy Metal Love! TOTALLY with ya on Rock Sugar! So much so, I bought two copies of the CD! And I get what you’re saying about “Don’t Stop The Sandman”. Take two songs that have been played to death and combine them to form a new song that’s nearly better than both! AND, even better ... we can play it when we elope!
Deep Purple should have Metalized Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing”.
Also, in case you haven’t heard it, Rock Sugar put out another killer song last year, a mash up of “Rollin’ In The Deep” by Adele and Scorpions’ “Rock You Like A Hurricane” called, you guessed it, “Rollin’ In A Hurricane”!
AND they supposedly have a new album in the works, which I had hoped would be out by now. Hopefully, it can stay on the market, as they had to pull “Reimaginator” due to a cease and desist order apparently filed by a band member (who apparently lacks a sense of humor and also fun to speculate just who that might be) from one of the acts, which makes it all the rarer!