Classic Metal Class Session 15 — Heavy Metal Covers of Non-Metal Songs
success stories of taking songs from distant genres and reworking them into classic metal music!
Back in session 12 of Classic Metal Class, Scott and I focused on the topic of metal cover songs. There are a lot of great ones out there, and we zeroed in on quite a few of them. We tended to focus more on covers of songs from more metal-adjacent genres, like hard rock, AOR, punk, and blues, though we did mention several drawn from soft rock, R&B, folk, and country.
For session 15, we decided to go back in a more deliberate manner to covers of songs and bands that were rather distant from metal. This meant reprising some of the same songs from session 12, but adding in a number of new ones for consideration.
We were thinking that by looking at these metal covers of decidedly non-metal songs, where more is required to transition the song solidly into the genre of heavy metal, we would be able to do some thinking together about what makes something metal in the first place.
We kicked things off by invoking this parody of the Beatle’s “Hey Jude” from a piece on the Goddesses of Metal site:
Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a pop song and make it better
Remember to add some riffs and a solo
Then you can start to make it Metal
Is that all that it needs to transfer a song from one of those more distant genres into heavy metal? It’s certainly a formula one could try out, and perhaps in some cases find some success with. But there’s significantly more going on in a really good metal cover.
Scott and I brought in two different but complementary sets of considerations to more fully outline what makes a metal cover distinctively metal. Scott, as a professional musician and guitar professor, focused on the technical, musical, and technological aspects distinctive to heavy metal. I focused on what we can call, broadly speaking, the ethos of the band, their attitude towards the song, how they take it up and transform it.
Here’s the session recording if you’d like to watch or listen!
We also looked at how metal bands and artists successfully or unsuccessfully covert decidedly non-metal songs over into metal. There are a number of songs that, in their native environment, you would never think could work as heavy metal, but when you do shift them into it, you see potentials and previously unseen aspects of those songs unfold within the new context. Saxon’s cover of “Ride Like The Wind” is a prime example of that dynamic.
In other cases, metal bands might produce a cover of a non-metal song in a way that is parodic, ironic, or kind of a putdown. We didn’t look into those, but just noted that possibility, because we were less interested in negatively-oriented interpretations of non-metal songs.
Then there are the songs that don’t make for good cover tunes but seem to exercise an irresistable attraction for heavy metal bands. Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild” — admittedly not very distant from metal — is a prime example of that kind of song. So many covers of it, and none of them as good as the original.
During the session, we looked closely at a number of heavy metal cover songs where the transition really worked, generating performances not only well worth listening to, but arguably innovative in their own right. Here’s the list of those songs:
- Judas Priest’s cover of Joan Baez’s “Diamond’s and Rust” (folk)
- Tank’s cover of Aretha Franklin, Chain of Fools (R&B)
- Motorhead’s cover of David Bowie, “Heroes” (art rock)
- Saxon’s covers of Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like The Wind” (soft rock)
- Megadeth’s cover of Nancy Sinatra, “These Boots Are Made For Walking” (country)
- Van Halen’s cover of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” (rockabilly)
- Twisted Sister’s cover of The Shangri Lis, “Leader of the Pack” (pop)
- Iron Maiden’s cover of Skyhooks, Women in Uniform (pop)
- Wasp’s cover of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting” (pop)
- Kiss’ cover of The Crystal’s “And Then (S)he Kissed Me” (R&B)
- Ozzy Osborne’s cover of the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive” (disco)
- Ugly Kid Joe’s cover of Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” (folk rock)
- Saxon’s cover of Toto’s “Hold The Line” (soft rock)
- Judas Priest ‘s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)” (psychedelic rock)
- Van Halen’s cover of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street” (R&B)
- Motorhead’s cover of The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie” (R&B)
We may return to this theme of heavy metal cover songs sometime down the line. But for now, after devoting two sessions of Classic Metal Class to the topic, I think we’re probably done with it!
If you’re relatively new to classic heavy metal, and looking for some suggestions where to get started, then you’ll want to check out this set of solid recommendations!
If you’d like to see all of the other class sessions we’ve done so far, here’s where you can find them!
I’m Greg Sadler, the Heavy Metal Philosopher. I’m also the president of ReasonIO, a speaker, writer, and a producer of highly popular YouTube videos on classic and contemporary philosophy. I teach at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and offer classes to the wider public in my Study With Sadler online academy. I also produce the Sadler’s Lectures podcast and co-host the Wisdom for Life radio show
