Metal Covers Rock: The 10 Best

Everyone knows the rock beats scissors, scissors cut paper and Metal covers Rock.

For decades, emerging bands have covered a popular song in an attempt to draw attention with a familiar song. Limp Bizkit and Alien Ant Farm did that. Others reinvented a song they liked or one by favored artist. Think Disturbed and Guns N’ Roses. And sometimes a cover became the band’s first and or biggest hit, That would include Poison and Mötley Crüe.

On the list below, both Guns N’ Roses and Disturbed have multiple entries. Also, Genesis originally recorded two songs that appear on the survey.

10. Ghost: Jesus He Knows Me

Original Artist: Genesis (1992)

The song was the lead single from Ghost’s fourth EP “Phantomime,” a collection of five covers. The set also included versions of Iron Maiden’s (“Phantom Of The Opera” and Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”

The band launched a marketing campaign to tease the single with the slogan “Jesus Is Coming,” before it was released on Easter Sunday in 2023.

Jesus He Knows Me

9. Disturbed: Sound Of Silence

Original Artist: Simon & Garfunkel (1965)

This cover dropped 51 years after its original release. It went to #1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Digital and Mainstream Rock charts,

Paul Simon, who composed the song, praised Disturbed’s rendition. “Mr. Simon, I am honored beyond words,” frontman David Draiman responded. “We only hoped to pay homage and honor to the brilliance of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Your compliment means the world to me/us and we are eternally grateful.”

Sound Of Silence

8. Poison: Your Mama Don’t Dance

Original Artist: Loggins & Messina (1972)

Poison released the cover in 1989. It’s off the group’s second album, “Open Up And Say…Ahh.” Poison’s version reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the original peaked at #4 on the chart).

Your Mama Don’t Dance

7. Limp Bizkit: Faith

Original Artist: George Michael (1987)

The band covered the song in their live performances, using their version to attract attention. Energetic live performances with guitarist Wes Borland in bizarre costumes increased the band’s cult following.

However, producer Ross Robinson was opposed to recording the song for their debut album, “Three Dollar Bill Y’all.” But the final recording, which incorporated heavier guitar playing and drumming, as well as DJ scratching, impressed Robinson.

“I love George Michael and decided to cover ‘Faith’ for fun,” remembered lead singer Fred Durst. “We like to do really aggressive versions of cheesy pop hits,” lead singer Fred Durst told Billboard.

Faith

6. Guns ‘n’ Roses: Knocking On Heaven’s Door

Original Artist: Bob Dylan (1973)

The band recorded and released a studio version in 1990 for the soundtrack of “Days Of Thunder.” It was on GN’R’s fourth album “Use Your Illusion II.”

Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

5. Alien Ant Farm: Smooth Criminal

Original Artist: Michael Jackson (1988)

According to singer Dryden Mitchell the band would play a few riffs of the song while warming up before gigs and audience members would request the entire song.

Mitchell said he came to resent how popular the cover was, and did not want to perform it, thinking: “We’re a better band than just this song.” Eventually, he figured he was just being immature.

Smooth Criminal

4. Aerosmith: Come Together

Original Artist: The Beatles (1969)

The band recorded one of the most successful cover versions of the song in 1978. They performed it in the mostly dreadful 1978 film, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The song has also surfaced on a number of Aerosmith compilations and live albums, as well as on the “Armageddon” soundtrack.

Come Together

3. Mötley Crüe: Smokin’ In The Boy’s Room

Original Artist: Brownsville Station (1973)

The song was covered in 1985 and released as a single. Crüe’s version got to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100″ (Brownsville Station’s version peaked at #3). It was Mötley Crüe’s first Top 40 hit.

Smokin’ In The Boys Room

2. Disturbed: Land Of Confusion

Original Artist: Genius (1986)

The cover is on Disturbed’s third studio album, “Ten Thousand Fists” (2005). The song became the fourth single from that album. Vocalist David Daiman said the goal was to take a song that’s absolutely nothing like us and making it our own.” The band did change the line “And the sound of your laughter” in the original’s bridge was replaced with “In the wake of this madness.” Also, the song’s bridge was dropped for a short solo by guitarist Dan Donegan.

Land Of Confusion

1. Guns N’ Roses: Live And Let Die

Original Artist: Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)

“It’s one of those songs, like “Heaven’s Door,” that Axl (Rose) and I have always loved. It’s always been a really heavy song, but we’d never discussed it, and didn’t know that we each liked it,” Slash recalled. “We were talking one night about a cover song and that came up, and we were like, “Yeah! Let’s do it!

“So I went to rehearsal (with guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff (McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum), just to see whether we could sound good playing it, and it sounded really heavy.”

In a subsequent interview, Slash credited Rose for his synthesizer work on the track.

“When we did ‘Live And Let Die’, it was all synths – those horns are not horns. What Axl did there was really complex; he spent hours dialing all that shit in, getting the nuances just right, and I have to give him that.”