Back in the ’90s and early aughts, the nu-metal explosion found bands, some of which had no reasons being signed, thrust upon us in the wake of Korn, Deftones and Limp Bizkit’s success. Granted, some of those bands were great, and others not so much. What they all had in common was that one of the best ways to make them palatable to the masses was by having them record a cover. Limp Bizkit didn’t really take off until their cover of “Faith,” nor did Orgy until they took on New Order’s “Blue Monday.” Hell, Fear Factory even enlisted Gary Numan for their cover of his “Cars.” In addition to the bands’ albums, there were lots of soundtracks and compilations that found nu-metal bands foisting cover songs on an unsuspecting (or more likely, suspecting) public. Spin has come up with a list of the 40 best nu-metal covers of pop songs, but that title is kind of misleading. Some of the bands, like Three Days Grace and Tantric, can hardly be considered nu-metal, and it’s not like Portishead and the Wu-Tang Clan ever made “pop music.” Still, it’s a good #tbt exercise to remember the days of JNCO and black fingernail polish and think about some of these jams:
40. Limp Bizkit – “Bittersweet Home” (Mötley Crüe and The Verve)
39. Powerman 5000 (feat. Danny Boy – “Relax” (Frankie Goes To Hollywood cover)
38. Incubus (feat. Big Pun) – “Still Not A Player” (Big Punisher cover)
37. Kittie – “Run Like Hell” (Pink Floyd cover)
36. Framing Hanley – “Lollipop” (Lil Wayne cover)
35. Static-X – “Speedway” (Elvis Presley cover)
34. Godsmack – “Rocky Mountain Way” (Joe Walsh cover)
33. Three Days Grace – “Wicked Game” (Chris Isaak cover)
32. Linkin Park – “Rolling In The Deep” (Adele cover)
31. Chevelle – “Black Boys On Mopeds” (Sinéad O’Connor cover)
30. Lostprophets – “Need You Tonight” (INXS cover)
29. Tantric – “The Chain” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
28. Mindless Self Indulgence – “Bring The Pain” (Method Man cover)
27. Rammstein – “Stripped” (Depeche Mode cover)
26. Korn – “Word Up” (Cameo cover)
25. Taproot – “Get Out Of my Dreams (Get Into My Car)” (Billy Ocean cover)
24. Flyleaf – “Something I Can Never Have” (Nine Inch Nails cover)
23. Saliva – “Message Of Love” (The Pretenders cover)
22. System Of A Down (feat. Wu-Tang Clan – “Shame” (Wu-Tang Clan cover)
21. Nonpoint – “Evil Ways” (Santana cover)
20. P.O.D. – “Bullet The Blue Sky” (U2 cover)
19. Coal Chamber (feat. Ozzy Osbourne) – “Shock The Monkey” (Peter Gabriel cover)
18. Mudvayne – “King Of Pain” (The Police cover)
17. Korn – “Love My Way” (The Psychedelic Furs cover)
16. The Blank Theory – “Sour Times” (Portishead cover)
15. Papa Roach – “Gouge Away” (Pixies cover)
14. Rage Against The Machine – “Renegades Of Funk” (Afrika Bambaataa cover)
13. Disturbed – “Land Of Confusion” (Genesis cover)
12. Deftones – “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep” (The Cure cover)
11. Sevendust – “Inner City Blues” (Marvin Gaye cover)
10. Nickelback (feat. Kid Rock & Dimebag Darrell) – “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” (Elton John Cover)
09. Fear Factory – “Cars” (Gary Numan cover)
08. Evanescence – “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover)
07. Seether – “Careless Whisper” (Wham! cover)
06. A Perfect Circle – “Imagine” (John Lennon cover)
05. Orgy – “Blue Monday” (New Order cover)
04. Limp Bizkit – “Faith” (George Michael cover)
03. System Of A Down – “The Metro” (Berlin cover)
02. Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal” (Michael Jackson cover)
01. Deftones (feat. Jonah Matranga) – “No Ordinary Love” (Sade cover)
[list via]
