[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4s_0oEGp24[/youtube]
I love projects that use classical or unusual genres of music to cover metal songs, like Rodrigo Y Gabriela and (early) Apocalyptica. However, this morning I discovered a group from Sweden called Hellsongs. The female fronted trio performs poppy, soft covers of metal classics, and has already released two EPs and two full length albums since forming in 2004. Covers include Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” Megadeth’s “Symphony Of Destruction,” and a bunch of Iron Maiden tunes. My first reaction was neither positive nor negative, but rather “WHAT THE FUCK?!”
Not “What the fuck is this crap?!” mind you, but more so “Holy crap, is that what I think it is?!” It’s scary enough that it’s essentially what a Slayer cover by Feist would sound like, but more so that in a weird way it’s pretty good. It doesn’t have the same essence that a Richard Cheese parody has. Rather, they sound like legit pop songs that could be heard on easy listening radio. Some of the songs aren’t even recognizable, where even the lyrics don’t necessarily help the listener identify the cover. At the moment, I can’t tell if I am in awe of how good the covers sound or if the shock of hearing “Schools Out” rearranged as a hipster anthem hasn’t worn off yet. Judge for yourself, as you can hear a bunch of the covers on their Sound Cloud page. You can also listen to what might arguably be their best cover, Pantera’s “Walk,” above.
