Top 5 Metal Covers of Pop Songs

When it comes to pop music and metal most people think the two genres don't mix.  Many pop fans say that metal is loud angry music that sounds obnoxious.  Many metal fans say that pop music is sellout music that is for making money and has no soul.  However, this hasn't stopped some metal musicians from taking famous pop songs and putting their own spin on them.  Here are my top 5 metal covers of pop songs.

5. PonPonPon by 331 ERock 

ERock is a YouTube metal guitar player who normally puts a metal spin on video game and anime songs. This time, he did a cover on the famed Jpop  song from Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and delivered a great instrumental cover.  He does a great job on hitting the right notes on his guitar playing to remind what he is covering, but he also throws in a good amount of his own solo's and parts that makes the song his own.  If you want to get this song, it is available on ITunes.  He also has tabs for this song you can buy if you are interested in learning how to play this.  

4. Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm

Alien Ant Farm's cover of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal is considered one of the best covers of all time.  Many people have even said that this version is better than the original.  While that claim is up for debate, to deny that this is a great cover is being dishonest.  Alien Ant Farm not only added a nu metal sound to the song, but by doing that they also added a lot more energy to the song.  Alien Ant Farm really succeeded in keeping the song sounding fun, but by adding heavy guitar and a more energetic chorus they really makes this song unique from the original.  This song is available everywhere from ITunes, to CD Baby, to Amazon, get it.

3.  A Thousand Miles by Cole Rolland

Cole Rolland is another YouTube musician who has put a metal spin on many different kinds of songs.  One of my favorite from him is his cover of A Thousand Miles originally done by Venessa  Carlton. Cole's guitar playing is great and really captures the melody of the original well.  The way he plays the song by adding a metal sound and adding his own parts to it really makes this song his own.  The way he executes the melodies is really impressive, making this one song I highly recommend.  This song is available on ITunes and if featured on Spotify as well.  

2. Lollipop by Framing Hanley

 

This a true case of a band taking a song and truly making it their own.  This is a case where you can listen to both versions of the song and they sound almost nothing like each other.  Framing Hanley replaces almost all the rap and hip hop with melodic vocals and replacing the drum machine and looping music with a hard rock, metal sound that really makes this cover different from the original.  While the cover is obviously no where near as popular as the original, this song is still worth listening to.  Check it out on YouTube or Spotify and if you like it, buy it of ITunes, Ebay, or Amazon.

1. Imagine by A Perfect Circle

With this song, A Perfect Circle took the peace sounding Imagine by John Lennon and turned it into an eerie, creepy song that makes you feel more like your in a horror movie than a peaceful paradise.  While John Lennon set his version in a potential paradise on Earth, A Perfect Circle chose to focus more on the problems going on in the world and the horrors of those problems.  The message may be the same in both versions but the way that message is presented could not be more different and that is what makes this such a great cover.  Not only did the band manage to take this song and make it their own, but they were also able to change the presentation of the message as well, which is not common in covers.  This song is available on ITunes, Ebay, Amazon, and many other cites, don't wait, buy it.