Cover me up: Metal covers pop III

Another bundle of metal covers of pop songs. Really tried to come up with some more recognizable, but it wasn't that easy.



SugarComa - Crazy (Britney Spears)



Yngwie Malmsteen - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (ABBA)



Volbeat - I Only Wanna Be With You (Dusty Springfield)



Judas Priest - Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)



Knorkator - All That She Wants (Ace of Base)



New Found Glory - My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)



Guano Apes - Big in Japan (Alphaville)



Raintime - Beat It (Michael Jackson)



Sonic Syndicate - All About Us (t.A.T.u)



Lillasyster - Umbrella (Rihanna)

Cover me up: Metal covers pop II

Another ten metal covers of popular songs. Even if you don't like them, blame only the musicians.



Lacuna Coil - Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode)



HIM - Wicked Game (Chris Isaak)



Children of Bodom - Oops, I Did It Again (Britney Spears)



Nevermore - The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)



Vader - I Feel You (Depeche Mode)



My Dying Bride - Roads (Portishead)



Pain - Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)



Black Label Society - A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum)



Graveworm - I Need a Hero (Bonnie Tyler)



Turisas - Rasputin (Boney M)

Cover me up: Metal covers pop I

To be honest I am not that much of a cover-versions-fan, but there are some covers that happen to be better than the original. Recently I was listening to Paradise Lost when it struck me all of a sudden that their "Small Town Boy" was in fact a cover of the 80s hit single by Bronski Beat. Half an hour later I was digging lists of cover version of various popular songs and it's not that much of a surprise that even performers from the rang of Madonna have covered at least one song throughout their career. Hence, I decided to create a few lists of my own with covers that you might possibly know or at least enjoy. Still, if you don't like them or find them of poor quality you can only blame the musicians. I am just the one with the lists.

I decided to start with metal covers of pop songs as they tend to be most fun to compare to the original and most are quite original of their own.



Dope - You Spin Me Right Round (Dead or Alive)



Theatre of Tragedy - You Keep Me Hangin' On (The Supremes)



Paradise Lost - Small Town Boy (Bronski Beat)



To/Die/For - (I Just) Died In Your Hands (Cutting Crew)



Machinae Supremacy - Gimme More (Britney Spears)



Rammstein - Das Modell (Kraftwerk)



Helloween - Lay All Your Love On Me (ABBA)



Gamma Ray - It's a Sin (Pet Shop Boys)



Deftones - To Have and To Hold (Depeche Mode)



Within Temptation - Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush)

My concert experience: Limp Bizkit

I saw Limp Bizkit live. I didn't actually intend to do that, but it did happen and I am not sorry about it. Alright, I should go back in time further when I still kind of liked Limp Bizkit and the music alike, although I have never been a fan of Fred Durst and co., but liked several of their hits when they were still big. Years past, their fame faded away and I moved on, becoming one of the many who liked this band just cause it was hype. The moment the concert was announced only for a few seconds the idea of going to the concert ran through my mind. Limp Bizkit were brought to my attention no sooner than the day of their concert in Sofia when I received an unexpected invitation to attend the concert...for free. Here is the right moment to thank my friend Olia, who made this experience possible! I will skip the details about the tickets and move the action straight to the concert itself.

Limp Bizkit's performance was part of the first edition of the Rock the Balkans festival that was supposed to be a 3-day rock event. The whole idea was scrapped as soon as Biohazard had to postpone their gig, and probably due to poor sales and the bad weather in addition the festival was held in a single evening. These changes caused chaos, brought too different genres on the same stage one after the other and pissed off most of the attendees. Frankly said if it weren't for the free ticket I would have never given out money for something that had no actual concept and relied entirely on the main attraction.

My friend Olia and I got there just for the Turkish neo-metal band maNga, which were my personal surprise. The play an intriguing combination of crossover, electronica and Anatolian tunes, and sing exclusively in Turkish. I guess, the fact that they sung in a language different than English didn't trigger the chemistry between the band and the audience, which was slowly growing bigger. maNga was the only band to actually adequately clicked with the sound of Limp Bizkit, something that didn't happen with the rest of the acts.

The Turks were followed by the Canadian heavy metal quintet Saga. This band was a few minutes away from making me fold hands and pray to any god willing to save me from this ridicule and annoyance. A bunch of senile headbangers jumping around the stage led by a pathetic copy of Conan the Barbarian. I had rather spent their whole performance in the toilet, but someone had allowed them to play for a whole hour. Poor old guys, did no one tell you that we have never heard of you! The frontman asked us if we had listened to their new crap...ummm...stuff or had bought their newest album. Now that can be sure that no one will even illegally download anything by them.

After this dreadful performance, which almost put everyone to sleep, was time for the American progressive rock band Queensrÿche. Let's say that they didn't make me think of a suicide while listening to them, but can be sure that I will never ever dig up any torrent sites for their discography. They were bearable and the smaller evil, although I was counting every minute till the frontman says "This was our last song". Definitely there were people who were there for them and knew every single song, which was quite comforting recalling the previous act.

Five hours after the official start of Rock the Balkans the moment of truth was about to blast the hall. Tension grew, the multitude gathered impatiently and a black curtain fell in front of the stage. Of course, the curtain was just for those in front of stage. This time I was comfortably seated on the tribunes having an excellent view and seeing all the preparation going unnoticed for those down. The moment the crowd heard the drums from "My Generation" and it went crazy. There he was: Fred Durst in flesh. Honestly I was really happy that I wasn't any near to the stage as most probably I would have been squeezed out in the mosh or even worse my friend would have practically understood what moshing means.

Durst, with his red cap and shorts, true to his renowned style had a bunch of hits coming for the eager audience. People were frantic! Honestly, I had never thought that Limp Bizkit have that many fans in Bulgaria. Don't get me wrong, but nu-metal bands are no longer among the A-list and I didn't expect the crowd to know all of their songs by heart, let alone sing them out loud. Silly me. This is the third in a row reunion concert that I've watched and another one to have all of the original members as line-up. Wes Borlan, the prodigal guitarist, was the big attraction with his original outfit and make-up. Rumors surrounding his return to Limp Bizkit have it that after this tour the band will hit a studio and start recording. I doubt any chances recalling their break up, which was pushed into the media as going on hiatus. Hiatus, my socks!

Limp Bizkit went on with "Living It Up" and "Show Me What You Got" and I just let myself with the flow, despite the fact that I didn't remember some of their stuff. Still, I enjoyed myself a lot and remembered the good old times when baggy clothes, skaters and nu-metal were on the prowl. Thank them for the memories, but apart from recalling a few pleasant moments, I most certainly didn't feel the urge to go back to the teenage roots. "Eat You Alive" and "Hot Dog" were the next to bring me to my junior-high school years. With "Re-Arranged" the crowd went to cloud nine and in front of stage there were plenty of people who were still devoted to Bizkit's music.

"Break Stuff" is the "moshers" favourite, probably because of the song's context. Watching from the comfort distance of my seat I understood the heat of a concert. When you are into it you just forget about the discomfort, the sweat and the pushing, and totally indulge into the music. To be honest I kind of really wanted to mix with the crowd and experience everything to the maximum, but let's call it bad timing. "Boiler" and "My Way" continued the string of hits coming as the crowd's next multiple orgasm. "Nookie" made even me go crazy and Limp Bizkit did know how to rock my socks! The encore included another bundle of hits, which was a clever move as we had all come for their best known stuff and no more teasing was necessary for the night.

The final included the ballad and cover song "Behind Blue Eyes", which was virtually the only slow track played throughout the concert. "Rollin'" was the one that everyone expected and we all knew the gig won't go without! It just blew our tops! The final touch was put with "Take a Look Around". The crowd wanted more and just couldn't believe that it was all over...the journey to the beginning of this millennium when were all rolling as one generation living it all up. Good old memories...yeah, thank you, Limp Bizkit. Thank you!

NB: I've made some photos, but you'd better surf the net for some with higher quality and from a shorter distance. Sorry! Free is free!

Recommendation Weekly: maNga

It's been a long time since I recommended something particular, but just a couple of days ago had the chance to watch and hear live this quite intriguing Turkish rock band. They were part of Rock the Balkans festival and to be honest they were the best act second only to Limp Bizkit. Despite the fact that they sung in Turkish they managed to impress me and afterward to dig up more of their material.

maNga fuse alternative rock with hip-hop, electronic music and traditional Anatolian tunes. Their songs are quite various spanning from nu-metal to industrial with a fine pinch of World. In Turkey they have been quite successful and I do believe that if they start performing in English this band has the virtual chances of going big. Having seen them live I should say that I am impressed by the frontman's vocal skills and the originality of the songs they performed. Probably, some of you will immediately define them as another Linkin Park wannabes or copycat posers, but actually they managed to bring back in my heart the good old flame of my teen years when I would listen to loads of nu-metal or rock music and have a few laughs and drinks in the park.



Manga - Bir Kadin Cizeceksin



Manga - Iz Birakanlar Unutulmaz



Manga - Bitti Rüya

My concert experience: Pain

Yesterday I had my newest concert experience: the Swedish industrial metal project Pain. Despite not being any close to a die-hard fan of Pain I enjoyed myself a lot and still have a mild headache from the mind-blowing sound. For those of you, who don't know what Pain is here is some useful information: Pain. I cannot say that I couldn't wait to see Peter Tägtgren live as I knew only about his solo project and had no idea that he was such a big name in the Scandinavian metal scene. Tägtgren is responsible for the development of the dead metal genre and the establishment of such bands as Hypocrisy (his own band), Dimmu Borgir, Amon Amarth, Marduk, Dark Funeral, Children of Bodom and many more. In other words Peter is a big deal!

Going back to the concert itself I had no idea what to expect, which sometimes is better as you cannot be really disappointed (or can you?). I was there at sharp 20:00, which was the announced time for the gig to begin. Of course, the organization was rather crude and they wouldn't start letting in for the next two hours and a half...at least I got in at 22:30. Fortunately I had someone to spend the time with otherwise I might have gone back home, had dinner and come back again and most probably I would still had spare time. The concert found place at BlueBox club, which hosted the Combichrist concert just a month ago. I was quite surprised to see that many metal-heads waiting for Pain, having in mind that ummm industrial music is not that popular among them...later that evening I came to realize their majority, after all Tägtgren is an important figure for the music they listen to. I am still not very sure, but I believe that most of them were there to see the frontman of Hypocrisy and in the mean time to see his side project Pain.

The Bulgarian alternative metal band Culn were supposed to be the support, but either the entrance flow was very slow or they played just a few songs as I didn't get to hear or see them at all. Actually when I was in the hall sound check was already running and the whole place was packed...I didn't expect to see that many people, for real.

The show started at 22:40 and it blasted my ears as it began like a dead metal concert. Let's say that the first three songs sounded to me absolutely alike and if it wasn't for the short paused they made I wouldn't have realized that they are separate. Honestly I wasn't very pleased to listen to growling and speedy guitars as headbanging has never been into my blood. I wondered if this was really a Pain concert, or a surprise Hypocrisy show, which was going to turn my brains into soup. I assume that once a dead metal singer, you always stay one and that it explains why most of the live versions were trashier, faster and included less electronic elements that your average industrial act. Of course, the majority didn't care much as they were there for the wire and the disturbing vocals of Tägtgren, who had no mercy on them. Obviously Peter has realized that the people that come to watch him live are less interested in electronica, which explains the lack of an actual synthesizer, although some songs began with their original electronically influenced intros.

Either the equipment was bad or the acoustic in the hall was horrible, but I could hardly hear the vocals and for most of the time the drums were not to be heard. The sound was too high for such a small venue (it has a capacity of some 800 people) and some of the songs were indistinguishable until the chorus was sung. There were some problems with the microphones as well, but I assume that some of the equipment belonged to the organizers and Pain had come only with the instruments.

Still, the concert had a plenty of highlights, which no doubt were their best known songs: "Shut Your Mouth", "Same Old Song", "Just Hate Me", "Dancing with the Dead" and of course my personal favourite "Bye/Die", which was as expected played at the very end. I was very pleased with "Bitch" from their new album, "I Don't Care" and "End of the Line". Honestly I am not sure if "Eleanor Rigby" was played at all and I have no idea which were the opening three songs, but it doesn't matter anyway.

I am not looking forward to seeing Peter Tägtgren's other band Hypocrisy, but I might see Pain live again some time in the future. Oh, yeah, and sorry there are no photos, but I decided that metal concerts are not the best place to bring my camera, if it is going to make photos of Madonna or Ladytron.

Stuck in my mind: Pain - Bye/Die

I just came back from the concert of the Swedish industrial metal project Pain, whose sole member is Peter Tägtgren, better known as the frontman of the dead metal band Hypocrisy. Anyways, the concert was just fine, although from time to time I had the feeling I was at a gig of Hypocrisy not Paint, but fans wanted both, although they couldn't possibly have them. Right now I am too exhausted for a full story of the concert, but as soon I come back to this life you'll get a full report on my newest concert experience. Right now I can just post you my most favourite song "Bye/Die", which fortunately was played at the gig...and just as expected as the closing song. Probably this is one of Pain's poppiest song and among his best known.

A little tribute to the Brazilian/Portuguese metal scene

When you think of music from Brazil or Portugal the last thing to come to your mind is heavy music and no wonder. For all these years I've heard of only two well-known bands to come from the countries of bossa nova and fado. More of an irony is the mere fact that despite being in the big family of heavy music they certainly sound different. Sepultura is probably the biggest trash import from Latin America at all and Moonspell is perhaps the best Portuguese metal export. I am not really digging their music, well, I used to like the Brazilians a bit, but that was a long time ago, having in mind that I even didn't consider for a second going to their gig in Sofia. Anyway this is more of a post-tribute to the Brazilian/Portuguese metal scene and two fine examples of it.




(unfortunately no official video was available)