00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the top 10 worst cover
00:11versions of classic songs by bands within the genres of rock and metal.
00:21Number 10. Turn the Page. Metallica. While perhaps not the most offensive cover of the
00:28Lots, Metallica's cover of Bob Seger's Turn the Page is certainly guilty of a few musical crimes.
00:39The biggest of them? They uprooted the weary and reflective tone that Seger establishes,
00:45replacing it with a far more straightforward metal delivery.
00:55The tiredness that Seger is able to convey initially gets drowned out by what can be
01:00described as a very by-the-numbers Metallica performance.
01:10Some love this version, but many just see it as a pretty tepid effort that sucks the life out of
01:16the
01:16original. Number 9. Light My Fire. Amorphous. Light My Fire is one of The Door's biggest hits and
01:26showcases the dark and sultry crooning of the great Jim Morrison. That iconic sound could not be any
01:40further from whatever happened on this cover.
01:49Added as a bonus track from Finnish metal band Amorphous's 1994 album, Tales from the Thousand Lakes,
01:56this version replaces the smooth stylings of Jim Morrison with guttural and raw vocal growls,
02:02similar to what you'd hear in a doom metal record.
02:11It's always fun to hear a new spin on a classic, but the harsh vocals and loud guitars are way
02:16too
02:16much for this laid-back tune. While it might get a laugh, this bizarre collision of 1960s psychedelia
02:23and death metal growls is one experiment that probably should have stayed in the studio.
02:37Number 8. Johnny B. Good. Judas Priest. In the 1980s, British rockers Judas Priest passed on an
02:45opportunity to have their music included in a little film called Top Gun. Maybe you've heard of it.
02:50They regretted the decision so much that when another opportunity came along for an upcoming
02:54comedy called Johnny B. Good, they said, say less.
02:58The cover they produced was a glam metal mutation of Chuck Berry's classic.
03:13Complete with excessive guitar solos and over-the-top production.
03:24The fun, vintage rock and roll feel of the original was stripped away and replaced with heavily
03:30processed drums and piercing 80s high-pitched wails.
03:38The movie and song were both considered huge flops. But luckily, the misfire didn't slow down
03:45Judas Priest's career all that much.
03:49Number 7. Another Brick in the Wall. Parts 1, 2, 3. Korn.
03:54Credit must be given to Korn for tackling all three parts of Pink Floyd's legendary Another
04:00Brick in the Wall over the course of their seven-minute cover version.
04:09That said, the new metal approach left many listeners feeling as though the band had sucked
04:15all of the life out of the carefully crafted original's intent.
04:23Where Pink Floyd prioritized atmosphere and a wide variety of genre influences,
04:27Korn brought a far less dynamic end product to the table.
04:37Many of the band's fans enjoyed the cover quite a lot. Like, totally, a lot, a lot. Or like,
04:43I like it a lot, a lot. You know what I'm saying? But to those outside of the new metal
04:47bubble,
04:48this one just didn't seem to hit its marks.
05:00Number 6. Burning Down the House. The Used. At their peak, Talking Heads had a way of infusing
05:07their always radio-ready singles with undeniably quirky energy.
05:16When you factor in the band's increasingly large lineup over the years and their usage of highly
05:20complex grooves, it's easy to see why they were one of the most influential and unique bands of
05:25their time. When The Used decided to cover Burning Down the House, one of the biggest criticisms around
05:31it was just how conventional they made the track sound.
05:38All of David Byrne and Company's idiosyncrasies had been replaced by a fairly standard post-hardcore
05:44treatment. Critics saw it as technically competent, but quite underwhelming as a rendition overall.
05:53Number 5. Anarchy in the UK. Motley Crue. Few songs in punk have had such an explosive
06:00attitude as the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK. In many ways, it was the perfect introduction to a
06:13band that would go on to flip the script on rock music in the late 1970s. Little did they know
06:18just
06:19how much the glam and excess of the genre would eventually define it in the 1980s.
06:23Anarchy for the USA. It's coming sometime, maybe.
06:29Mollie Crue's 1991 cover of the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK is often regarded as a textbook
06:35example of musicians misunderstanding punk music. In their hands, the song's edge was dulled,
06:47and all of the grit and raw energy was replaced with something that Johnny Rotten, real name John
06:52Lydon himself, was entirely dismissive of.
06:59Number 4. Fortunate Son, U2. Credence Clearwater Revival's 1969 hit,
07:06Fortunate Son, is regarded as one of the most urgent and immediate anti-war songs of its time.
07:18John Fogerty's vocal performance, in particular, takes the track's energy to a place that few singers
07:24could match. U2 frontman Bono might be a somewhat divisive figure, but there are not many who would
07:30argue that he's not an amazing vocalist. Unfortunately, the band's cover of Fortunate Son is widely regarded as
07:36having missed the mark. U2 drop the intensity quite a bit and make it substantially more atmospheric,
07:49with Bono delivering the lyrics in his characteristically theatrical style.
08:00The problem is that their attempt at reinvention strips away everything that made the original
08:05special.
08:10Number 3. Bad Company, Five Finger Death Punch.
08:14The iconic self-titled single from the band Bad Company has been an enduring classic and a prime
08:19example of how simple but effective rock can be used to build tension and deliver a message.
08:32In the hands of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch,
08:36that tension is overwhelmed by a far more bombastic approach.
08:47While the original is built around Paul Rogers' commanding but controlled vocals and the song's
08:53ominous repetition, the cover is far less subtle.
09:01Critics have argued that the track's sense of restraint is what gives it its impact, and that
09:06five-finger Death Punch ended up overwhelming the formula with their own take on it.
09:14Number 2. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, Nickelback featuring Kid Rock.
09:20When it comes to the early glam rock hits of Elton John, few brought swagger and fun to the table
09:25quite like Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting.
09:27It's getting delayed, have you seen my face? Tell me when the boys get here?
09:34Driven by John's signature piano, energetic vocal delivery and some blistering guitar work,
09:39it remained a live favorite within his set for decades after its release.
09:43When Nickelback and Kid Rock teamed up to cover it, the resulting version was indeed heavier but
09:49far too close to the overproduced post-grunge sound of the time for many people to enjoy.
10:01Sure, those who were already fans of either of these artists were left pleased, but an overwhelming
10:06majority believed that it sounded like a sanitized, less eccentric and overly clean version of Elton's
10:121973 classic.
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10:51Number one, Behind Blue Eyes, Limp Bizkit. Depending on who you ask, Limp Bizkit's rendition of the
10:58Who's Behind Blue Eyes is a standout in their discography or one of the worst covers of all time.
11:04The original was a vulnerable ballad that eventually exploded into a cathartic rock stomper.
11:16However, Limp Bizkit decided to do away with the mid-song change-up,
11:20giving it a polished new metal feel that many critics saw as melodramatic.
11:31Fred Durst's vocal performance is particularly divisive. Some fans hear vulnerability,
11:37while detractors hear forced sentimentality and limited range.
11:47Indeed, it was a commercial success,
11:50but there are many who would argue that the track's sound and vibe have aged increasingly poorly over the years.
12:03But what do you consider to be the single worst cover in rock or metal music?
12:08Let us know in the comments below!
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