- 7/11/2025
From hard rock revamps to haunting metal reimaginings, these cover songs breathe new life into classics! Join us as we count down the most memorable rock and metal covers that transformed beloved originals. Some stay faithful while adding edge, others completely reinvent familiar tunes - but all showcase incredible musicianship and creative vision.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable instances
00:13where rock or metal acts perform songs by other artists.
00:17Number 20, Another Brick in the Wall Part 1, 2, 3 by Korn, original by Pink Floyd.
00:35Greatest Hits compilation albums can often be a great opportunity for bands to include some rare b-sides
00:41or cover tunes they've played around with in the past.
00:44Korn's compilation of Greatest Hits included two covers, one of Word Up by Cameo,
00:50and Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd.
00:57The wild variation in styles between these two covers showcases Korn's wide array of influences,
01:04while the latter cover does a great job at modernizing Floyd's psychedelic rock sound.
01:09Korn's Another Brick in the Wall is dark, heavy, and mesmerizing,
01:13while also retaining the original's groove and atmosphere.
01:17This one's just great.
01:20I am each other, Another Brick in the Wall.
01:25Number 19, Careless Whisper by Seether, original by Wham! featuring George Michael.
01:31Spinal Tap sort of said it best.
01:34Still a stupid cover.
01:35It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.
01:38And Seether's decision to cover Careless Whisper by George Michael and Wham!
01:42could have easily fallen into cringe territory, had the band not given the tune their all.
01:47This version of Careless Whisper is heavier, sure, but retains the original's melancholy melody.
01:53Meanwhile, Seether recreated that iconic sax line with their guitars,
01:57lending their own stamp to this 80s pop classic.
02:01I'm never gonna dance again, cause guilty feet have got no rhythm.
02:09The end results avoid sounding like a novelty song.
02:13There's no winking or nudging here, but instead, a legitimately cool cover that works on its own musical merits.
02:19Number 18, Summer Breeze by Typo Negative, original by Seals and Crofts.
02:26Some bands just possess a knack for releasing great covers.
02:31Typo Negative knocked it out of the park when they contributed Black Sabbath for a tribute album.
02:36As his face
02:37Higher and higher and higher and higher and higher
02:46Meanwhile, the Brooklyn goth metal group's third LP, Bloody Kisses,
02:51contained an unironic cover of this Seals and Crofts classic.
02:55The warm, sunshine pop of the original is replaced by Peter Steele's fuzzed-out bass and brooding voice.
03:01Summer Breeze
03:03Makes me feel fine
03:08Yet, Typo Negative never sounds as if they're taking the piss.
03:12Instead, their summer breeze feels like a natural part of their influences, with the final take speaking for itself.
03:19It's a banger.
03:20Number 17, Ride Like the Wind by Saxon, original by Christopher Cross.
03:27The decision of a band to open up an album with a cover song can often be a dicey one,
03:32inviting criticism that they might be out of ideas.
03:35It's the night, my body's weak
03:38I'm on the run, no time to sleep
03:42Saxon's 1988 album Destiny definitely seemed to be intentionally seeking out commercial appeal
03:49via this cover of Christopher Cross's Ride Like the Wind.
03:52But you know what?
03:54The band totally makes it work.
03:56Despite the absence of those iconic Michael McDonald backing vocals,
03:59Saxon's Biff Byford instead decides to stretch out the syllables of Mexico
04:05while the band performs the bridge vocalizations on guitar.
04:10It's catchier than the common cold and actually kicks off Destiny in fine fashion.
04:16And I got such a long way to go
04:19To make it to the border of Mexico
04:23Number 16, The Hunt by Sepultura, original by New Model Army.
04:30Just as New Model Army's unique sound was impossible to pin down,
04:35so too were the influences of Brazil's Sepultura opening up back in the early 90s.
04:40With a backseat, I was in the tiki pubs
04:43It's a disco deck, it's a gaming pubs
04:45We're looking for you
04:47The latter's Chaos AD album
04:50featured a cover of The Hunt by New Model Army.
04:53Performed in Sepultura's classically aggressive style,
04:57the band's earliest influences laid within bestial, primitive, black death metal,
05:02but Chaos AD started to explore Sepultura's tribal, Brazilian roots.
05:07The Hunt's, as a result, feels right at home with this new feeling of experimentation.
05:13It's dark and moody stuff that rocks hard with an anthemic punch.
05:18Number 15, Come on, Feel the Noise
05:26by Quiet Riot, original by Slade.
05:29Metal Health by Quiet Riot
05:31was the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard 200 chart,
05:34but it didn't get there alone.
05:36This L.A. group had a little help from the U.K., specifically Slade,
05:50whose hit Come on, Feel the Noise was covered by Quiet Riot and released as a single.
05:55Metal Health, to be fair, is a pretty great album without the cover,
05:59but Slade's poppy arrangements, memorable melodies, and quirky lyricism
06:04made it tailor-made for metal treatments.
06:06Come on, feel the noise
06:09Girls, rock your voice
06:12Quiet Riot wouldn't stop there either
06:15and covered another Slade tune,
06:17Mama We're All Crazy Now,
06:19for their next album, condition critical.
06:22Number 14, You Really Got Me
06:25by Van Halen, original by The Kinks.
06:28This classic rock song is remarkably heavy for 1964.
06:33No wonder You Really Got Me and The Kinks
06:35so often get credited for writing the blueprints
06:38for future punk and hard rock.
06:40Knowing this information,
06:42Van Halen's classic cover of the tune feels natural.
06:45An example of a hot new band
06:47paying a little tribute to the old guard.
06:49Girl, you really got me now
06:52You got me so I don't know what I'm doing
06:55Of course, Eddie's guitar playing manages
06:58to make this already rip-roaring cut sound even heavier,
07:02with that riff practically melting speakers from note one.
07:05Meanwhile, David Lee Roth's caterwauling wail
07:08further sounds the charge for Van Halen's sleek,
07:11hard rock attack.
07:12The boys had truly kicked open the doors
07:15with this one.
07:16Hey, you really got me now
07:18Cover song because you love me
07:21You really got me
07:22Number 13, Got the Time by Anthrax
07:26Original by Joe Jackson
07:28Obvious choices have historically never been much of an option
07:32for Anthrax when it came to cover songs.
07:34Wake up, got another day to get
07:36Through now, got another man to see
07:38Gotta call him on the telephone
07:39Well
07:40This legendary thrash metal act actually thought outside the box,
07:44achieving hits with their covers of Antisocial by French metal band Trust
07:48and this tune from Joe Jackson.
07:50Anthrax actually changes very little from Jackson's frenetic original.
07:55Got the Time still boasts boisterous bass,
07:58a frantic pace, and energy to spare.
08:00This version just sounds more metal than New Wave or post-punk,
08:05while Joey Belladonna's clear vocals are a little different
08:08from Joe Jackson's snotty punk snarl.
08:11It all works, though, and Got the Time remains in the Anthrax setlist to this day.
08:22Number 12, The Green Monalishi with the Two-Pronged Crown by Judas Priest
08:27Original by Fleetwood Mac
08:29The history of the British-American Fleetwood Mac
08:32didn't begin and end with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
08:36Their legacy as a blues and psychedelia-tinged band was secure long before that,
08:41just as Judas Priest's heavy metal story began long before their 80s heyday.
08:46Now when the day goes to sleep and the soul goes to sleep,
08:50the latter's influence from classic rock can be seen in their cover choices,
08:55such as Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez,
08:58or Max the Green Monalishi with The Two-Pronged Crown.
09:01Priest's 70s chops are set ablaze as they take what's already a cool psych number
09:07and amp up the valium.
09:08Fans responded too,
09:10and The Green Monalishi continues to be a Judas Priest set staple to this day.
09:15Number 11, All Along the Watchtower by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
09:24Original by Bob Dylan
09:26A good song is a good song.
09:29It can transcend genres and songwriters,
09:32even those as generational as Bob Dylan.
09:35His version of All Along the Watchtower
09:38has almost certainly been eclipsed by the Jimi Hendrix Experience cover at this point, right?
09:43There must be some kind of way out of here
09:46Say the joker to the thief
09:50The latter's incendiary guitar pyrotechnics steal the show when it comes time for the solo,
09:56but Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower really just captures our attention right away.
10:01The arrangements here are evocative and groovy,
10:05hinging upon the rhythm section of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding,
10:08who back up Jimi perfectly.
10:10All Along the Watchtower
10:13This is lightning-in-a-bottle type stuff.
10:20Number 10, Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch
10:24Original by Bad Company
10:26This heavy metal band from Las Vegas started out playing Bad Company
10:30to fill in time during some of their early live shows.
10:33Fans loved it so much that the track was eventually incorporated into their 2009 album,
10:38War Is The Answer.
10:40Company
10:41Always on the Run
10:46Since then, it's become one of the band's biggest songs,
10:50receiving almost 200 million plays on YouTube.
10:53While the original is already a beloved rock song,
10:56this cover transforms Bad Company from an easygoing jam into an anthemic banger.
11:02When the heavy guitar riff comes in,
11:04you can't help but sing along with the familiar chorus.
11:07What's more, the band used this cover as an opportunity to thank American troops serving in Iraq.
11:13And that's why they call me Bad Company
11:17I won't deny
11:19Number 9, Turn the Page by Metallica
11:24Original by Bob Seger
11:26Heavy metal legends Metallica have always made it a point to expose audiences to their musical influences,
11:32even going so far as to release a double disc covers collection back in 1998 titled Garage Inc.
11:40Here I am
11:41It was the band's cover of Bob Seger's Turn the Page, which served as the album's first single and video.
11:52A dark and disturbing clip starring adult film star Ginger Lynn as a single mother forced to make some difficult and desperate decisions in order to provide for her daughter.
12:02Meanwhile, Metallica approaches Turn the Page with a sense of reverence for Seger's original,
12:07while at the same time lending their own musical muscle and grit to the proceedings.
12:12Here I go
12:14Turn that page
12:17Number 8, Painkiller by Death
12:21Original by Judas Priest
12:23The Sound of Perseverance would be the final album from extreme metal forefathers' death
12:28before their founder Chuck Scholdiner would succumb to brain cancer.
12:32The band went out on a high note with the album's closing track, however, a ripping cover of Painkiller from Metal God's Judas Priest.
12:47Scholdiner and company amplify the aggression tenfold on their version right from the get-go,
12:53thanks to Richard Christie's octopus-like drumming and Scholdiner's paint-peeling vocals.
12:58There's plenty of tribute here to Priest's fiery original, but make no mistake, Death made this metal classic their own, in a big way.
13:07He is the Kingdome!
13:11Number 7, No Ordinary Love by Deftones
13:15Original by Sade
13:16The Deftones are well-known for their ability to tap into some serious sensuality with their atmospheric rock music,
13:24so it sort of makes sense that they would cover this classic slow jam by Nigerian singer-songwriter, Sade.
13:30I give you all the love I got, I gave you more than I could give.
13:37The band's take on No Ordinary Love keeps the mid-paced arrangement of the track relatively intact,
13:43using punchier drums and vocal effects over singer Chino Moreno's voice to retain the song's seductive sound.
13:50There's something to be said about being faithful to a classic song's heart and soul,
13:55and the Deftones manage this, while at the same time, leaving their own mark on this enduring hit.
14:09Number 6, Live and Let Die by Guns N' Roses
14:13Original by Paul McCartney and Wings
14:16The chances are probably pretty good that you've heard this cover plenty of times while driving in your car,
14:22as this Guns N' Roses take on a classic James Bond theme has been a rock radio staple for years.
14:28You were young and your heart was an open book
14:34It's never exactly been commonplace for rock bands to cover songs from motion picture soundtracks,
14:41but Axl Rose and company did a great job at replicating Live and Let Die on their 1991 album Use Your Illusion 2.
14:49G&R keep the grandiose string section and funky rock backbeat intact on their version,
14:55creating a cover which may not offer many surprises,
14:58yet delivers the goods when it comes to respecting a true classic.
15:02Live and Let Die
15:03Number 5, Imagine by A Perfect Circle
15:08Original by John Lennon
15:11The next track on our list has been covered by numerous artists over the years,
15:15yet very few of them have done so with quite the same stylized darkness as A Perfect Circle.
15:20Imagine there's no heaven
15:23The all-star rock group featuring Tool's Maynard James Keenan
15:28released their cover of John Lennon's Imagine on their third album, Emotive,
15:32a collection of politically charged cover songs designed as commentary on the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
15:39I hope someday you will join us
15:44Lennon's moods of optimism, realism, and hope are presented here by A Perfect Circle in a more provocative style.
15:52The classic piano chords are still there, only twisted and performed with a much darker and more sinister intent.
15:59Number 4, I Fought the Law by The Clash
16:03Popularized by the Bobby Fuller Four
16:05This song may have originally been written by Texas-based songwriter Sonny Curtis of Buddy Holly's group The Crickets,
16:12but I Fought the Law was initially made popular by, well, a cover.
16:16The Bobby Fuller Four performed the first version of I Fought the Law with which most people are familiar.
16:21I need this money cause I've been made done
16:25I fought the law and the law was
16:28However, it was a 1979 cover by the formative English punk band The Clash
16:33which brought I Fought the Law to an even younger audience
16:37thanks to the group's musical urgency and infectious charisma
16:40I fought the law and the law was
16:47I fought the law and the law was
16:51The rebellious, lyrical spirit of I Fought the Law fits in perfectly with The Clash's own political fire,
16:57making this a musical match made in heaven.
17:00Number 3, The Sound of Silence by Disturbed
17:03Original by Simon and Garfunkel
17:05Chicago's Disturbed have made their metallic mark on a number of successful cover songs over the years,
17:11including their expert take on the 80s Genesis hit Land of Confusion.
17:15But Genesis aside, it's this fan-favorite cover which takes the number 3 spot on our list, thanks largely in part to Disturbed's talented frontman, David Draymond.
17:34The singer delivers a tour de force on Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence, turning what was a delicate folk ballad into an epic orchestral journey of cinematic proportions.
17:45String sections and booming percussion amplify guitarist Dan Donegan's tasteful guitar work, while Draymond lays down what may be the vocal performance of his career.
17:55Disturbed the sound of silence
18:00Number 2, Holy Diver by Killswitch Engage
18:06Original by Dio
18:07New England metalcore titans Killswitch Engage have always been known for possessing an irreverent sense of humor
18:13to go along with their memorable riffs and passionate vocals.
18:16The band truly outdid themselves, however, when it came to their cover of this 80s classic from Dio.
18:29Killswitch's version of Holy Diver turns on maximum crunch in the guitar departments, while former frontman Howard Jones switches effortlessly between screams, clean singing, and a most righteous falsetto.
18:41Meanwhile, drummer Justin Foley alternates his tempo between the song's original mid-pace and a quicker pickup section, adding to the cover's musical dynamic.
18:50The band also shot a humorous video clip for the track, a goofy but loving tribute to Holy Diver's mighty medieval past.
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19:17Number 1, Faith by Limp Bizkit
19:22Original by George Michael
19:24Just kidding, the redemption arc of Nu Metal has been greatly exaggerated.
19:34Number 1, Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm
19:37Original by Michael Jackson
19:39Was there ever any doubt?
19:41Sure, Alien Ant Farm's cover of Smooth Criminal may be the California band's one major chart-topping hit, but what a hit it was.
19:49The band strikes a perfect balance between treating the original with respect while placing their own particular stamp upon the king of pop.
20:04Lead singer Dryden Mitchell and bassist Ty Zamora trade off on Michael Jackson's trademark vocal style,
20:11while guitarist Terry Corso and drummer Mike Cosgrove offer a more aggressive take on the musical arrangements.
20:17You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a smooth criminal
20:21Add to the mix of funny and funky video, and you have a recipe for cover song success.
20:26Do you prefer it when a rock band covers similar genres of music or when they experiment outside the box?
20:32Let us know in the comments.
20:34Give me the comment.
20:41Blimey Illini
20:43Twenty
20:45Two
20:47Three
20:48хАЛ
20:49Of
20:50Four
20:51six
20:53Seven
20:56Four
20:57Five
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