I’ve been checking in with Fuse every now and again in an effort to stay “down,” and one video that’s been getting a ton of play (as in, twice a day at least) is the above cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver,” which is by Killswitch Engage. Not that the playlist on Fuse is great–the channel is, after all, keeping the lie that people still want to hear Sum 41 alive–but how does a Dio cover that sounds like something I would have suffered through at an all-ages show at February’s in Elmont back in 1990 (with a little bit of nu-metal growling for good measure) actually get frequent airplay on any music outlet in 2007? Is the “ha ha, we’re listening to Dio” idea still funny? Is this a holdover from Fuse’s lack of access to the Universal Music Group catalog? Or does whoever’s programming videos at Fuse have a weakness for clips that allow bands to act like they’re running amok at a Renaissance Faire?
Killswitch Engage – Holy Diver [YouTube]
More importantly, why does every hardcore song have to sound exactly the same? High-pitched growling! Staccato drums! De-tuned guitars! Sucking all the fun out of an awesome song.
Awww, that was adorable!
Oh, Maura. You know we usually agree on things. But I’m afraid you’re REALLY missing the boat here. Killswitch Engage are one of the best metal bands of the past several years, and their love of ’80s metal is obvious in many of their songs. You should definitely take a second look at this band. This track was released as a B-side from their recent album, but the cover is not a “ha ha, ironic funny” type; it’s genuine. They love this stuff.
@Vince Neilstein: Yeah but in the context of Fuse it just seems “funny,” you know? I’ll give the band another shot, but this cover is… well, it’s not so good.
Holy Diver, I’m a survivor/
Feelin like De Niro in taxi driver/
With jodie foster/
and harvey keitel/
looks like i’m walkin through a livin hell
Suitably reverent and rockin’. \m/
I really liked that, too! The original is basically a 1970s-style mix, and kind of thin-sounding. Nice to hear it re-done in a heavier style. On the detuned-Mesa-Boogie sound vs. vintage Marshall, I’m on the older side of that argument, but still, I’ll take the lower, chunkier sound on this.
The singer is really good, when he’s not doing that distorted screamy thing. He’s got a lot of Dio’s vocal mannerisms down, but it’s not a total copy-job. Nice, powerful voice.
The guitarist, while showing talent, doesn’t quite have the fire of early Vivian Campbell. Neither does Campbell, unfortunately, after those three Dio albums he did. I liked the harmony lead bits, too.
Nice-sounding drum kit. Too many modern bands have the ultra-dry, cardboard-drum effect on all the time. The hats and cymbals are non-existent, though, and that’s probably a squish-the-bandwith flash-converter result, as is the insufficient bass in the mix. Oh well, no one should expect any sort of audio-fidelity in a You-tube clip, anyway. It’s a tribute to this song that I’m wanting to hear more, anyway.
This band goes on my record-store list. My kids might like it better than what I played on the CD player on the way to the beach last week, Kansas: “Point of Know Return.”
Thanks for the post, Maura!
Wait… why doesn’t Fuse have access to Universal songs?