Great covers this round so the scores mirror that. One more full round guys!
Round 8 Results:HOF
The Clientele - "Orpheus Beach"
I'm not familiar with the original so I checked it out then gave this track a spin. This cover improves on the original IMO. Stylistically I think this stays pretty true to the original but it's more interesting to listen to. I've found myself spinning this track over and over since hearing. It's a great choice, a great song, and a great cover
5 + 1Cyril
Thank You Scientist - "My Famed Disappearing Act"
I've had this song stuck in my head since hearing it the first time. Great up-tempo song with a catchy chorus. I think I've listened to this song most this round, this seems like it would a killer tune to see live. I think I’ve heard a few songs from Thank You Scientist in passing but nothing has stuck like this track.
5Deadeye21
Chaos Divine - "Africa"
The heaviness of this track reminded me of the cover Leo did a few years ago (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH9FyLsfDzw if you're interested) but with some much-needed dynamics. I remember checking out all the covers that were popping up a few years and none of the stuck with me like this one has. I really love the original and I love this track.
5 + 1Kingshmegland
Alice In Chains - "Tears"
This is one of my favorite tracks of 2112. I'm probably in the minority but I think the back half of 2112 is stronger than the title track. Anyway, I love AIC and Rush so this cover should work right? Well, it sure as hell does. I love this cover. The harmonies are fantastic as well as the instrumentation. They give a new life to an already fantastic song.
5 + 1Sacul
BADBADNOTGOOD - "Limit To Your Love"
I remembered that this song came off a Feist album but I was completely drawing a blank to how the song was played. I gave the original a spin, then took a listen to the James Blake cover which I didn’t care for before moving to this cove. This cover sounds like it could’ve come from a jam session and I love that quality about it. I don't think it overshadows the original but it compliments it really well. Listening to this cover reminds me of something I could hear Submotion Orchestra doing.
4.5 + 1Puppies_On_Acid
Bat For Lashes - "The Boys Of Summer"
This song blows the original away. Natasha shines bright and the added synths are fantastic. This version is a lot more somber and introspective, both qualities which elevate it above the original
4.5 + 1Jingle.boy
Disturbed - "Sound Of Silence"
My interest was immediately peaked when you sent this cover. I like Disturbed, they were one of my first concerts I went to solo and I really like Sound of Silence despite not being a fan of Simon & Garfunkel. David's voice is very powerful here and turns the song form a delicate piece of music to more of an anthem. Really great cover that I think ranks about as high as the original. Thank god you didn’t send “Shout” otherwise it would’ve been the first song given a 1
4.5 + 1Senecadawg2
Pain Of Salvation - "Hallelujah"
I don't like Hallelujah, I think it’s a very overhyped song and as much as I love Jeff Buckley I don't really like his version either (although it's slightly better than the Leonard Cohen version). This is probably the best version of the song I've heard. They capture the spirit of the song but still make it their own and they make it better. There is a great little guitar solo here, the vocals (and backing vocals) are great. It rocks!
4 + 1Tomislav95
Chaos Addict - "I Will Remember"
I love the mix and power of this song. It's dynamically very different from the original but I like that, I like when bands put their own flavor on covers. The vocals are the real star of the show here.
4 + 1Vmader00
Killswitch Engage - "Holy Diver"
My brother-in-law loves Killswitch Engage, it's all he talks about. I've heard countless stories about this cover from him but never checked it out so I guess I have to for this roulette. Turns out It’s not bad! The vocals are great; the riffs are heavy and crunchy but never get muddy. I've spun this a few times and it holds up every time. I guess I'll have to tell my BIL that I finally listened to this song.
4 + 1Stadler
Taylor Swift - "Drops Of Jupiter"
My wife is a massive Train fan and a pretty big Taylor Swift fan so I'm intimately familiar with material from both artists. For what it's worth Pat, the lead singer from Train is one of the best live vocalists I've ever seen and I think Taylor works better in a studio setting rather than live. Pat is a hard act to follow and I think Taylor does a good job capturing the vibe of the song while adding a more personal touch but she just doesn't quite get there. I’m not usually a fan of acoustic guitar + vocal guitar covers so I’m probably a little biased here.
4 + 1Luoto
Apocalyptica - "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
This is a solid cover, It’s opened up to me with repeat listens. I've heard Apocalyptica’s material in passing over the years, it's ranged from meh to good. This is on the good side. I wish they took a little more liberty with the arrangement and mix. I recently went and saw a string quartet cover Ed Sheeran's music and one of the things that impressed me most was the slight alterations to the arrangements to make them more palatable for the strings, versus a straight ahead cover, I wish they did that here.
3.5 + 1TAC
Pat Boone - "Holy Diver
A really fun take on the Dio classic but sadly takes second place to the other Holy Diver cover. I enjoy the arrangement; it reminds me a lot of post-modern jukebox however this version does lack a bit of energy. It seems like a cover done by a band as a request, not because they actually wanted to do it, but it’s still pretty good so I can’t hate on it too much.
3.5 + 1Wolfking
Kip Winger - "Limelight”
Excited to listen to this cover of one of my favorite Rush songs. It's a good cover that hits the key melodies of the original but that little instrumental break right before the chorus really took me out of the song. I found it more distracting than adding anything to the song.
3.5 + 1Elite
Ghost - "Enter Sandman”
This is a hard song to cover. It's such a big part of American rock/metal culture that it's tough to do a straight ahead cover and try to match the intensity of the original. I'll start with the good; the re-arrangement of the song is fantastic. It shaves a few minutes off the original and gives a unique spin on the track and puts it in a tidy radio edit length format. Now the negative, the vocals; they bring the overall cover down IMO. It's hard to match the intensity of Hetfield's timbre and vocal style (and again I realize the bias due to hearing the original for so long) but it just seems gutless and lacks power. I wish his approach was different, but I fully admit I don't know what I would change.
3.5 + 1Lonestar
Allegaeon - "Roundabout”
This song isn't bad but it strips away something from the original in an attempt to bring it to more of a progish metal space. The original had so much character, this song lacks that. There are good moments here and there and I do think they did a good job covering the song, I just think this version isn't that memorable
3.5 + 1Scores so far:jingle.boy - 40.5Kingshmegland - 40.5Vmader00 - 40senecadawg2 - 39.5Sacul - 38.5Lonestar - 38.5Elite - 37.5HOF - 36.5Stadler - 36wolfking - 35.5Luoto - 35TAC - 34.5Tomislav95 - 34.5Deadeye21 - 34.5Cyril - 32.5Puppies_On_Acid - 31