Quote:
Originally Posted by Ki
Axxis - Owner of a Lonely Heart
No! No No No No! You do not cover a classic Yes song, and you do not cover in such a way that makes me want to release my breakfast through the process of throwing up. This is awful, and I listen to a lot of things that are deamed as bad, but to take such a song and twist it into a power metal version of suck is just uncalled for, especially when the vocalist can't sing a proper chord to save his life.
Owner of a Lonely Heart was the first song I heard by Yes, and i'm sure that's not really out of this world since I think it was for many, and it's one of the easiest accessible song they have i'm sure. However, being that it is very easily accessible and one of the simpler songs Yes has released, that doesn't give other bands the right to cover it. The album this cover comes from was released in 2012, so I imagine their thought process was..."hey, if we cover a popular song, maybe we'll be popular on Youtube and people will hear about us". Well...listening to that cover makes me want to stab my ears and apologize to them for having to be witness to such terrible sound, so yes, it may give you a few minutes of fame, but at the same time, you'll become irrelevant as soon as you try to get people to start listening to your so called original work.
The original should stay the original, and any covers should never be made or deemed as "better", because this song is a classic. JUST because it's a classic, doesn't mean you have the right to cover it.
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I would agree that making a progressive rock song into a power metal one is not the greatest idea, and he does an okay but not great job with it. However I would certainly have to take issue with your contention that they did this for attention. Axxis are a huge band --- I have all their albums --- and certainly very well known in the genre. They don't need YouTube postings for "fifteen minutes of fame". I would say (though of course I dont know) they just heard the song, liked it and wanted to cover it. I dont' really see anything wrong with that. It's generally in the same basic genre. What I have a problem with is someone taking a song from one genre and covering it toally outside that, like maybe taking a reggae song and playing it in disco, or a metal song and making a pop tune out of it. "Don't fear the reaper" springs to mind.
But I don't have a massive problem with this. Again --- and I'm not saying you stole my idea, it was probably an unoriginal one anyway --- I do this section in my journal, called "Run for cover", where I look at unusual cover versions. Admittedly, not all are classics, but I would not agree that classics should be exempt from being covered, provided the cover is good and done in respect. What I would have a problem with is someone totally ruining a classic --- like maybe sampling "Stairway to Heaven" or using "Free bird" in a -- oh, wait! --- or using it simply as a way of, as you contend above, getting attention and/or fame. Axxis are not doing this: they have been around since the late eighties, and have sold millions of albums. The one you mention here is a whole album of covers, and I would assume songs that mean something to them, so the idea of using it to get themselves known is completely wrong.
I also have an issue with your assessment of Bernhard Weiß's singing. He's not the best metal vocalist by any means but he's not the worst. He's certainly no Jon Anderson, and really I would agree that his voice does not suit that song. But he's definitely able to sing. Also, can you sing chords? I don't think so: notes yes, chords no. So far as I know.
Here's one of Axxis's better songs in my opinion, just so you can see how he can sing. They have piles of original work; not sure what issue you have with that?
Of choice I would have said no, not this song, though think yourself lucky: on the album I see they do Phil Collins, The Polcie and even Celine Dion!!!
But the choice to cover a classic doesn't invalidate them as a band, and they have plenty of great albums to stand to them. Maybe you should give them an unbiased listen?