So far, the Two Minutes To Late Night cover series has been, for the most part, a lot of fun. You got Emma Ruth Rundle and Bill Kelliher covering Kate Bush, you’ve got Max Weinberg and Frank Iero covering the Misfits — awesome stuff, a lot of fun. The thing is, before now — no offense, Gwarsenio — it hasn’t exactly felt important. But today, the show released a cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” performed entirely by non-white musicians, and holy shit, it takes things to a whole new level.
First of all, there’s the line-up, which includes Miss Eaves, Aaron Heard (Jesus Piece), Trey Pemberton (Creeping Death), Stephen Harrison (FEVER 333, The Chariot), Izzy Bolivar (Glassjaw), and Chris Enriquez (Spotlights, Primitive Weapons), all of whom are people of color within the metal and hardcore scene. Next, there’s the take on the song — rather than just do a straightforward rendition of the track, the collected musicians perform a Slayerized version, full of low tuning, high energy, and pure carnage. The result is a believably infuriated version of a classic that is sometimes adored by metal fans who ignore the weight of the lyrics until the ‘Fuck you, I won’t do what they tell me’ breakdown at the end. This feels important, powerful, awesome.
Get your sternum kicked in below:
And check out Two Minutes’ other cover versions below:
- Type O Negative – “Be My Druidess” – Members of Windhand, Fucked and Bound, and Cave In
- The Misfits – “Earth A.D.” – Members of My Chemical Romance, Hatebreed, Dillinger Escape Plan, and the E Street Band
- Rush, “Anthem” – Members of Mastodon, Coheed and Cambria, Tool, Primus
- Faith No More, “Everything Ruined”
- Bonnie Raitt, “Something to Talk About” in the style of G’N’R
- Bruce Springteen, “Candy’s Room” – Members of Slipknot, Royal Thunder
- Kate Bush, “Running Up” – Emma Ruth Rundle, members of YOB, Mastodon, OMG
- Guns N’ Roses, “Rocket Queen” – Members of Sleigh Bells, High On Fire, Poison the Well
- White Zombie, “Super Charger Heaven” – Members of Converge, Fit For An Autopsy
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Words by Chris Krovatin
