Awesome Heavy Metal

The women of The Great Voices of Bulgaria perform traditional Eastern European songs using centuries-old vocal techniques while dressed in old-world costumes. While their performance of Bre, Petrunko is captivating on its own, this version, embellished by musician Andre Antunes, amps its intensity level up to 11.

Despite its seeming simplicity, Theodore Shapiro’s theme music from Severance packs a punch. Not only is it memorable, it does a great job capturing the show’s sense of mystery. Artificial Fear added their flair to the track with a version that starts like the original, but builds to a crescendo thick with electric guitar and distortion effects.

(PG-13: Language) Remember folks: freedom of speech won’t protect you from the consequences of public sharing. Case in point, these attention-seekers who recorded their “reactions” to the recent US elections and have now been turned into entertainment courtesy of musician Andre Antunes and his sick metal riffs.

Ricky Martin’s salsa-flavored track Livin’ La Vida Loca was about as upbeat as pop songs get, but its lyrics sound like he’s been possessed by a devil woman. Just in time for Halloween, the Melodicka Bros finally gave the 1999 mega-hit some music that matches the lyrics.

(PG-13: Language) Like many of you, we’ve been Rickrolled a number of times – but never quite like this. Otu Suurmunne from Moonic Productions imagines what Never Gonna Give You Up would sound like if it was performed by Black Sabbath instead of Rick Astley. He’s got Rick’s dance moves down, that’s for sure.

(PG-13) It’s been seven years since The Onion’s A.V. Undercover released a video. Now owned by Paste, The A.V. Club is back and kicked off a new season with this monstrosity. The trash-covered brutes of GWAR hit the studio and rocked out a very special version of I’m Just Ken from Barbie. The only thing better would be if they sang What Was I Made For? too.

Get your day started right with this weird and wonderful mashup from remixer Bill McClintock. Combining Pantera’s Cowboys from Hell, Teena Marie’s disco-funk track Square Biz, and Iron Maiden’s Wrathchild makes absolutely zero sense, but as usual, Bill created a delicious musical melange from seemingly incompatible ingredients.

There are plenty of headphones tuned for pop and dance music, but Heavys H1H wireless headphones are engineered for listening to heavy metal and rock music. Their big cans pack eight drivers for exceptional frequency response and “Hell Blocker” active noise cancellation. Dress them up with artist shells to celebrate your favorite musicians.

You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’, Billie Jean. Mashup maestro Bill McClintock took these two very different songs and combined them with Steely Dan’s Do It Again to create the heaviest pop song imaginable. We think Rob Halford’s spiked leather sleeves would look great paired with MJ’s sequined glove.

If you’re going to cast the devil out of a possessed soul, you might as well have the proper soundtrack to go with the process. Andre Antunes obliges by underscoring this demonic extraction with some appropriately angry, heavy metal music. Speaking in tongues never sounded so good.

Thanks to Leo Moracchioli, we now have three favorite versions of New Order’s 1983 track Blue Monday: The original, the Orkestra Obsolete’s awesome 1933 instrumental, and Leo’s new heavy metal rendition. The fact that it works so well in different styles is a testament to the skills of songwriters Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner.

Leo Moracchioli turned Britney Spears’ 2000 hit Oops!… I Did It Again into a shockingly good heavy metal track. Leo is at the top of his guitar game while wearing a blue bodysuit which seems like it would be a good canvas for applying visual effects. And for more unexpected Britney covers, check out Toxic on toothbrushes.

Singer, engineer, and Indian Idol contestant Nachiket Lele has incredible vocal skills. While his performances aren’t traditional, to begin with, they’re not exactly metal. Musician Andre Antunes amped things up to 11 by adding a System of a Down-inspired guitar track. For comparison, here’s Nachiket’s original, unedited performance.

Can a ukulele really make heavy metal music? Well, in the hands of Charles Berthoud, this ukulele bass sure can. Bored with the standard instrumentation in metal tracks, the musician decided to create a multi-layered song that uses the uke bass for every one of its sounds, including drums, synth, and even lead guitar with a bit of pitch shifting.

Bernth is a very talented guitarist, but one instrument he’s never played before now is a sitar. He recently got his hands on one and started plucking away at it. After getting his bearings, Bernth experimented with some heavy metal riffs on the 18-stringed Indian instrument, and the result was a rousing success that will leave you wanting even more.

We know how great Radiohead sounds played using the sounds from Mario 64. Now enjoy MawinSwag’s 64-bit chiptune version of Metallica’s 1988 album And Justice for All. We can totally imagine Blackened playing during the Dark World level while Bowser laughs maniacally, and One would be perfect as Mario explores Princess Peach’s castle.