Top 10 Covers Part II - 5 Good Covers

5.) The Sound of Silence by Gregorian (Originally by Simon & Garfunkel) - And here we start with another rendition of Sound of Silence. Covered by German Gregorian Chant Cover band Gregorian (a band that's sadly not for everybody) in the late 1990s, this rendition has a little more oomph to it. Not to mention the vocals sound more beautiful. If I had to deem a version of this song that was not the original the definitive version, I would defend the Gregorian version to my grave, it's that good. Y'all can keep the overplayed (and frankly overrated) Disturbed version. The Gregorian iteration will always be the better one.

4.) Over The Hills and Far Away by Nightwish (Originally by Gary Moore) - In the early 2000s (years before gaining a cult following as an Internet Metal band), Finnish Symphonic Metal Rocker Nightwish covered a song by British Musician Gary Moore. That song, Over The Hills and Far Away. And dare I say, they did it better. The original is way too slow compared to the cover which has more oomph to it. Regardless of what you think of Tarja Turunen, you can't deny that her voice really carries the song beautifully. Truly a masterpiece from beginning to end.

3.) Dream a Little Dream by Blind Guardian (Originally by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra) - There have been dozens of versions of Dream a Little Dream over the years. But to me, none of them will ever hold a candle to the version by German Power (later turned Cult Internet) Metal band Blind Guardian. Starting as a nice little Rock Ballad rendition, the song ends in a Zombie Apocalypse tone with Hansi Kurisch's beautiful voice guiding you through the entire song. It is both hilarious and delightful. 

2.) Not Fade Away by Rush (Originally by Buddy Holly) - In 1973, Rush, under the original line up of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and John Rutsey, recorded their first demo record which featured two songs. One of them was a cover of Not Fade Away by Buddy Holly. It's a solid jammer and hard to come by (at least in the case of physical copies) but can easily be found on YouTube. What else can you say except "It's Rush"? Anyway, check it out if you've ever wanted to hear Rush at their roots.

Before I get to my number 1 pick, here are some honorable mentions: 1969 by Sisters of Mercy (originally by Iggy Pop & The Stooges), Human Nature by The Happy Hamsters (originally by Michael Jackson), It's All Too Much by Journey (originally by The Beatles), To Cry You a Song by Magellan (originally by Jethro Tull), My Sharona by HammerFall (originally by The Knack), Smash It Up By The Offspring (originally by The Damned), and She by The Dickies (originally by The Monkees)

1.) Hocus Pocus by Helloween (originally by Focus) - In 1999, German Power Metal Rockers Helloween released an entire album of solid covers (including a kick-ass rendition of Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull). One of these covers was of the 1973 oddball hit Hocus Pocus by Focus - A 6 minute Prog Rock epic with guitar shredding and yodeling and God damn does it sound faithful to the original unlike other versions I've heard (looking at your so called "cover", Iron Maiden) all the way from the aforementioned Guitar Shredding to even the yodeling. Helloween really did this song justice 

And those are my Top 5 Favourite Covers of All Time. Do you agree with my list? (Probably not lmfao). What are your favourite covers?