Today, Asking Alexandria rustled the internet’s collective jimmies (are we still using that meme? no? oops) by releasing a cover of Nine Inch Nails‘ hit classic, ‘Closer.’ Of course, my first thought was, “oh my god, why did they have to ruin a Nine Inch Nails track?” but I caught myself. “Come on, now,” I corrected, “you haven’t even heard it yet. Don’t pass judgement until you’ve at least given it a spin.”
I’m no fan of Asking Alexandria, but the song is pretty simple and I would imagine hard to ruin so long as you have some learned production value. A band as big as Asking Alexandria would surely have no problem being somewhat competent with a song that was already well written before they got a hold of it.
The track starts out under the impression of a faithful cover, but screams and open note chugs carry the track into its climax, which is then actually pulled off with some style. Overall, not bad!
The track will appear on yet another addition to the woeful Punk Goes Whatever series, this time with acts needlessly covering 90’s jams in various degrees of sincerity. It looks as though Asking Alexandria went into the cover without their tongues planted in their cheeks:
“Growing up in the 90s means that all of us have a soft spot for 90s jams from the weird and wonderful, to the cheesy boy bands to the dirty and grungy! So when we were approached about being on the second Punk Goes 90s compilation we just had to do it. Nine Inch Nail‘s “Closer” is one of those gritty, dirty tunes from the 90s that made the era so great! It’s seedy, grimy, strip club music at it’s finest!”
Hard to be mad when a band puts their own spin on a classic that they legitimately enjoy without any sense of irony. It just goes to show to not judge a book by its cover, or more appropriately, a story by its headline.
[via ThePRP]
– JR