To ask about that decision, IвЂ™m kidding when I say this: You do realize that when youвЂ™re covering a song, itвЂ™s considered customary to recreate some aspect of the original song, maybe the music or a hook or a melody or some of the lyrics, right? But, like the Bowie cover, the heart and the feel are in the same place as the original. The Eminem cover is a brilliant artistic choice. And Serj is so different and recognizable when he sings that heвЂ™s going to make any song heвЂ™s a part of very different. Music is a good way to get in touch with those feelings and explore them and come to terms with them. That song is melancholy, and itвЂ™s hopeful. And thatвЂ™s hard, because your version made me realize Bowie songs usually have more than one emotion going on: TheyвЂ™re not just happy or sad. But yours pushes the same emotional buttons. Other people could play that song or make it sound the same. Read more: 10 metal-loving mainstream musicians who might surprise you The Bowie cover works because you nail the feeling of it. And if you donвЂ™t like that, listen to whatever makes you happy. ThereвЂ™s gonna be a lot of people that listen to this album and say, вЂњThis is shit.вЂќ The only thing I can say is, вЂњDonвЂ™t listen to it if you donвЂ™t like it. If I had that mindset when we were putting out System albums, I would have played trying to keep people happy instead of trying to make the best song possible. But thereвЂ™s gonna be people who like it and donвЂ™t, no matter what you do. Why would I be intimidated? If people donвЂ™t like it, they donвЂ™t like it. Is it intimidating to put yourself out there and cover a Bowie song? But if I mix it up right, maybe youвЂ™ll like it. You donвЂ™t necessarily like the same spice as I do. Music, like everything else, is basically a spice. But you made me hear something in вЂњRoad To NowhereвЂќ that I never noticed before. But if you put him in a different band, youвЂ™ll get a different M. HeвЂ™s very talented, as well as a very nice guy. ThatвЂ™s where you have to give people the ability to be artists.

Shadows-IвЂ™m not knocking him-but I was pleasantly surprised that The Guy From Avenged Sevenfold could pull off Radiohead that well. I thought, вЂњHow would John Bonham have played that song?вЂќ All respect to M.

With the Radiohead one, I love that song and the video in particular. How do you decide on an approach for a song? Some of your covers are similar, but others are totally different. Part of the goal is for people to listen to it and not know itвЂ™s a cover. Part of the goal is for people to enjoy it. I think if you make a cover that sounds exactly like the original, whatвЂ™s the point of doing it? YouвЂ™ve got to make it your own song. My rule is probably different than other peopleвЂ™s. Read more: Top 50 metal songs from the past 20 years including System Of A Down, Slipknot, more Do you have a standard for the difference between a good cover and a bad one? For this project, in the limited time we had to do it four or five years, we were able to come up with 14 to 17 songs that I thought were good enough.ДЄnd each of those songs I had earmarked for different singers. Even for Toxicity, we recorded like 44 songs and whittled it down to the 15 that made the album. Did you actually record 30 or 40 tracks for the album? So having a covers album makes sense in that I donвЂ™t necessarily have to create something brand new. Primarily, I generally donвЂ™t write songs. What are some of your favorite covers by other artists? I would just sit there with tapes and put together albums that set different moods. I used to do a lot of that when I was a kid. I was personally interested in your album, because I make compilations of cover songs, and IвЂ™m still into making old-school mixtapes.

Eminem recovery album cover road