IoMP 167: 6 Great Metal Covers of ABBA Songs
ABBA and heavy metal might seem like they belong on opposite ends of the musical universe. One gave us sparkling pop hooks, massive Eurovision success and some of the most recognizable melodies ever written. The other gave us distortion, blast beats, mosh pits and an unhealthy obsession with making everything heavier.
Put them together, though, and something magical happens.
On this episode of the Influencers of Metal Podcast, Collin and Tom resurrect the “Six Great…” series to spotlight six metal and hard rock covers of ABBA songs that prove just how versatile the Swedish pop legends’ music really is.
The journey covers plenty of metal territory. Hyperia injects thrash into “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” Avantasia transforms “Lay All Your Love on Me” through the lens of symphonic power metal, Fozzy brings hard rock muscle to “SOS,” and Ghost takes the ABBA deep cut “I’m a Marionette” and makes it sound so naturally their own that Collin didn’t even realize it was a cover.
That leads to a bigger question: what makes a great cover song?
Is it enough to simply make the original heavier, or should a band completely reinterpret it? Tom argues that some of the greatest covers become so closely associated with the artist covering them that they practically replace the original in popular consciousness. Ghost’s approach to “I’m a Marionette” provides the perfect jumping-off point for that conversation.
Of course, this is still Influencers of Metal, so the episode doesn’t stay sensible for very long.
A discussion about Hyperia changing the atmosphere of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” spirals into a spectacular misunderstanding between our duo. Cannibal Corpse performing “Dancing Queen” is proposed. The logistics of opening a mosh pit to “SOS” are considered. And Collin makes his position on anyone disrespecting ABBA abundantly clear.
Somewhere underneath all that chaos, they even manage to discuss six songs.
Whether you’re an ABBA fanatic, a metalhead, or someone who never imagined those two worlds could work together, these covers might make you hear some familiar songs very differently.
Which ABBA songs survive the jump into metal? Which bands completely make them their own?
Click play and join Collin and Tom as they celebrate six great metal covers of one of pop music’s most untouchable bands.
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