When Pop Songs Get Metal Teeth

A great cover song can do something the original never had to: prove the writing is strong enough to survive a full identity swap. We’re digging into why cover songs hit so hard, how they change meaning without changing lyrics, and why reinterpretation is often where real creativity begins.

We start with the big idea: songs aren’t fixed objects, they’re flexible ideas. When a new artist steps in, a pop track can turn heavy and aggressive, or a rock song can become stripped down and vulnerable. That shift isn’t “less creative” than writing from scratch. It’s a different kind of artistry, one that turns influence into a personal voice while keeping the core message recognizable.

Then we get specific. We break down I Prevail’s heavy cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” and why it worked as a breakthrough moment. Keeping the lyrics intact while rebuilding the sound with guitars, drums, clean vocals, and screams flipped the emotional feel and introduced the band to a global audience. We also talk about Leo Moraccoli of Frog Leap Studios, whose metal covers show how reinvention can become a full creative identity, not just a one-off experiment.

If you’ve ever argued about whether a cover is better than the original, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves covers, and leave a review with the cover song you think truly beats the original.

Transcript

Welcome And Father’s Day Check-In

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Hey everybody, welcome back to Heal Out Loud Vasai. Hope you guys have been good to yourselves and each other. And you guys have been doing a really, really good job of that. It is Thursday and it's not so hot this week. Um it's actually pretty chill. Man, but life is always busy. But before I jump into my main thing here, I want to say happy Father's Day to all the daddios out there, namely also myself. It's hard to be a parent, it's hard to be a dad. Especially these days, this day and age. But, you know, again, I hope you guys are celebrating that this weekend somewhere, anywhere. And if you don't have parents anymore, which I lost my mother, you know, so I get that. And I hope you you look at memories that you had with them before where you are now, and know that they still love you and they've never left you. But yes, so today we are going to talk about a really, really cool subject because I love a good cover song. A lot of the greatest cover songs, I never knew they were cover songs until today. But I want to leave you with a quote

The Secret Power Of Cover Songs

SPEAKER_03 3:10

about covers. The fake is a far greater value in its deliberate attempt to be real. It's more real than the real thing. Yeah, I thought that was pretty cool. Anywho, so let me jump on in. Oh, yeah, by the way, Inc is 30 days out, or less than 30 days out, and I am trebling with excitement for that. And yeah, so let's jump in. So today we're gonna talk about something that sits at the core of music itself: cover songs. And with that said, I have my nipsia. Some of the best cover songs, which again I did not know were some of them, were You Really Got Me by Van Halen. I didn't know that was the King's original song, but it made of melt speakers. I knew that Whiskey in a Jar was a cover. And so and Diamonds and Rust by Judas Priest. And of course, you got Marilyn Manson, Sweet Dreams, right? Land of Confusion, because that is actually a Phil Collins song, if you didn't know that. And of course, you can't forget Faith by Lit Biscuit and The Sound of Silence again by Disturbed. You know, for some reason they love their covers, and I love a good cover too because covers are awesome. But so let's see, like how artists turn influence into identity as well. That's what we're gonna talk about today. Because every musician starts somewhere, they learn songs they love, they copy techniques from their favorite artists and absorb everything around them. But at some point, imitation either stays imitation or it becomes something more. So where's that line and why do some covers become just as important as the originals? So let's dive into that. A cover song is often seen as a tribute, but the best covers do far more than repeat what's already done. They reinterpret. A single song can completely change depending on who performs it. A pop track can become heavy or aggressive, and a rock song can turn into something that's entirely stripped down and emotional. The structure might stay the same, but the meaning can shift entirely. Because covers don't replace originals, they expand them. They prove that songs aren't fixed objects but flexible ideas that can evolve, much like life. But before any artists develop their unique sound, they imitate guitarists learn riff from their heroes, vocalist study tone of technique, songwriters break down structure and emotion from songs that move them. This is in a shortcut, it's like the foundation of that. And

Learning Through Imitation In Art

SPEAKER_03 6:05

the same process exists in writing, painting, filmmaking, and just about every other creative field you can think of. Imitation is how artists learn the rules before they learn how to bend them. But the goal isn't to stay there, it's to absorb the influence deeply enough so that it becomes your own voice, if that makes sense. So, with that said, we're going to talk about a really, really great song that jumpstarted a band, a band that I've seen thoroughly quite a few times, and I just love them. But it's I Prevail and the reinvention of Blake Space. So before I Pervail became a major name in modern rock and metal core, they were a young band from Michigan trying to find their place in a crowded music scene. They were formed in 2013. They blended melodic rock and metalcore influences, combining clean vocals with screamed intensity as they worked to define their identity. That moment of breakthrough came in 2014 when they released the cover of Taylor Swift's Blank Space. At first glance, it seemed like a very unusual choice. A heavy band covering one of the biggest pop songs in the world was not expected, but that's exactly why it worked. And that's how they got noticed. The original Blank Space was polished, playful, and built on sleek pop production. I Prevail heard something different inside of it. They kept the lyrics intact, but rebuilt everything around them. Heavy guitars replaced pop production, thunderous drums pushed the track forward, and clean vocals blended with screams, turning the tone from playful sarcasm into raw emotional intensity. The word stayed the same, but

I Prevail Rebuilds Blank Space

SPEAKER_03 7:55

the feeling changed completely. And then the cover exploded online because uh yeah, it blew up, gaining millions of views and introducing I Prevailed to a global audience for many listeners, it was their very first exposure to the band. More importantly, it proved something about creativity. A strong song can survive any genre shift when the foundation is solid. I mean that. And with that said, of course, we will play that very same song very, very soon. And I'll be back. So that actually came out 11 years ago, but I still be jamming to it, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. And it actually got me into a little bit of Taylor Swift stuff, you know, because my little sister's really into Taylor Swift, and I know other people that are as well. So I really hope you like the song, though. And I really think you should check out the video. Go see I prevail as they perform. They're really amazing, even though Brian Birkheiser is no longer with the band. I believe he has his own band now, and I can look that up because I forgot, because I'm a dummy, and there's people driving motorcycles in summer out, maybe it's a beautiful weekend. Or it will be, I think. We'll see. Um, let's see. Brian Birkheiser, man. Scatter brain. That's what it is. Sorry, it took me so long. But I really wanted to let you guys know what his new band

Leo Moraccoli Makes Covers A Career

SPEAKER_03 10:40

is and check them out as well. But we're also going to talk about somebody else very, very special in the cover genre. His name is Leo Morakoli. And if I prevail shows how a cover can launch a band, he, Leo Morakoli, shows how covers can become an artistic identity. So he is a Norwegian musician, Leo is, and producer now for transforming well-known songs into heavy metal covers through his own project Leap Frog Studios, or Frog Leap Studios. I'm sorry. What makes his work stand out isn't just genre swapping, his reinterpretation with personality. He takes pop songs, rock songs, and even film tracks and rebuilds them with heavy guitars, type production, and a distinctive sense of style. But the core of the original songs always remains recognizable. That balance is what makes his covers so effective. You still hear the original, but through a completely different emotional filter, if that makes sense. And unlike you know other reinterpretations, Leo Moraccoli has built a career on this idea. I'm determined to keep his name right. His covers aren't experiments, they are the form, the art form itself. He proves something important. Imitation doesn't always have to lead somewhere else. Sometimes mastery, mastery of reinterpretation is the destination. And with that said, I am going to play a clip of one of his songs, and I'll be back. I really like his cover of Africa and others as well. Definitely check out the videos. He has a lot of fun with them. I believe his wife helps him with a lot of them. Oh, and another cover I really like of his is the Barbie girl song because it's fun. And you can shake your butt to

Originality, Criticism, And A Final Lifeline

SPEAKER_03 14:00

it. But so music doesn't evolve in isolation, it evolves through borrowing, reacting, and reshaping what already exists. Rock grew from blues, metal grew from hard rock. Every genre is a part of a change. The artists who stand out are those with no influence. They're the ones who transform influence into something unmistakably their own. Originality isn't about creating from nothing, it's about reshaping what already exists into something new. And that's where you get into people who criticize imitation because it has a complicated reputation as well. Here I am making bars. Sometimes artists rely too heavily on their influences and struggle to develop a distinct voice, right? Trends can also push creators and studios and labels, can push them towards repetition instead of experimentation. And that can lead to work that feels familiar, but it's not transformative, much like working at the same place or you know, doing the same thing every day. But imitation is really the endpoint, is usually a part of that process. Most creative breakthroughs begin with influence, they just don't end there. The challenge is knowing what to move beyond copying into creation. And that's sometimes that's hard to do. And we do it in our own lives, you know. I mean, even as a kid, you wanted to imitate the person that you looked up to, your role models. And you do it as an adult, although a lot of people don't want to admit that we do that, but we do. But I would say try to imitate the healthy habits and not the bad ones, okay, guys. All imbalance, remember? So, but why does imitation inspire us? At its core, imitation isn't just something that artists do, it's something that audience experiences well. We discover new music through covers, we trace influences backwards from one artist to another, and we hear a familiar song reimagined and suddenly understand it in a completely different way. Because imitation does really create connection, my little collectors. It turns music into a shared conversation rather than a finished product. When we hear a cover, we're not just hearing repetition, we're hearing interpretation. We're hearing someone ask what a song means to them and answering it in their own voice. And that's what keeps music alive. Inspiration doesn't move in one direction, it flows between artists across genres and through genres of listeners, and in that flow, something really important happens, and it's fucking magical. Sorry about my curse word. Imitation becomes inspiration, and inspiration does become creation. But cover songs and imitation aren't the opposite of creativity, they're often where creativity begins. They help artists learn, evolve, and eventually discover their own voice. They connect generations of listeners and keep music in constant motion. Whether it's a breakthrough reinterpretation like I Prevails Black Space, a career built on reinvention like Leo Miracoli's covers, or the countless artists learning by imitation before creating something new, the message is the same. Music is a conversation across time, and every artist adds a new voice to it. And in that conversation, imitation isn't the end of originality, it's often the beginning of it. I really want to thank you for listening. If you're listening for the first time, thank you. We'll see you again. Take care of yourselves and each other. And if you are hurting, text you know, Boys Town National Hotline, text 988, or text us. We're listening. And I hope you guys stay well, stay healthy. Love you long time. Bye.