After saying last week that rock “needed a defibrillator,” Machine Gun Kelly has now boldly attempted a cover of an alternative metal classic.
During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Thursday, March 31st, MGK took on System of a Down’s ‘Aerials’.
“I’m here to just jam it and see what happens… Serj’s (Tankian) voice is so untouchable,” the former rapper says before launching into his cover.
And he’s right: MGK’s vocals can’t match up to Tankian’s powerhouse growl that carried ‘Aerials’. Interestingly, System of a Down’s bassist Shavo Odadjian shared the performance on his Instagram, asking fans for their opinion on the cover.
Judging by the comments, the verdict was a big no. “The best thing about aerials is how melodic it is. I feel like he doesn’t add anything new to it. And completely loses the melodic magic that helps catapult this song into the skies,” wrote someone. U.S. guitarist Wesley Geer simply posted an emoji with clenched teeth.
‘Aerials’ is one of System of a Down’s biggest hits. Taken from their 2001 album Toxicity, it brought the band its second Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock performance.
MGK was on The Howard Stern Show to promote his new album Mainstream Sellout, released on Friday, March 25th. He revealed to the host that he’s frequently accused of being fake by rock fans.
Love Metal?
Get the latest Metal news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“It blows my mind, even in the the genre that I’m in, when people act like this is like some new thing,” he said. “It blows my mind. You can literally look back 10 years ago at rock festivals, and my name is right there on the flyer. Like, we’ve always been in the culture. I’m super confused where this, like, ‘Oh he’s new to the scene’ [claims come from]. Like, fuck you. We’ve been here so long, defying boxes and genres and odds.”
For more on this topic, follow the Metal Observer.
Check out ‘Aerials’ (System of a Down cover) by Machine Gun Kelly:
