It’s fair to say that 2022 has been an excellent year for metal gods Metallica and Slipknot: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich’s band crashed into mainstream consciousness once again after the title track of their 1986 album Master Of Puppets was featured in the hit TV show Stranger Things, while anticipation for Slipknot’s forthcoming album The End, So Far is sky-high following the recent release of its third single Yen.
With these two metal heavyweights enjoying their latest profile boosts, it made us wonder: what would it sound like if the best elements of the two superstar acts were somehow merged, say, if Slipknot were to cover a Metallica song? A lofty scenario, we know, but one TikTok user has actually imagined the impossible.
“If slipknot wrote master of puppets it’d be better than this, but here’s my take!” Devin Taylor writes in the caption to a recent TikTok post. Taylor, who is an audio engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer using the name Fountane, muddies up the hallmark Master Of Puppets guitar riff with extra distortion and a faster pace, before adding in a chaotic Joey Jordison-esque drum beat.
It’s really quite impressive, and commentators on the video are in agreement that Devin’s cover is a very accurate replay of Slipknot’s trademark sound.
Despite the cover missing vocals, fans say they can clearly imagine how perfectly frontman Corey Taylor’s vocals would sound in the mix, with one user writing: “I can hear Corey scream ‘YEA’, while another says: “All i need is Corey going ‘OH’.
Another user writes: “Just missing some record scratching and beer keg hits”, and in response, Devin says: “Bought an empty keg and baseball bat yesterday for the next one… And I promise to sample/put in scratching”.
Whatever Devin comes up with next time, we can’t wait.
So far, the cover has accrued 1M views and 150.2K likes. Check it out below:
@fountane ♬ original sound - Devin Taylor
Slipknot’s highly-anticipated seventh album The End, So Far, is due on September 30 via Roadrunner.
