Lives Lost Count Down Their Top 10 Heavy Covers of Pop Songs

For all the talk around it every year, not many people, or rock bands like Lives Lost, enjoy Valentine’s Day. The East Coast quintet got in on the act this year with an anti-Valentine cover of the wildly popular Alec Benjamin hit single, “Let Me Down Slowly.” The song was released as part of a Valentine’s Day compilation titled Covers for the Broken Hearted. Released on February 14th, Ghost Killer Entertainment put together the five-track compilation. It also features covers by Alpine Loop, Life Right Now, Lyndhurst, and Austin Von-Glahn.

The compilation producers initially approached Lives Lost to see if they would be interested in contributing a song. They suggested “Let Me Down Slowly,” as they felt it would both fit the band’s style and lead singer Tanis Pellegrini’s vocal style. As they began and continued to work on it, it quickly became apparent that it was the perfect choice for Lives Lost to cover.

“Let Me Down Slowly” is a fun little offering from the band as they continue to work on new music. Formed in 2020 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the band masterfully combines driving hard rock and emotive post-hardcore. Their songs come across as authentic, exploring love, loss, and the human experience within the context of the life of a young person. The band’s debut EP A Portrait of Loss came out last year. It was very well received, a mature release for such a young band. The EP explores the state of grieving and loss after the lead character loses someone close to them.

Considering their release of “Let Me Down Slowly,” Lives Lost, join us today for a special Top 10 list, counting down their ten favourite heavy cover versions of famous pop hits.

1. Silverstein – “Apologize” (One Republic Cover)

“My all-time favourite heavy cover. I love the original song ‘Apologize’ by One Republic/Timbaland, but Silverstein makes the track their own by injecting their signature sound into an already amazing song. Shane Told’s vocals with the band’s instrumentalization is just *chefs kiss* alongside that breakdown during the bridge. Perfecto!”

2. I Prevail – “Blank Space” (Taylor Swift Cover)

“This track blew them up and is even better than the T. SWIFT version so not much else to say other than a tremendous cover. Perfect all-around reiteration of an already great song.”

3. Ice Nine Kills – “Animals” (Maroon 5 Cover)

“Spencer (Charnas) doing Adam Levine’s vocals make this song significantly better and at the time JD was writing all of Ink songs and he was an insane guitarist/songwriter/producer, so this is an iconic cover. Plus the music video is classic INK!”

4. A Day To Remember – “Since U Been Gone” (Kelly Clarkson Cover)

“A scene classic. Firstly, I love Kelly Clarkson’s early work, secondly, ADTR was huge for me in middle/high school, so this is a no-brainer for me. If you haven’t heard it, go listen to it.”

5. Loveless – “Middle of The Night” (Elley Duhe Cover)

“Loveless is just amazing, and this cover is killer. I absolutely love the production quality on this, Julien’s (Comeau) vocals, Dylan’s (Tirapelli-Jamail) songwriting. Very good stuff.”

6. Memphis May Fire – “Grenade” (Bruno Mars Cover)

“In high school, I really loved Bruno Mars because my best friend at the time was obsessed with them. During that time, Memphis May Fire was a band I was completely indifferent to until I heard this cover. Matty Mullins is insane on this song and it made me check out the rest of their music and I became an instant fan. Super talented band, and now he’s on tour with one of my all-time favourites filling in on vocals, Anberlin.”

7. Eva Under Fire – “Separate Ways” (Worlds Apart Cover)

“My all-time favourite Journey song done by an insanely talented band? No complaints here. I like this version better than Daughtry’s version which is insane because man, I dig Daughtry.”

8. State Champs – “Stitches” (Shawn Mendes Cover)

“State Champs is a band that I enjoy, but don’t geek out over, but this cover is super tasteful, and the OG version of the song is also amazing. Shawn Mendes is an insane songwriter/vocalist. I actually don’t know if y’all can tell by this number on the list, but I low-key enjoy pop.”

9. Point North – “Hammer” (Nothing, Nowhere Cover)

“Iconic. I can’t put into words how good this cover of Nothing, Nowhere’s already great song is insane! Point North is an underrated band, and I just had to put this one in because it bangs.”

10. The Word Alive – “Heartless” (Kanye West Cover)

“This just barely makes my Top 10 favourites because, well quite frankly, I love the original track and this cover is good and exactly what I want in a heavy cover: Telle Smith vocals, with TWA band in tow ripping it. I still prefer the original because I’m definitely somebody who puts vocals first (although very occasionally a good riff can make up for vocals I don’t enjoy). I enjoy all the vocals, it’s just not as good as the original but still very good and the chorus was definitely made for Telle!”