The 55 Best Metal Covers of Classic Rock Hits

Here are the 55 best metal covers of classic rock hits.

Playing covers, or even just riffs from your favorite songs is how so many musicians and bands start off. And even as careers progress and artists find success with original music, the temptation to make a song you love all your own is never far off.

For some bands on this list, their biggest hit song is a cover! It can be a useful launchpad in a crowded sea of like-minded bands, a notion that held true back then and still does today.

In decades past, it was a means to help encourage radio airplay — a secure move that helped gain traction for a band to then make a bid to have their own music spread across the airwaves.

READ MORE: 10 Killer Death Metal Covers of Slayer Songs

Today, it’s also a way to get noticed and cut through the clutter, of which there is more than ever. Sometimes that means playing a metal cover of a hit pop song or something going viral, but it’s really just the game it always has been in the end.

Here, our focus is on metalized versions of some of the most enduring and popular classic rock hits of all time. Whether it’s impressive and faithful note-for-note recreations or renditions that take liberty to more closely align with the band’s style, these covers are undeniably great.

See if you agree with the songs we selected below as the best metal cover of classic rock hits!