Equally revered and reviled, the heavy-music subgenre known as nu-metal continues to resonate throughout pop culture, both in the mainstream and the underground. Among the style's underground fans are the good folks at The Flenser. The San Francisco record label is best known for releasing radio-unfriendly post-metal, drone, shoegaze and dark ambient, and its new compilation Send the Pain Below (an exclusive vinyl release for subscribers of label's Series Three membership club) features artists from those musical worlds putting their idiosyncratic spins on songs by Korn, Slipknot, Deftones and more.
So far, The Flenser has offered up Chat Pile's noise-rock take on Sepultura's "Roots Bloody Roots," Wreck and Reference's shoegaze rendition of Deftones' "Change (In the House of Flies)" and Vile Creature's sludgy reimagining of Kittie's "Paperdoll." Today (November 16th), Revolver is proud to premiere Drowse's cover of Slipknot's "Wait and Bleed," which the one-man project flipped into a lysergic slowcore dirge. Stream it above via YouTube, and scroll down for Drowse mastermind Kyle Bates' comments and for Send the Pain Below's cover and tracklist.
"First, rest in peace to a true master, Joey Jordison," Bates says. "His passing a few months after I recorded this cover hit hard, heavy with the weight of too much death in the world and my own family these past couple of years.
"On a lighter note, the music: When asked to contribute to this compilation I was hesitant — I only caught the tail end of the genre. I was seven when 'Wait and Bleed' came out. Most of my nu-metal nostalgia is in memories of Deftones blasting from a friend's dad's truck as we carpooled to school or a camp counselor's scary self-titled-album-art Slipknot shirt. Even so, the band found its way to my ears through a goth cousin and this song became a classic for me.
"I also thought: 'How the fuck do I cover this? I record slow music alone in my bedroom …' My first decision was to record all of the guitars with an EBow. I then followed my gut towards this Can, Andy Stott, and Éliane Radigue indebted take on the song. I added new sections and melodies because I dislike covers that try to sound too much like the original — why not just listen to the real thing at that point — and I was led by the sound.
"This resulting weirdo version of 'Wait and Bleed' feels hypnotic to me. I hope it does for you, too."
Send the Pain Below tracklist:
Wreck and Reference - "Change" by Deftones
Chat Pile - "Roots Bloody Roots" by Sepultura
Vile Creature - "Paper Dolls" by Kittie
Drowse - "Wait and Bleed" by Slipknot
Cremation Lily - "Falling Away From Me" by Korn
Midwife - "Send the Pain Below" by Chevelle
