Throwdown has just released their collection of covers Take Cover, which collects the band's various cover songs over the years into one place. The covers range from "Becoming" by Pantera and "Propaganda" by Sepultura, to the sludgier side of things with "Worlds Collide" by Crowbar.
Throwdown vocalist Dave Peters elaborates on the covers below.
01. BECOMING (Pantera) – “Becoming” is one of the hardest Pantera tracks ever and one we were glad we could call dibs on early before any other bands (for the Dimebag tribute comp). We were honored to be a part of the tribute. It was 5 years after Dime’s death but I remember it still feeling really fresh for everyone. Needless to say, Dime and Pantera were a huge influence on me and the band’s music, and are even still. I listen to Pantera records like they came out this year and probably more than a lot of other records that did. I’ve been a fan for about 30 years, but not the one I wish I’d been, as I never got to see them live. I’m not big on regrets but that is one. There will never be another band like them.
02. PROPAGANDA (Sepultura) – Arise and Chaos AD were instrumental in shaping how I played guitar. “Dead Embryonic Cells” was one of the first songs I ever jammed with an actual drummer in 1992. It was fucking horrible. I sort of wanted to go for it again 25 years later, but Chaos AD and "Propaganda" were more the band’s speed, and the song was one we were unanimously stoked to cover. That session was sandwiched in between tours with both Soulfly (2005) and Cavalera Conspiracy (2008).
03. LONDON DUNGEON (The Misfits) – I was a Danzig fan before going back and getting into the Misfits maybe only 5 to 7 years before recording this cover. It was during the same session as Venom & Tears. It was a no-brainer as far as tweaking it to our own style and one that sounded cool in drop B. I couldn’t tell you why we landed on a Misfits cover specifically, but I know we didn’t want to give any original songs to our label at the time, beyond what was being recorded for the upcoming and last record with them. I’m pretty sure ours was the only cover on the comp. It got buried somewhere toward the end of the tracklisting.
04. PLANETS COLLIDE (Crowbar) – “Planets Collide” always seems to be a staple of a Crowbar set, and it more or less opens that album, so it’s not exactly a deep cut. But it was a little more toward the outer limits of what their general style was up to that record, and it's one that resonated with a lot of people in spite of that too I think. Since Throwdown's style was evolving and changing a lot at that time from Vendetta to Venom & Tears, I’d say that song resonated with us for that reason. We didn’t do a lot to try and make it our own if anything. I think there is a subtle guitar overlay with an e-bow over the main riff and a couple of different vocal inflections added, but that’s it. A lot like the Pantera cover that would come later, it was more about accuracy than anything else. I met Kirk the same year that we recorded it and mentioned to him that we had. He said “Oh I heard it” in a Nola accent and approving tone. I like to think he approved anyway, but he seems very nice too so he could’ve just been trying to avoid hurting my feelings.
05. BABY GOT BACK (Sir Mix-A-Lot) – We almost did House of Pain “Jump Around” and even learned and rehearsed it I think. I can’t remember why we opted for “Baby Got Back” instead, probably just because it was more ridiculous and we wanted to make sure no one took it seriously. I wouldn’t say anyone now who was in the band back then, including me, regrets having done this cover. But bands don’t really want to be known for a cover. A lot of people knew and know us for this cover, though, and it’s kind of fun really. I think 2 or 3 people at a fest in Belgium as recently as 2015 shouted it out between songs. Never fails. We played the song live probably less than ten times— once was at Hellfest in Upstate NY. A six-foot inflatable penis was passed around the crowd. And I feel like, as a band, that’s one of those things that you should aspire to achieve.
