Change the medium, change the meaning?

Josh Kinghorn, 30th Sep 2021
Tags: Music Blog Hillsong Praise and Worship

I really enjoy YouTube at times. There are parts of it that can get on my nerves but for the most part it is a vast library of entertainment and, of course, music. 

One of my favourite areas of YouTube I like to explore is the music covers, especially when the cover is a very different genre than the original track. As a musician this sort of thing is utterly fascinating because I get to see how different artists interpret the same source material. 

I really do like the metal covers.

Surprise surprise I really do like the metal covers, however, there aren’t as many Christian metal covers as you might think. This is why I was kind of surprised to come across this little gem by a group called Where Fire May Fail. 

This particular song called “Oceans” was written by a church called Hillsong and has become a staple song used in churches across the globe (and a favourite here at XRhythms). However, this particular version definitely hits different. 

The original track is a soft piano ballad with a bit of build towards the end, creating an intimate, almost sorrowful feel to the track, lending well to the themes that the lyrics present. 

The heavy drums, distorted guitar and screamed vocals seem to turn the near-sorrowful song into a heart-wrenching plea.

However whilst the metal version from Where Fire May Fail still captures a similar feel, the heavy drums, distorted guitar and screamed vocals seem to turn the near-sorrowful song into a heart-wrenching plea, which also lends itself to the lyrical content. 

Either way you look at it, both versions do something very different with the same song and both are amazing tracks to listen to.