Metal-themed talk show Two Minutes to Late Night organized a New York Hardcore-styled cover of Prince’s iconic Purple Rain single “I Would Die 4 U.” The main musicians involved in the cover include Randy Blythe of Lamb of God on lead vocals, Urian Hackney of Rough Francis / The Armed on drums, Bo Zueders of Harm’s Way and Walter Schreifels of Gorilla Biscuits / Quicksand / Rival Schools on guitar and Rachel Rosen of Most Precious Blood / Indecision on bass. 

The number of musicians involved greatly grows due to additional vocal contributions from Jeffrey Eaton of Modern Life Is War, Christina Michelle of Gouge Away, Ryan Bland of Ache, Diamila Azzouz of Ithaca, Lisa Mungo of Faith is Eternal, Dimitri Minakakis of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Shawna Potter of War on Women, Miss Eaves of Miss Eaves, Jenna Pup of The HIRS Collective, Malachi Kies of Dogmeat, Dwid Hellion of Integrity, Brody King of God’s Hate, Pete Bruno of Tyrannosaur, Mike Lennon of Healthy Scratch and James Muñoz of The Bled / Xed Out.

The cover is built on repetition of the chorus, with all vocalists shouting “You! I would die for you!” together. Hackney’s drum playing is extremely technical and adds a lot of complexity to the rhythm of the track, but the rest of the band still holds their own with some quick ‘80s-style NYHC guitar rhythms and chord choices. Zueders and Schreifels throw in a harmonized guitar solo as well. An accompanying DIY music video for the track shows all of the musicians involved having fun with their parts.

Some of the talk shows other recent covers include a special full-band cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” by Thursday, a cheesy metal version of Björk’s “Hyperballad,” a ‘90s club songs medley, a slightly metallic rendition of The Rolling Stones’ “Rocks Off,” an aggressive cover of Pantera’s “Mouth for War,” a metal twist on Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” and a new take on Anthrax’s “Caught in a Mosh,” among many others since the covers series began near the start of the COVID-19 quarantine. The “Dancing in the Dark” cover was the show’s 40th in total, which makes this Prince cover their 41st.

Photo credit: Owen Ela