Raise your hand if you know the band Asking Alexandria. The English metalcore/screamo/techno band is one of my absolute new faves on the scene. At the end of last year, Asking Alexandria released an EP called Life Gone Wild. Appropriately enough, the band included two Skid Row covers on the disc: "18 and Life" and "Youth Gone Wild." (At Rock on the Range two weeks ago, I got to see Sebastian Bach perform "Youth Gone Wild" with Asking Alexandria).

The thing that surprises me about the covers is that Asking Alexandria stays very true to the originals - there isn't any screamo anywhere in these tunes. In fact, at some points, you'd be hard pressed to tell whether the singer is Sebastian Bach or Danny Worsnop. Sure, there are bits of that English accent in the lower register parts, but on the Bach-esque soaring notes, the similarities are uncanny. And the guitar work is freaking awesome.

I get that a lot of you don't like screamo and that's okay - but you might buy the two Skid Row covers to support this new band who clearly wears their influences on their collective sleeves. On their original songs, the Bullet For My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold similarities are pretty clear. It's also clear that Asking Alexandria is a band that knows their metal - and isn't afraid to give a nod to the old standards. You know, the bands we call our favorites.

"Youth Gone Wild" by Asking Alexandria

"18 and Life" by Asking Alexandria