10 Cover Songs That Shouldn't Have Worked (But Did)

10. Turn the Page - Metallica

For any die hard Metallica fan, the mid '90s are not a time period that they look back on fondly. Even though the thrash legends had made their millions off of the Black Album, the one-two punch of Load and Reload was a bit much for a lot of fans to take in all at once. While Garage Inc. feels like a bit of course correction for these guys in retrospect, we did get an unexpected left hook with their version of Turn the Page by Bob Seger.

Granted, it's not like the Seger classic wasn't already dark in its own way, as it told the tale of the lonesome traveler going across the country and getting more lonesome by the day. Then again, this is Metallica, the same guys that were known for songs about drug addiction, war atrocities, and the pure darkness that existed in every human's head. How the hell are they able to make this work?

Well, the real crux of this tune comes from James' delivery, which is actually spot on for Seger's tone. As much vocal acrobatics that he put his throat through, this is the one instance where the Load-era experimentation really works. Hell, even the guitar solo and Kirk Hammett mimicking the original's saxophone line goes over like gangbusters here. Even though this is the polar opposite of what a Metallica fan was expecting, the AM rock radio look isn't too shabby on them.