Brass band Brass Against have shown a penchant for covering heavy metal songs, and the ensemble is at it again, this time taking on Tool’s iconic 1996 single “Stinkfist”.
Brass Against originally started as a Rage Against the Machine cover band, hence the name. Since then, the group has released three LPs, with the most recent one, Brass Against III, featuring covers of Deftones, Pantera, and Danzig, along with multiple Tool songs.
Here, they tastefully transform “Stinkfist” into a horn-heavy track without losing the song’s key melodies and mood. A stellar vocal effort by singer Sophia Urista goes a long way in making this stand out as more than just a novelty. Brass Against are going for something listenable in its own right, and they’ve succeeded. Brass has never sounded more metal.
They even caught the attention of RATM’s Tom Morello himself, who called Brass Against an “incredible brass band.” In addition to their covers albums, Brass Against released an EP of original material back in the spring, showcasing the band’s diverse array of influences, from rap metal to prog.
Brass Against’s use of non-metal instrumentation brings to mind similar re-imaginings, like Mongolian act The HU, who recently covered Metallica’s “Sad But True” with traditional Mongolian instruments. Perhaps the most famous example are Apocalyptica, the cellists that reinterpreted the work of Metallica before writing original music in a symphonic metal vein, similar to Brass Against’s fusion of styles.
Check out Brass Against’s new cover of “Stinkfist” below. Purchase the Brass Against III covers album here or the band’s EP of original tracks here, and find the band’s previous renditions of songs by Rage Against the Machine, Deftones, Alice in Chains, and more on their YouTube channel.
