MEGAN THEE STALLION-"COBRA (ROCK REMIX)" FEATURING SPIRITBOX

It’s starting to feel a little like the height of the nü metal era when rap and nü metal regularly crossed streams with features, collaborations, and tours such as the Family Values Tour. Today, a new generation of artists are reviving this trend in the mainstream such as Bring Me the Horizon trading features with Lil Uzi Vert, with metalcore replacing nü metal (indeed, for a variety of reasons, metalcore is the new nü metal, if not at the same peak level of popularity). Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape doesn’t just have the Bring Me the Horizon feature on “Werewolf,” a song that has some Korn vibes and a lot of Deftones, but has a System of a Down cover and a collaboration with Babymetal as well. Many of the current generation of both rappers and metalcore bands grew up on a steady diet of both rap and nü metal (and other types of heavy and alternative music), so the collaborations make sense and the influences are clear. Especially given the absence of heavy music from the mainstream for some time now—and with the evolution of both rap and metalcore—the trend is back with a wrinkle and very welcome.

Megan Thee Stallion’s style on this rock remix of “Cobra” has been “djentified” in what is largely standard fare for Spiritbox. From the Spiritbox perspective, staying close to their sonic hallmarks makes perfect sense; as with Bring Me the Horizon’s collaboration with Ed Shereen, for example, writing a song that deviates from the familiar risks squandering the opportunity to expose their music to a much wider audience as a song like this is not released specifically for the band’s core fans, but rather has the much bigger artist’s fans as their intended audience. There is no need to take any additional risks here when you know what works, as a new variable has already been introduced in the collaborating artist and incorporating their own sonic hallmarks. Nevertheless, and this is a credit to the talent of both parties, this “Cobra” remix feels fresh and in no way forced.

The spacey, eerie atmospherics add depth to the song and complement the lyrics dealing with dark depression, pain, and betrayal. The chorus features Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante’s signature ethereal and almost-otherworldly singing. Megan Thee Stallion’s delivery, especially when it gets more aggressive, and the lyrical content both feel entirely at home in these heavier confines, and LaPlante’s screams exploding onto the scene later in the track only underscore the barely-controlled angst coming from Megan Thee Stallion. Overall, the remix is extremely well-done and is yet more evidence on their part for why Spiritbox is one of the hottest names in metal. Credit Megan Thee Stallion as well for taking a creative risk that paid off in elevating the original.