This Is What Chaos Looks Like
The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” is often referred to as the first heavy metal song. And what better way to cover this classic than by putting together some of the wildest rockstars in existence and making them perform this song? During a New Year’s Eve Ozzfest event at The Forum in Los Angeles, Marilyn Manson, Nikki Sixx and Rob Zombie took the stage and well, gave an appropriately insane and raucous rendition for this iconic tune.
Zombie described it as “heavier, weirder and more groove-oriented” and we can’t agree more. It’s epic in the truest sense of the word!
“We had been talking about doing something together for these shows — that he should come onstage during my set and we’d do a song. But we couldn’t think of what song. After we talked, later that night I was home and I just thought, ‘The obvious song is ‘Helter Skelter’!’ It’s so obvious that neither one of us thought of it!” – Rob Zombie
This isn’t the first time we heard this cover because in July last year, Manson and Zombie already recorded their studio version. It was a brilliant way of kickstarting their tour. But of course, there’s nothing more raw and electrifying than their live performance which can easily come across as controversial given that they showed images of serial killer Charles Manson.
As you probably already know, Charles Manson always spoke about Helter Skelter to his “Family” members.
“And then I figured, well, rather than us just doing it onstage, why don’t we take it one step further and record it and put a new spin on it? That way, rather than just doing some impromptu jam together, now the fans will go, ‘Oh, there’s the song I’ve already heard, and now they’re doing it.’” – Rob Zombie
It’s an intense ride from start to finish. And can we also take time to appreciate how John 5 stole the spotlight a bit?