WHY THIS ACAPELLA VERSION OF MESHUGGAH’S “BLEED” IS SUPERIOR TO ANYTHING BY VAN CANTO

I once declared the acepella metal group Van Canto to be the worst band in metal today, and while I suppose there might be some hyperbole in that statement, I stand by my assertion that they lick dog shit and like it. Why? Because they just take themselves so seriously, and are trying so hard, and seem so lame… like the nerdy kids in high school just trying so very hard to make the jocks think that acapella is cool. And believe you me, I’m not jock, but I know that acapella isn’t cool – and becomes even less so when you start making “metal” and/or American Idol contestant-esque hand movements, or make the decision that, say, rather than just sing the riff from “Battery,” you’re actually gonna sing the word “Battery” to the melody of the riff. Ugh.

But reader Chris Catharsis (which I suspect is not his real name) sent us a link to the below video of some dude named Dan-Elias Brevig doing an acapella version of Mesuggah’s “Bleed,” and while it ain’t goin’ on my iPod anytime soon, I still think it’s pretty sweet. For one thing, it’s just one dude who did all the parts by himself, which obviously takes a lot of talent. For another thing, there’s zero cheese factor or affectation here, and this guy gets that singing “Bleed-bl-bleed-bl-bleed-bl-bleed-bl-bleed-bl-bleed-bl-bleed-bl-bleed-bleed-bleed” would be terrible idea.

Watch the clip below and then feel free to try and defend Van Canto in the comments section – although you should be forewarned, I really can’t take any defense of Van Canto too seriously. ‘Cause they’re awful.

-AR