Synthwave Sunday: Scandroid, “Thriller” (Michael Jackson Cover)

Synthwave has its roots in ’80s pop and pop culture, both sonically and thematically, so it’s no surprise to see one of the decade’s flagship tracks in any genre, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” get the cover treatment. Detroit electronic artist and producer Klayton, best known as Celldweller, takes a stab at the iconic Halloween anthem here, released earlier this week.

The idea of covering an old song in a new style that’s inherently based on that old song’s genre is kind of a funny concept to begin with, so in order to succeed there’s got to be something really damn spectacular and/or different about the re-imagined track. Does Scandroid’s version deliver? In some ways yes, and in others no. The positive: the tones are tight, the synths cut, the drums are gloriously artificial (especially those toms, always love the toms!) and he keeps the tune’s chilly atmosphere intact. The negative: I feel like Klayton could’ve taken this thing even further and just gone completely over the top with SUPER heavy synth tones, pounding, pulsating beats that shake your body and distorted as fuck bass. This version sticks a little too close to the original for my tastes, but it’s still a fun version of an old classic.

Scandroid’s sophomore album Monochrome comes out on October 27th via FiXT; pre-order it here.