There are some exceptions that prove the rule, however, and most of them come from heavy metal bands. These efforts are often done as tributes to the original artists – imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all – but they very seldom come close to matching the quality of the source material. Love them or hate them, cover versions of old songs are a fact of life, and there are more of them around now than ever before, with everyone from Justin Beiber to Miley Cyrus getting in on the act.
