Hava Nagila
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/FdG9P1MsU5A&hl=en&fs=1
“Hava Nagila” is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is cute yet dark, with its sinuous Phrygian Dominant tonality. I won’t get into the history of the song, as a Google search will take care of that. I will, however, direct you to the first ever recording of “Hava Nagila,” from 1922. Note how slow it is, in comparison to the breakneck speeds I experienced at a (half) Jewish wedding – see here.
The song has been covered a thousand ways ’til Saturday, in a thousand different styles. Even Elvis took it on (badly). The metal versions of “Hava Nagila” I’ve heard are all charmingly bad. See, for example, this Polish nu-metal version. Sonata Arctica slipped it into the end of their For the Sake of Revenge live album. The quote isn’t long enough to warrant sharing, plus you should avoid Sonata Arctica anyway, so just take my word for it.
Anthrax – I’m the Man ’91Little Dead Bertha – Hava NagilaBoney Nem – Heavy Nagila
Two Three metal versions are worth sharing, though. The first is “I’m the Man ’91,” from Anthrax’s Attack of the Killer B’s. It isn’t a cover per se; it uses the “Hava Nagila” riff in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the band’s Jewish members. It is also the worst thing Anthrax has ever done (which is saying a lot). Almost as bad is a cover by Russian goth/prog metal band Little Dead Bertha. It actually starts out kind of cool, like a Spaghetti Western. But then it goes into big, dumb power chords, like a Great Kat song minus the shredding. Last is a crazy thrash send-up by Russian parody metallers Boney Nem. It reminds me of Korpiklaani on steroids. Thanks to reader Petya for the tip!
The best cover ever of “Hava Nagila” is in Hindi, set to insane Bollywood-style dance routines. See above. I have lost count of how many times I have watched this slice of heaven.
