The “Punk Goes…” series put out by Fearless Records has been going on since the year 2000, with their first entry being “Punk Goes Metal”. Since then, they have had eight albums make the Billboard Top 100 in the U.S. and two albums made it into the top 20. On Nov. 17, they released the newest addition, “Punk Goes Pop 6”.

This album has gotten a lot of publicity even though many people think the pop covers are getting old. Does it live up to the hype? Here’s my track by track review.

1. “Ain’t It Fun” by Tyler Carter ft. Luke Holland (Originally performed by Paramore) – This was the only song I had heard off the album when I first started listening. I really enjoy this cover, which is surprising because I don’t usually like Tyler Carter’s voice and I’m not a huge fan of the original song. Disregarding that, I love Luke Holland (One of my favorite drummers) so I was very excited to hear the song. It’s very catchy and Carter doesn’t over sing it, which was a pleasant surprise. The tempo and style of the song was perfect for Carter’s voice and Tyler Carter and Luke Holland’s chemistry is incredible. Just on vocals and catchiness, it’s one of my favorites. Then Luke Holland’s fantastic drumming comes in and it blew me away. Easily one of my favorites on the album.
2. “Wrecking Ball” by August Burns Red (Originally performed by Miley Cyrus) – I went into this cover not really knowing what to expect. I’ve never been an August Burns Red fan, and I can’t stand the original version of this song, but I had some hopes. I was let down. The screams seem very out of place and they don’t do much to make their version original aside from the prechorus, which sounds fantastic. The prechorus is the only good part in the song though. The rest just sounds like the original with screamed vocals and some extra drum fills. Very boring, very unpleasant. This one is my least favorite on the album.
3. ”I Knew You Were Trouble” by We Came as Romans (Originally performed by Taylor Swift) – I admit, I wasn’t expecting much good to come from this song. I used to love We Came as Romans but I haven’t enjoyed an album they put out since “To Plant a Seed”. That being said, I was excited to hear what they had in store. I did not enjoy the song. From the very beginning something felt off. Almost like they weren’t comfortable doing the cover. The first note that gets sung is almost painful to listen to. Not only does it sound off, but the production on the first verse doesn’t sound good. Fortunately it picks up once the first chorus comes in. I could definitely enjoy that part. I think the biggest problem that I had was that they did almost nothing to change the song. It still sounds very similar to the original. One of my least favorites on the album.
4. “Turn Down for What” by Upon a Burning Body ft. Ice-T (Originally performed by DJ Snake and Lil Jon) – Now for the almost infamous cover. This cover is hated by most and almost everybody has said that it’s the worst on the album. I actually enjoyed it. I think people have a problem with it because they’re taking it seriously. The song is almost a joke, especially with the banter that Ice-T provides. This cover is actually very reminiscent of Atilla which I don’t really like, but it’s definitely fun and not something I take seriously. I like it, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites.
5. “Problem” by Set It Off (Originally performed by Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea) – I had never listened to Set It Off before so I had no idea what to expect from this song. I had heard “Problem” hundreds of times just from the radio though, so I knew I didn’t like the original. I was in for a fairly pleasant surprise though. The band put their own spin on it and made it original. It’s got a heavy bit near the end that really adds to the overall power of the song. The singer also gets props for hitting the ridiculous notes that Grande is famous for. This is one of the better songs on the album.
6. ”Burn” by Crown the Empire (Originally performed by Ellie Goulding) – I’ll start this off by saying that I love Ellie Goulding. Her music is a total guilty pleasure of mine. I’m not big into Crown the Empire, but I really like several of their songs so I knew this had potential. I really liked this cover. It keeps enough of the original song but adds a fair amount of their own spin on it. One thing I enjoyed is that they focused on the vocals and didn’t add any screams, which is not normal for CTE. Their clean vocals are excellent, so this made the already intense vocal driven song stand out from the rest of the songs on the album. One of my favorites on the album.
7. “Drunk in Love” by Oceans Ate Alaska (Originally performed by Beyonce) – This cover is the most unique on the album. It’s by far the most heavy and it’s definitely the most different from the original. They took a fairly bland pop song and made a very intense and awesome metalcore cover that I was not expecting from this album. A lot of the songs on these cover albums can be heavy, but the breakdown is insane and blows all other cover breakdowns out of the water. This is tied for my favorite on the album. I just keep listening to it over and over.
8. ”Royals” by Youth in Revolt (Originally performed by Lorde) – As a cover, this song is very solid. The vocals are great and the instruments capture the song’s original sound. The song clocks in at three and a half minutes. The first two and a half minutes sound almost exactly like the original version of the song. That’s fine if you like the original, but the song, while catchy, doesn’t have a lot of substance. I found this cover to be very boring. That is, until the last minute comes on. The second to last chorus has faster paced guitars and drums and I started to get into it. Then right before the last chorus, a breakdown comes out of nowhere. While I enjoyed it, it feels out of place with the pace of the rest of the song. If it would have been fast paced the entire time, this would probably have been my favorite off the album, but the last minute can’t make up for the rest of the track and it sadly falls short. It’s an alright cover, but definitely not one of my favorites.
9. ”Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Volumes (Originally Performed by Drake Feat. Maid Jordan) – I went into this song having never listened to Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” and having barely listened to any of Volumes. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I knew that everyone loved the Drake song so I was sure it would be interesting. This turned out to be a solid cover. The instruments have a really cool sound throughout the whole thing, the clean vocals sound great, and the screams make for a powerful backup. I really enjoyed it and it makes me want to check out more of Volumes. This near the top for my favorites on the album.
10. ”Chocolate” by Knuckle Puck (Originally performed by The 1975) – I love Knuckle Puck and I love the original version of “Chocolate”, so I was very excited when I first heard that this was going to be on the newest “Punk Goes Pop”. I was not disappointed at all. They kept enough of the original version in the song while amping it up and putting their own little flair on it. The bass is my favorite part of the song. It’s constantly loud enough to hear clearly and it’s just funky and fits perfectly. The rest of the instruments sounded great and the vocalist really completes the sound. Easily one of my favorites on the album.
11. ”Sweater Weather” by Slaves (Originally performed by The Neighbourhood) – The vocalist of Slaves, Jonny Craig, has my favorite singing voice. This was the song I was the most excited for knowing how passionate the song is and how perfect Jonny’s voice would be for it. It turned out to be even better than I expected. His voice pairs with the instruments and the tone of the song perfectly. The guitars bring in another new addition by playing a heavy sweeping part during the second prechorus and build up for an outstanding chorus. The slow part after the second chorus is filled with Jonny belting out incredibly soulful notes and then the song ends softly much like the original. This is by far my favorite on the album.
12. ”Stay the Night” by State Champs (Originally performed by Zedd. ft Hayley Williams) – The original version of “Stay the Night” is fairly uninteresting and has a stereotypical pop sound with the incredible vocals of Hayley Williams. While I enjoy State Champs I wasn’t too blown away by this cover. It’s good, but they didn’t change much. They just changed the electronic sound to a guitar sound and that’s about it. I enjoyed it because I love State Champs’ vocalist and I do like their sound, but they could have done so much more with this cover and I was fairly disappointed. I still like it, but it’s not one of my favorites.
13. “Happy” by Palisades (Originally performed by Pharrell Williams) – Love it or hate it, “Happy” is a brilliantly arranged song. There are so many moving parts and it’s very intricate. I think Palisades grasped that and made a powerful cover. It has a decent amount of the original sound of the song in it, but they added a lot of really interesting qualities to it. There’s the electronic sound mixed in with their metalcore sound throughout the whole thing, then it closes with a very intense breakdown that sounds like a lot of Palisades’ other work. This is one of my favorites on the album.

Overall, I’d say this album is pretty solid. It has some really good tracks, and it has some pretty bad ones. I was much more impressed with this entry of “Punk Goes…” then I have been since “Punk Goes Pop 2” came out back in 2009. As a whole, I’d give it a 7.5/10.