Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Finnish melodeath five-piece I Am Your God continue their “Foregods” cover series with a fierce rendition of Iron Maiden‘s classic “The Evil That Men Do,” out now via Out Of Line Music. Written by Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith and Steve Harris, the track is the second single from “Foregods”, an upcoming EP of five cover songs paying tribute to the forefathers of extreme metal.
▶ Stream “The Evil That Men Do”
Originally released by Iron Maiden on their 1988 album “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, “The Evil That Men Do” stands as one of the band’s most enduring and energetic tracks. I Am Your God deliver it with the full force of their melodeath sound while staying faithful to the spirit of the original – a balance that sits at the heart of the “Foregods” project.
The cover holds particular personal weight for the band. Guitarist Matti Hietala brought the song to the table, tracing his entire musical journey back to Iron Maiden as the band that inspired him to pick up a guitar in the first place.
“When we started to discuss about doing cover songs, we wanted to bring in also songs and bands that are quite different from our own melodeath style. Iron Maiden is the best and biggest influence to metal music, and it’s also the band that inspired our songwriter Matti to start playing guitar in the beginning. Even though we could have made a cover from almost any song from the classic 80’s Maiden albums, Matti suggested the legendary ‘The Evil That Men Do’ to be the next cover song, because it’s so energetic and fun to play.”
“Foregods” will span five tracks from five defining bands in I Am Your God’s DNA – Children of Bodom, In Flames, Sentenced, and Dissection joining Iron Maiden on the tracklist. Each band member brought one pick to the table, resulting in an EP that doubles as both tribute and statement of artistic identity.
“The Evil That Men Do” follows the “Foregods” lead single, a cover of Children of Bodom‘s “Are You Dead Yet?“, released on Alexi Laiho’s birthday in April. The releases arrive in an active year for the band, who are set to perform at Rockholm Festival and Summer Breeze Open Air (August 12–15, Dinkelsbühl, Germany) – the latter a fitting stage given Iron Maiden‘s lasting influence on the festival circuit.
