A heavy, down-tuned, brutal deathcore take on the industrial metal classic.
Dragged Straight to Hell: A Review of Signs of the Swarm’s “Dragula” Cover
Covering a late 90s industrial metal anthem is always a tightrope walk. Lean too heavily into nostalgia, and you’ve made a cheap karaoke track; stray too far, and you lose the hook that made the original a stadium rattling classic. For Pittsburgh deathcore powerhouses Signs of the Swarm, the solution was simple: strip away the bouncy cyber swagger, tune the guitars down to absolute subterranean depths, and pass Rob Zombie’s masterpiece through a shredder.
Released as a standalone single via Century Media, the band’s rendition of “Dragula” is less of a polite homage and more of a hostile takeover.
Working alongside producer Josh Schroeder, the band keeps the spine-tingling industrial beat loops intact just enough to anchor fans to the original DNA. But the moment the main riff kicks in, the track descends into pure, unadulterated extremity. The guitars are down-tuned to a visceral crawl, creating a suffocating atmosphere that completely recontextualizes the campy, horror-movie fun of Hellbilly Deluxe.
Vocalist David Simonich delivers a masterclass in modern extreme vocals. Instead of Zombie’s monotone, rhythmic sneer, Simonich trades in guttural growls and piercing, demonic shrieks that make the famous refrain (“Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches!”) sound genuinely apocalyptic. It treats the track with absolute heaviness while still retaining a tongue-in-cheek reverence for the source material.
A great metal cover needs to make you grin while it crushes you, and Signs of the Swarm pull that off effortlessly. They didn’t just play “Dragula” they dragged it kicking and screaming into the modern deathcore era, proving that great hooks are truly immortal.
The Concept: A Madcap, Modernized Homage
Directed by Eric DiCarlo, the music video for Signs of the Swarm’s “Dragula” started with a simple, nostalgic goal: do a shot for shot remake of Rob Zombie’s iconic late-90s original music video.
However, the band quickly ran into a roadblock when they couldn’t find the right vintage car to replicate the classic drag-racing aesthetic. Instead of giving up, they pivoted entirely by renting a Polaris Slingshot a futuristic, three wheeled autocycle that served as the polar opposite of Zombie’s retro ride. That twist inspired the entire vibe of the video: since they were modernizing and brutalizing the song itself, they decided to do the exact same thing with the video, throwing out their usual serious cinematic approach and letting loose.
What followed was a chaotic, snowballing party that brought out an insane roster of guest appearances.
The Star-Studded Cameos
The video quickly spiraled into a massive gathering of heavy metal royalty and unexpected icons:
- Bam Margera: The biggest “shot in the dark” for the band came together when director connections aligned, and the skateboarding legend—who was visiting the West Chester area—agreed to drop in for the shoot. He brought fellow pro-skater Dalton Dern along, the latter of whom pulled off a wild roof-drop ollie during the video.
- Will Ramos (Lorna Shore): Fresh off touring together, fellow deathcore powerhouse Will Ramos jumped into the madness.
- Trey Williams (Dying Fetus): In one of the video’s most humorous highlights, the Dying Fetus drummer was corralled into the shoot and dressed up in a full robot suit.
- Matt Greiner (August Burns Red): Representing Lancaster, the powerhouse metalcore drummer hopped on board to smash some drums alongside a video-accurate drum line (which also featured Galactic Empire’s Kevin Corkran).
- Other Heavy Metal Faces: The video also features appearances from Tyler Beam of The Last Ten Seconds of Life (showcasing his trademark mustache) and Jack Murray of 156/Silence.
Ultimately, the video captures a band at the top of their game deciding to stop taking themselves too seriously, resulting in a chaotic, high-energy celebration of heavy music culture.
SIGNS OF THE SWARM LINKTREE
