How 'The Metal Side of the Moon' Turned Pink Floyd's 'Us and Them' and 'Time' Into Thrash Metal Anthems
The 2010 tribute album The Metal Side of the Moon took Pink Floyd’s prog-rock masterpiece and ran it through a gauntlet of distorted guitars, double bass drums, and aggressive vocal delivery. The cover of “Time” opens with a blast of wah-wah pedal and a machine-gun kick drum pattern that replaces the iconic ticking clocks with a sense of frantic urgency — the lyrical theme of wasted time becomes a headbanger’s war cry rather than a melancholic reflection. “Us and Them” gets a similar treatment: where the original floated on saxophone and quiet tension, the metal version layers chugging palm-muted riffs and a shouted chorus, transforming the song’s anti-war sentiment into something more confrontational.
The album was assembled by guitarist Bob Katsionis (Firewind) and features a rotating cast of session musicians. “Us and Them” is performed with a raw, almost thrash-metal production, the bass drum triggering a relentless 16th-note pattern that drives the verses. The vocalist (often uncredited in liner notes) delivers the lines about “black and blue” with a raspy snarl, stripping away any trace of the original’s ethereal harmony. Conversely, “Time” retains the song’s soaring lead guitar melody but doubles it with a second guitar playing a harmonized, heavy riff underneath — a trick that makes the familiar progression feel heavier without losing its melodic core.
While purists might scoff at the lack of subtlety, the covers succeed because they treat Floyd’s songwriting as structural material rather than sacred text. The double bass drums don’t just add speed; they alter the rhythmic feel, pushing “Us and Them” into a 4/4 stomp that’s more MTV Headbangers Ball than Dark Side of the Moon. The album as a whole is a curious artifact of the late-2000s tribute boom, when shred guitarists and metal producers rediscovered classic rock albums as raw material for technical displays. For listeners wondering what “Time” sounds like with a drop-tuned guitar and a blast beat, this version delivers exactly