Machine Gun Kelly and his band (pictured above) performed a cover version of System a Down's Toxicity finale "Aerials" when they appeared on The Howard Stern Show this week (March 30).
But Kelly seemed aware that he doesn't quite possess the vocal prowess of System of a Down's Serj Tankian. The rapper-turned-rocker even suggested he wasn't aiming to replicate Tankian's sound from the original. (Earlier this year, some took issue with MGK's vocals on his Paramore and Linkin Park covers).
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
Ahead of the performance, Stern remarked to Kelly, "When you choose something to cover, it's gotta be a band you respect, and today you're gonna do a cover of a band that I love — System of a Down. I played their music in the '90s when I was at KROQ and all that shit. That's a great band, right?"
"Great band," MGK replied. "Yeah, we toured with them for a summer, doing these festivals in Europe. They blew our mind every night; we were like, 'whoa.'"
As for choosing the Toxicity hit to perform on Stern, Kelly explained, "We've never done 'Aerials' at all. I'm here to just jam it and see what happens. Serj's voice is so untouchable. I'm just here to jam and have some fun. You asked for a cover, so we were like, yeah, let's do this."
After the performance, Stern responded, "Holy shit! You gotta do that in concert — that worked."
MGK's Mainstream Sellout emerged on March 25. It contains singles such as "Papercuts," "Emo Girl" (featuring Willow), "Ay!" (featuring Lil Wayne) and "Maybe" (featuring Bring Me the Horizon). He'll tour North America this summer. Last month, Kelly told pop-punk bands that he earned his success in the genre.
The original "Aerials" was System's second single from 2001's Toxicity. It's previously been covered by artists including Naregatsi Ensemble and mashed up by DJ William Maranci.
Machine Gun Kelly, "Aerials" (System of a Down Cover) - Live on The Howard Stern Show
