Smash Mouth’s pop-rock anthem and Shrek staple “All Star” is decidedly not metal. But in the hands of family band The Harris 3, the feel-good jock jam became a crushing death metal song on a recent episode of the new Nickelodeon competition show America’s Most Musical Family.
The Harris 3 was originally called Mommy’s Lil Monsterz, but renamed themselves for the TV appearance. The band consists of father Jason Harris on guitar, his 14-year-old son Ashton on drums, and his 11-year-old son Trent on lead vocals, which are bewilderingly guttural in true death-metal fashion. For his age, Trent has some serious prowess on the mic, and the judges approved.
“I’ve never seen death metal, ever, like ever,” said judge and YouTube star David Dobrik. “And Trent, I am so glad that you are the one who introduced it to me. Because that was a ride — that was so much fun.”
R&B star and fellow judge Ciara added, “No one has been up here, bringing the style that you just brought. So, Trent, when you opened up your voice and you went to the low end of your voice — to have that full sound at your age is crazy.”
If the cover got you excited for more, Mommy’s Lil Monsterz are working on their debut album, Welcome to yhe MetalFam, which we’ll file next to our Grindmother records and climate activist Greta Thunberg’s death-metal charity single, “How Dare You”.
If it’s any indication of death metal’s growing popularity in the cultural consciousness, the genre has made a few appearances on television programs this year, being featured on South Park and as a question on Jeopardy!.
Watch The Harris 3’s performance of “All Star” below and keep up to date with their upcoming album via Facebook.