Canadian folk-pop duo Fionn recently appeared on Musora's “Covers” series, which challenges artists to cover a song, usually from a different genre than their own, by hearing the original song for the first time.
The group's twin sisters, Alanna and Brianne, were surprised when Musora's producers revealed the song they would have to cover, although their guitarist quickly recognized Serj Tankian's imitable voice.
“System of a Down,” he exclaims as the song “Toxicity” begins to play.
According to the duo's official biography, Fionn's own style of folk-pop is inspired by the sisters' “Celtic roots,” and they immediately capture that recognizable musical tension in the song's opening verse.
“It sounds quite Celtic in this part,” comments one of the sisters.
From there, Fionn embarks on a performance of its cover, deconstructing the arrangement and transposing it into his own musical style, eschewing SOAD's alt-metal aesthetic in favor of softer sounds. Musora's video allows the viewer to participate in this process, as the musicians deliberate on how to perform the song effectively.
The final performance is surprisingly professional and clean, and the twin sisters' voices are well suited to Tankian's commanding voice. While it's not metal in the slightest (this is a folk act, after all), the band still manages to nail the build-up and climax of the song, injecting the aforementioned Celtic flavors. Assigning the guitar solo to the keyboardist was an especially clever touch, and the overall volume of the original song is maintained throughout.
You can watch the full clip of Fionn learning and covering “Toxicity” by System of a Down below.
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