Depeche Mode Dave happy to influence metal acts

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By ( Louder ) published

Synth pop icon tells of his love for Tool and RATM and says Metallica "write pop songs"

Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan says he can hear a correlation between his band and metal acts like Metallica.

The electro pop icons have often been cited as influences on metal and rock acts and Gahan admits he is a fan of the likes of Tool and Rage Against The Machine.

And he is more than happy that Depeche Mode have made a positive impression on the world of rock and metal.

Gahan tells Rolling Stone: “I have a great respect for heavy rock stuff. Metallica are a heavy-sounding band, but they write pop songs. They’ve got their dark moments, just like Depeche Mode have, but deep in there is a tune with a catchy chorus or a pop arrangement.

“Certainly bands like Metallica, Marilyn Manson, Smashing Pumpkins – though I wouldn’t necessarily call those metal bands – but Metallica really do their own thing and always have.”

As for his own admiration for heavier groups, Gahan adds: “I’ve always liked Tool. In fact, the guitar player Adam Jones used to come over to my house a lot. His girlfriend was a roommate of this girl that was living with us, so he used to hang out with us when they were just coming up. I got to see them in a lot of little clubs, but you knew immediately they had something really special.”

And on RATM, he says: “It’s just great innovative guitar playing, using the guitar in an unconventional way. It’s in the same way that years and years ago, people like Jimmy Page were playing the blues, but much louder.”

Rammstein famously covered Depeche Mode’s Stripped, while Ghost released a cover of the English group’s track Waiting For The Night.

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.