Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black (cover)

Let's make something clear right at the very beginning. In case Rolling Stones has been missing from your life up to this point, I would like to ask you with the utmost respect: which galaxy are you from? Are you this humanoid alien or you have some special form? Because I don't know any other reason they passed you by without touching you in any way.

Actually I don't even want to waste any word about them. Everything has been written, everything has been told, books and documentaries were released about them. Their impact is tangible on a row of generations. Entire families visit their gigs, from grandparents to grandchildren. Even if you may not like what they are doing

though that's not an option at all, just sayin'

you must respect them, because without them even Cygnus Rock Band wouldn't be here.

And that would be a catastrophe.

This cover by Cygnus is a well deserved nuclear explosion. I'm guessing only, but for sure they rubbed again some radioactive material around the studio, into the walls and the floors

making the entire International Atomic Energy Agency cry, plus surely all the UFO-worshippers appeared there, because the radiation was approx. equal to the arrival of an entire alien army

and then they set the "NUKE THEM" potentiometer of the mixing console in the studio on the "Chernobyl" level.

you know, there's the usual 1-10 scale for this control, then "10+1", "10+2", "Are you crazy?", "mushroom cloud" and finally "Chernobyl ☢"

Ruxx doesn't screw around much, he hits the snare and the floor tom very hard from the beginning

it always makes me watching him in awe what he can do with a simple studio drumset; again and again I have to say it out loud that you don't need a super-sized drum kit to make the listeners' ear drums explode

immediately joined by Deneb's deeply gruntling bass. Blu probably rasped the strings of his guitar a bit before recording

or gods know, maybe some studio magic was added to sound this raw; knowing these Colombians and their magical potions hidden in the studio I wouldn't be surprised if the guitar's rough sound included some extra secret Cygnus spice based on their own recipe

and after all this I have only one question left for these men.

What is the secret behind the sitar sound?... 

This one puzzles me. The original song does include a real sitar, played by Brian Jones. Here in this cover I do hear the sound of the sitar. I have no idea how they made it, what kind of magic or witchcraft they used, but it's perfect. 

I by default love the sound of sitar and I happily listen to Indian ragas any time. So, it wasn't just a pleasant surprise for me, but I appreciate from my heart that everyone's favorite rockers pamper my ears with the sitar sound. I have no idea how they achieved it, but a hug definitely goes out to them for this.

What I especially love is how Ruxx adds extra percussions. This way the sound - and the whole atmosphere - doesn't just get "exotic", but for me it's like reaching back to the ambience of the original song, while keeping up the 21st century sound and the trademark Cygnus Rock Band spirit.

And needless to say, for me it's again the clearest sign on how much they always give 120%.

Reny adds harmonies to the song and the other thing I especially like is the contrast between the 1st-3rd and the 2nd-4th verse. This contrast can be seen in the original as well, but in this cover it gets much more emphasis. In the even-numbered stanzas the rhythm section powers up. The radioactive level skips the "Chernobyl" unit of measure and these two rockers, Deneb and Ruxx again give us a perfect example of how the drummer and the bassist need to work together; super precise, accurate drums,

I remember I was joking around at a time calling Ruxx "The Humane Metronome"

now I confess it wasn't a joke, I spoke the truth

and punchy absolutely sweeping, gruntling, aggressive, kick-you-in-the-face bass.

The third thing I especially like is Deneb's voice.

He is singing this cover and the truth is, I got to know a new side of his talent listening to this song.

I've written here countless times about the myriad of shades I hear in his mellow, rich baritone. He can sing with deep passion, with heart-melting softness, he can make you shiver, you can feel the rain of a smoky Friday evening in his voice and he can be like an Uruk-hai berserker. And here his voice is like a whiplash. It hits you, but it won't hurt; it will bleed, but you crave for more. It's full of passion, and while it does ignite a fire in you, you want to fuel it to burn even more. And it has got a secret skill, too. It finds a way deep into your ears, so that once you heard it, you will never forget it anymore. It's like velvet, but at the same time it's full of fangs. No, it's not painful at all, on the contrary. You crave for more, you secretly wish he would sing like that much more often, you worship his talent and you get addicted.

The end of the song brings the catharsis with the massive bass

the thing is, the bass is so brutal it knocked me out, I'm writing this from the wall, momentito, I'll be off and back on my seat within a few secs

and powerful drums; again a textbook example of how the rhythm section should always work.

And now you kindly start the song over.