As you may or may not know, Miley Cyrus has announced she’s doing a full album of Metallica cover songs. Not exactly the best news for Metallica fans. They weren’t that receptive of Metallica’s covers album, Garage Inc., so I can’t imagine Miley Cyrus doing a full album of Metallica songs will be received any better. However, I ran across an interesting article about her announcement from Kerrang writer David McLaughlin. He says:

“Have you ever been on Miley Cyrus’ Instagram? She has a jaw-dropping 116 million followers on there – all of whom seem switched on, engaged and full of love for her every move and utterance.

For an illustrative point of comparison, the undisputed kings of metal are currently sitting at 7.1 million followers on Instagram. This isn’t just a numbers game, though. It’s about who the people behind them are. And we’re fairly certain there’s almost zero crossover between the two audiences, which means a lot of people who don’t know or care who Metallica are, are about to be exposed to them – possibly for the first time in many cases. Some gatekeepers inexplicably think this is A Bad Thing.

Scoff at that if you must, but Miley Cyrus doesn’t need anyone’s approval to cover Metallica – a band she loves as much as you do. Metal is a community that prides itself on its openness, diversity, and willingness to extend a warm welcome to any and all who bow down and worship in the church of noise, yet so many get bent out of shape when something like this happens.”

David McLaughlin is correct: Miley Cyrus doesn’t need our approval or permission to cover Metallica songs. She only needs Metallica’s approval – but that doesn’t mean I have to care or listen to it.

He’s also correct when he says it could turn a few of Miley’s tens of millions of female teeny-bopper fans into metal fans. That’s great for them, but again, I don’t care. I don’t need to be told by Miley Cyrus of Metallica’s greatness. I’ve known that for decades, since before Miley was singing Hannah Montana songs – but thanks anyway.

If she truly loves Metallica and wants to do this, more power to her. I just find it ironic that she has all this singing talent and yet can’t find it in herself to make any compelling original music with it, and has lately relegated herself to singing other people’s songs, from mostly legendary rock bands and artists.

And sorry, this doesn’t count as compelling:

Shouldn’t it be the job of metal bands to spread the message and appeal of heavy metal? I don’t remember metal bands in the ‘80s and ‘90s relying on pop artists to get the word out about their music.

Can you imagine if in 1989, Madonna announced she was doing a Metallica covers album? Metallica fans would’ve been rioting and committing seppuku in the streets. Or Pantera in the ‘90s? All hell would’ve broken loose in the metal community.

Is it realistic to believe that any significant percentage of Miley Cyrus fans are going to become metal-heads because she’s doing an album of Metallica cover songs?

Is One going to be one of the songs she covers: a song about a soldier who loses his arms and legs and ability to communicate with the outside world in a war and wants to die? McLaughlin says there’s zero crossover between Miley Cyrus’s fans and Metallica’s fans. Yeah, there’s a reason for that – and no, that’s not A Bad Thing.

You could take the analysis further and ask if this hyper politically-correct Millennial/Gen Z/whatever you want to call them generation has any rock and roll spirit in them at all. Not from what I’ve seen.

If this was the Wilson sisters from Heart, Amy Lee from Evanescence, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, or any other female artist with any past history of compelling music, I would be much more intrigued.

I know artists grow and mature as time goes on, so maybe I’m being too hard on Miley. Maybe this is part of a musical awakening she’s undergoing that could possibly turn into something that transcends what she’s done musically up to this point. I’m willing to give her that chance, but my expectations will remain low in the meantime.