Bad Wolves talk carrying on Dolores O’Riordan’s legacy following Cranberries singer’s tragic death: ‘There’s a responsibility’
On 15 January this year Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of The Cranberries, tragically passed away.
Her body was discovered at 9:05am at the Hilton Park Lane in London, and a few days later on 23 January she was laid to rest in Limerick.
Another icon was gone too soon.
On the day of her death the 46-year-old frontwoman was supposed to head into the studio to record new vocals for the band’s world-conquering 1994 single, Zombie. Dolores was laying down vocals after discovering that US metal band Bad Wolves had recorded a cover of the song.
Thrilled with the version the band had recorded she wanted to collaborate on the song with them – something which sadly never came to be.
Two months after Dolores’ death the band have released the song and it’s currently the number one viral song on Spotify globally, and has seen the band top the Billboard emerging artists chart.
AdvertisementAdvertisement
Sitting down with Metro.co.uk lead singer Tommy Vext and lead guitarist Doc Coyle reveal the bittersweet feeling that the track’s success has brought to them.
‘It’s a lot of mixed emotions there. You wanna be super stoked, but there’s also this responsibility – this weight – to carry with the song,’ explains Tommy (ex Divine Heresy).
The LA native was ‘a big fan’ of Dolores’ band and pushed Bad Wolves to do the cover, and that’s something that’s stuck with him.
‘It’s been a very heavy thing for me [as the singer],’ he admits. ‘There’s a lot of responsibility to do it right, but there’s also a lot of optimism in the way the public have responded to our rendition.’
Though the band never had direct contact with the late singer, the MD of their label in Europe, Dan Waite (Eleven Seven Records), ensured Dolores heard the track – given he was a family friend – and fed back her praise.
‘When she responded and said that she loved the song we knew that we had done the song justice,’ explains Tommy, adding that was all the ‘validation’ Bad Wolves needed to push on with putting their cover out.
‘A song that sold 40 million units worldwide and been this massive masterpiece… just to have her stamp of approval was enough. And now that’s kind of translated into carrying this song onto other generations, and to honour her body of work.’
More: New music
Doc (God Forbid and Lamb Of God) adds his own thoughts on what the song means to the band: ‘It’s a very powerful and weighty feeling being connected to someone that you’ve never met, but you feel connected to. It’s a very ethereal feeling.’
AdvertisementAdvertisement
A day after sitting down with us the American five-piece are in Ireland to perform the song live for the first time, on RTE One’s The Late Late Show.
Catching up with us following the performance, Tommy and the band were left in a state of nerves before their performance, knowing that this would mean so much to her family and fans in her home country.
‘Performing Zombie in Dolores’ home country was a very special experience,’ he explains. ‘The host of the Late Late Show, Ryan Tubridy, came to see us before the show to say that Dolores was a friend of the show, and how much the track had touched him – especially the video.
‘The whole band felt lifted by his words but we were also were quite nervous as we wanted to honour Dolores, and really do the song justice in front of her home audience – on top of that it was our first ever TV show as Bad Wolves, so there were multiple feelings and emotions.’
That said the performance went down a storm and the band started trending on Twitter thanks to their powerful yet soulful take on the classic song – Dolores would undoubtedly have been proud.
Zombie is out now and available on both iTunes and Spotify. The single is taken from Bad Woves’ upcoming debut album Disobey, which is released on 11 May.
Got a story?
If you've got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: The Cranberries to release new music following Dolores O’Riordan’s death
MORE: Slayer announce ‘the end is near’ as band confirm next world tour will be their last
AdvertisementAdvertisement
[contf] [contfnew] 
METRO
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
