“Masters of War” is one of Dylan’s most direct and effective protest songs, based on the traditional song “Nottamun Town.” Written during his protest song period, it is one of his Top 20 most covered songs, perhaps because of its directness.
Certainly that is what grandson is channeling in his new cover. grandson is a Canadian singer/rapper who has been releasing singles for nearly ten years and albums for five. He occupies a post-nu metal, post-Twenty One Pilots space where he combines pop-punk singing and rap with loud rock music.
grandson’s cover is built on an insistent guitar riff mostly on one string. It’s just that guitar and his voice for the first 45 seconds, but at that point the distorted guitars come in, along with drums and bass. And that is the general vibe of the song for most of the cover. grandson occasionally slips into a bit of a rap but mostly sings, and the band keeps most of its fury contained.
But if you ever wanted to hear a cover singer’s voice match the rage of Dylan’s lyrics, well this is the one for you. grandson sings the lyrics, and occasionally sort of raps them, in a pop-punk whine. But when it comes time to sing the penultimate stanza, grandson starts upping his intensity, culminating in an extremely appropriate metal scream on the verse’s final line. Having made his point, he omits the final verse as his band pummels away.
