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Signs of the Swarm release cameo-filled video for Rob Zombie's 'Dragula'

The cover's video features Bam Margera and Will Ramos, among others.

Signs of the Swarm Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie sings into a microphone and points off stage, wearing black stage clothes with his long dreadlocks loose.
Rob Zombie, who recorded Dragula, performing at Nova Rock in Austria in June 2014. Photo: Alfred Nitsch, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, via Wikimedia Commons

Signs of the Swarm have released a cover of Rob Zombie's 1996 classic "Dragula," reworking the song with the Pittsburgh deathcore band's own slowed-down, breakdown-heavy spin on the riff.

The accompanying video matches the chaos of the cover, showing the band riding around on a Polaris Slingshot in clown gear while packing in cameos from a long list of friends, including fellow Pennsylvanian Bam Margera and Lorna Shore's Will Ramos.

Drummer Bobby Crow said the band had been searching for the right song to cover for years. "We tossed up so many ideas, from The Prodigy, to Slayer, to Static-X," he said, before the band landed on "Dragula" almost by accident while joking around about what a Signs of the Swarm version might sound like.

Singer David Simonich said the video took on a life of its own once shooting began. "This video kind of spiraled out of control in the best way possible," he said, adding that the band leaned into a looser, more chaotic approach once plans for a straight recreation of the original video fell through.

The cameo list grew as word spread through the band's touring network, eventually including August Burns Red's Matt Greiner sitting in on drums, 156/Silence's Jack Murray, the Last Ten Seconds of Life's Tyler Beam and pro skater Dalton Dern, who suggested one of the video's stunts himself.

The facts

  • Cover of Rob Zombie's 1996 song 'Dragula'
  • Video shot around Eastern Pennsylvania with the band in clown gear
  • Cameos include Bam Margera and Lorna Shore's Will Ramos
  • August Burns Red's Matt Greiner also appears, playing drums
  • Drummer Bobby Crow says the idea came together within a single day

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