Fame On Fire, courtesy.

If you’ve spent any time perusing the rabbit hole of hard rock content on TikTok or YouTube, you’ve likely come across the hard rock takes on pop hits by Fame on Fire. The group has taken on everyone from boy bands to Ed Sheeran and Lil Uzi Vert, transforming the tracks into riff-heavy rockers.

“Over the years, we indirectly studied how to write the top songs,” guitarist Blake Saul said. “I’m not saying we know how to write great songs, but it helped develop our core of taking something poppy and famous and making it heavy, or setting it on fire.”

The Palm Beach, Florida quartet has since harnessed that momentum into countless tours and on its sophomore album, 2022’s Welcome to the Chaos. Saul said the covers helped create the roadmap for Fame on Fire’s own material.

“It’s always a mix. We like to have a lot of the heavy rhythms and kind of get that aggression out, and then the top lines are catchy and get stuck in your head,” Saul said. “That’s kind of been ingrained in us.”

Fame On Fire will take to the road again this spring alongside Japanese alternative metal band SiM. The band has also released covers of songs by Tate McRae, Backstreet Boys, ‘NSYNC and Owl City, as well as a surprisingly haunting piano-driven arrangement of 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite.”

“It’s funny because we all have the same tastes in music, for the most part. I’m probably the only one that leisurely listens to country,” Saul said. “But as far as influence and what we do as a band and the product that we create, we all have the same vision.”

When it comes to original material, the process was typically very much kept in the family when it comes to writing, recording and producing. Looking for a change of pace for its in-progress next record, the group tapped producer Erik Ron, who’s worked with Panic at the Disco, Staind and New Years Day.

“You definitely get the freedom, but it’s almost like you get too much freedom and too much leeway,” vocalist Bryan Kuznitz said. “For our third record, we wanted that outside perspective, and we wanted somebody to keep us in line from going too far off the rails because it’s very easy to do.”

Bringing in that outside perspective has fostered a new dynamic but Fame On Fire has continued to push for what it likes. The creative differences have helped to elevate the songs and future album, Saul  said. That’s led to a higher level of trust among the members, including drummer Alex Roman and bassist Paul Spirou.

“It’s like a give and take where we’re trying to do best by ourselves by listening to us and listening to [Ron],” Kuznitz added.

In putting an emphasis on covers in its social media and online activities, the band created a gateway for new fans to discover its original work. During the band’s previous headlining run, the set list included just one cover, a take on Linkin Park’s “Numb.”

“A lot of people will ask us whether we are playing certain covers at our shows,” Kuznitz said. “Then they’re there in the front row singing all the words to the originals.”

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.