Tokage

What type of tribute bands? Tribute bands playing covers, or tribute bands who write original tracks but does everything in their power to make it sounds like the original band?

If it's the first, which I assume, I can not tell you because for most part it's lame as fuck. If it's the latter it's because it's awesome.

yeah, i mean the first one, like the million beatles / the doors / pink floyd etc. tribute/imitation acts out there

there's honestly no point to just blandly covering an artist's songs the exact same way they originally played them (but worse)

I agree. If you're gonna make a cover song, album or whatever, the least you can do is to make the track your own. Make it sound like you made it.

Moonsorrow's cover of Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a perfect example of how I want my cover song. If you're familiar with the original you'll easily recognize it, but aside from the lyrics which is sung in English as opposed to their usual Finnish  the entire track sounds like an authentic Moonsorrow track. Sounds like they wrote it.

You don't have to like it, but that's how you make a cover IMO.