Think of Judas Priest, and what springs to mind? Leather, studs, whips and heavy bastard metal, that’s what. What you don't think of is sipping margaritas while wearing deck shoes as a smooth version of the metal gods’ 1982 screamer Electric Eye drifts gently in the background.
But that’s precisely the scenario YouTuber Andy Rehfeldt has dreamed up with his yacht rock version of the Screaming For Vengeance classic.
If you don't know what yacht rock is, it’s pretty much the sound on constant loop running through the head of that rich, crazy uncle who wears Hawaiian shirts and takes off for three months every year to sail around the Caribbean, just cos he can. Think Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oates – music so smooooooth it makes Bon Jovi sound like Dying Fetus.
Thing is, it’s kind of addictive, as this Electric Eye reimaging proves. All the flash-bang guitars and heavy metal thunder has been stripped away and replaced with some easy jazz vibes. Brilliantly, though, Rob Halford’s original vocals fit perfectly – suggesting that if that Lady Gaga duet never comes off, he could always put a call in to Kenny Loggins.
So put on your captain‘s hat, pour yourself a cold one, crank it up (not too loud, mind) and sit back and let the insanity of 2020 just fades away…
