Ever listened to Metallica and thought "This is good, but what if I want to relax"? Admittedly, thrash metal isn't usually the go-to genre when people are looking to unwind, but that could yet change, for we've just heard YouTuber Benj Ellerby covering Ride The Lightning classic Fade To Black on a steel tongue pan drum.
Via his YouTube page, Ellerby has been using his drumming skills to create some seriously impressive and unique percussive compositions, experimenting with combinations of traditional drums and handpan/tongue pan drums.
One notable video sees him combine both approaches for what he calls 'new age prog metal' - and in fairness it does sound like something Tool would go for, while another has him offering traditional metal drum tracks to themes from classic Sega Megadrive/Genesis games.
Ellerby's latest video sees him set against a suitably tropical backdrop of Chukwani Beach in Zanzibar, Tanzania, as he takes on the first thrash ballad, Fade To Black. Transported onto a steel tongue pan drum, the cover sounds like the kind of tune you might hear in the background of a massage parlour or restaurant, irritatingly familiar yet soothing and unobtrusive as you unwind.
Granted, we don't think it'll please hardcore thrash fans - they weren't best pleased when Metallica broke out the acoustic guitars in 1984, so you can only imagine how they'd feel about hearing the song entirely percussively on a steel tongue pan drum - but iit is a pretty brilliant way of reimagining a metal classic.
It does beg the question though - how would something like Raining Blood sound? The mind boggles...
