A YouTuber has turned footage of an “exorcism” into a kick-ass heavy metal song.
Musician Andre Antunes, who boasts more than 870,000 subscribers, uploaded footage yesterday (February 6) of him adding guitars, bass and drums to a ritual by US televangelist Bob Larson.
The footage depicts Larson allegedly exorcising a demon, called Thor, from a young man, and many comments on Antunes’ video have noted how the “possessed” individual has a voice worthy of an extreme metal band.
“Man, metal vocalists have a hard time getting paying gigs in the Bible Belt,” says one comment.
Another adds: “Hats off to that glasses guy! Seems like a fun gig, I hope he's payed [sic] well.”
“The dude with glasses definitely needs to assemble death-black-metal Band!” writes another user.
Larson is an American pastor, author and TV/radio host who promotes himself as “The Real Exorcist”.
The reverend doctor is a controversial figure, especially in relation to rock music. Many of his writings allege that the culture around the genre is evil and satanic.
Larson’s 1983 book, Rock: For Those Who Listen To The Words And Don’t Like What They Hear, is promoted on Goodreads as “expos[ing] the rock culture as a dark world of occultism, drugs, and perverted sex”.
The description continues: “[Larson] analyzes the musical properties of the rock beat and shows how it can invade and influence a young person’s mind.
“This book will challenge you to look beyond the rock music conflict and reach out to your teenager with new sensitivity, understanding and love.”
Meanwhile, Antunes is already known online for turning viral clips and rants into metal songs.
The multi-instrumentalist has accrued 13 million hits with a 2017 video of him adding heavy metal instrumentation to the melody played by his washing machine at the end of a cycle. He also turned an infamous sermon by mega-pastor Kenneth Copeland, which “demanded judgement” on COVID-19, into a metal song in 2020, amassing upwards of five million views.
