The men of England’s epic-metal troupe DragonForce have long dealt in soaring melody and triumphant precision. None of those qualities apply to Johnny Cash, which might be partly the reason why they’ve never covered Johnny Cash—until now. Their upcoming album Maximum Overload will feature a squealing, galloping rendition of “Ring Of Fire,” one of The Man In Black’s most recognized songs. (The track is being debuted here in all its maximumly overloaded glory.) Says DragonForce guitarist Sam Totman of the band’s unexpected choice of cover material:
“We got tired of hearing bands play covers exactly the same as the original and we always thought Johnny Cash was pretty cool. So we were like, let see what happens if we speed him up to 220BPM and plaster it with shredding guitars and huge soaring vocals and choirs! Basically give him an EXTREME DragonForce overhaul! Some people gonna love it, some might hate it but you definitely never heard Johnny Cash like THIS!!!”
Of that there can be no doubt.
Maximum Overload will be released August 19 via Metal Blade Records.