Metal Band \m/ DragonForce \m/ Covers Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”
I don’t know if this is the most abominable thing I’ve ever heard, or the most epic, or the most accidentally comical. Either way, it is probably worth a listen.
The completely over-the-top Nintendo-inspired speed metal fantasy-driven über band DragonForce decided that for their upcoming album Maximum Overload out August 18th, they would cover none other than The Man in Black’s iconic country standard, “Ring of Fire”. And no, DragonForce is not “going country.” This is all about DragonForce bringing their insanely complex and super fast heavy metal sonic palette to Cash’s original composition.
Either Johnny Cash is rolling over in his grave so fast it’s registering on the Richter Scale, or the playing of this song will open up a portal of souls that will see all of country music’s legends come back to life in full body armor riding on the back of flying battle cats and armed with swords that shoot lasers to battle the forces of evil for the very fate of planet Earth for the next 10,000 years. Will this Johnny Cash cover convert scores of metal fans to the Man in Black? Maybe, but they’re apt to show up to Johnny Cash functions wearing shoulder pads with 14-inch spikes emanating from them and beating the shit out of each other with plastic battle axes. But hey, their money is green too I guess.
Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman formed DragonForce (originally called DragonHeart) in the United Kingdom in 1999. Much of their sound is inspired by the background music of 3rd generation video games, featuring high-register guitar peels and super fast tempos only thought to be playable by programed computer chips. DragonForce is somewhat polarizing in the metal world, seen as a gimmick by some, and lauded by others for their abilities. Appeal for their version of “Ring of Fire” will probably split down similar lines.
Sam Totman told the AV Club about the song selection,
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!!!
He’s certainly right on that last point.
August 9, 2014 @ 7:50 am
Interesting. This is not the first time such has happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9unWRsD2QQM
I’ll have to check that Dragonforce cover out later.
August 9, 2014 @ 8:11 am
Metal for life \m/
This will definitely open some minds up to Cash, although few country singers are as embraced and revered by the metal community as Johnny Cash anyway.
August 9, 2014 @ 8:56 am
I am not the worlds biggest Dragonforce fan, but that was enjoyable.
August 9, 2014 @ 9:18 am
I appreciate the intentions of this cover. It is not a totally original idea, but they play the living hell out of it. And the song is about danger, about playing with uncontrollable elements. They got that, I think.
Johnny Cash was always open to many influences, and found his material in a lot of
diverse sources, so this would probably be something he would dig, too.
August 9, 2014 @ 10:26 am
not much of a dragonforce fan but i do like the social distortion version of ring of fire
August 9, 2014 @ 3:46 pm
I was going to say the same thing.
August 9, 2014 @ 6:50 pm
Definitely! Mike Ness is the shit! Love that guy. And Social D covered it like 25 years ago!
August 9, 2014 @ 10:47 am
Woth a listen, once. Probably forget it exists now.
August 9, 2014 @ 1:26 pm
Wasn’t my cup of tea. But believe me, it could have been much worse. They could have done some shit ass FGL or Luke Bryan or Brantley GIlbert song…So there is that.
August 9, 2014 @ 6:04 pm
Trigger: shouldn’t that headline be “(Yet Another Band)…Covers June Carter Cash’s “Ring Of Fire”? After all, that’s what Johnny–and many others– did after Anita Carter first recorded it.
August 9, 2014 @ 6:32 pm
I hate it, sounds terrible. Cant stand the high pitch guitar squeals, ungodly fast tempo, crappy vocals, and its just over produced.
August 10, 2014 @ 9:31 am
“Either Johnny Cash is rolling over in his grave so fast it”™s registering on the Richter Scale, or the playing of this song will open up a portal of souls that will see all of country music”™s legends come back to life in full body armor riding on the back of flying battle cats and armed with swords that shoot lasers to battle the forces of evil for the very fate of planet Earth for the next 10,000 years.”
-I would only say this could happen if Dio had done a cover of this when he was alive!!
August 10, 2014 @ 5:56 pm
Maybe I’m crazy, but I liked it. Great rendition, it’s an original take. How many times do you want to hear the same song done the same way? Kudos
August 10, 2014 @ 6:27 pm
If it had been Doro Pesch singing it I might’ve liked it better, something about the female perspective makes this song even more powerful to me. Always was stunned to learn June wrote this.
August 11, 2014 @ 9:24 am
So so sick of Johnny Cash this and Johnny Cash that.
There have been so many covers of this song throughout the years. I can’t stand Johnny Cash because of oversaturation of his damn music. I wish I never heard of him until now so I could at least enjoy his legacy without cringing every time I hear his name.
August 11, 2014 @ 11:09 am
I loved that James Hetfield (Metallica) cover of Waylon’s Don’t Y’all Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand.
August 11, 2014 @ 11:17 am
Oh yeah, that’s another good one! Meant to link it too but never got around to it. Granted, it was just him and not the whole band, but I thought it was pretty cool.
August 12, 2014 @ 7:10 am
This would be really fun if they had picked a more obscure Cash-song, and, when asked in interviews, surprise everyone by saying it’s by Johnny Cash and they were fans for along time. Now it’s number 13 in the dozen.