VIOLINS NO MORE

I always enjoy hearing interpretations of metal songs done in other styles of music. When you take away all the distortion, the abrasive drums and the vocals, what’s left? Especially with classical renditions, the emphasis shifts from the overall feeling the song gives you to what’s actually happening in the song compositionally and harmonically. You’re left with a stripped-down shell that’s a much truer representation of what the song is really all about.

U.K. violinist Oliver Lewis’ rendition of Faith No More’s “Woodpecker from Mars” isn’t really a whole new take on the song, per se — he’s simply improvising over the recorded version of the track — but it’s interesting to hear how his chosen violin melodies weave in and out of what the band is doing and create a unique texture of their own. With a little bit of imagination you can almost envision what a full-on orchestra rendition of this song would sound like… and I think it’d sound pretty rad.

Lewis, by the way, is the Guinness World Record holder for “fastest violinist;” he performed “Flight of the Bumblebee” live on BBC1’s Blue Peter in 1 minute 3.356 seconds. Interesting that he choses not to show off those skills in this video, instead choosing to play what fits best with the song.

-VN