Metal goes gaming: August Burns Red cover The Legend Of Zelda theme

A concept: metalcore goes gaming.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been sinking many an hour into Breath of the Wild, the latest Zelda title, on my Nintendo Switch. And I'm completely and utterly in love with it! Despite the main plot just sorta being there, having the odd frame rate stutter and having weapons break quicker than those in Dark Souls 2, it's still an immersive, top-notch experience. For my money, it's not only one of the best Zelda entries, but one of the better open-world action-adventure titles of recent memory. It's a beautiful, sprawling game with so many great little details that immerse you even further into the world of Hyrule. Of course, a big part of the franchise's legacy is in part to the wonderful music that the games have featured since day one. And it seems that August Burns Red feel the same way about the music behind The Legend Of Zelda, what with the band recently interpreting the original game's main theme through their own metal lens.

August Burns Red doing covers is not a new thing: whether it's the band re-envisioning Christmas tunes or providing their take on pop hits. But it seems like they've run out of Xmas songs to reimagine, as they now offer a killer take on the main Zelda theme. Simply put, this instrumental cover is incredible. From it's soft and heavenly melodic intro, to the galloping drumming and string-skipping power metal leads that it erupts into - it's a blast. It's a soaring, speedy and melodic metal kick in the teeth in honour of the Triforce. It's cover made with real love and appreciation for the source material, and that shows in the final product. With a Link cosplay and an appearance from the Ocarina in the song's music video, this is a great treat for fans of August Burns Red and Zelda alike.

Speaking about choosing this cover and their love for the games, ABR bassist Dustin Davidson commented that:

“For the cover, I wanted to do a mash-up of not only the original theme, but other pieces from the game as well, and since the dungeon theme flirts with the diminished scale, it just made sense to put it into a metal cover. It was a lot of fun to write and record and I look forward to playing it on future tours!

Out of all of the games that I played growing up, I easily logged the most time into Zelda. My brother and I would come home from school, race to finish our homework, and fight over who got to play. But the thing was — we didn’t just have to fight each other — our mom was also in on the battle. My mom introduced us to Zelda on the original Nintendo, but the first game that I remember playing and really enjoying was A Link to the Past on SNES. Our love for the game only grew over the years and I’ll never forget the three of us watching and playing Ocarina of Time together on N64. Fast forward 20 years from Ocarina of Time’s release date to today, and you’ll find permanent ink not only on my skin, but on my brother’s as well. The series played a big role in our upbringing and we both got tattoos showcasing our love for a game that the three of us bonded over.”

Check out their cover and the original game's theme below. I think it's pretty safe to say that ABR has not only nailed the game's music but given it a great metal makeover too. Be sure to put this on while you're out exploring Hyrule next time. The band's new EP, ‘Phantom Sessions’, arrives February 8th via Fearless Records

What other video games theme would you like to see your favourite bands cover? Let us know! Thank you for reading as always.