Galactic Empire Give ‘Star Wars’ Theme a Heavy Metal Makeover

A band calling themselves Galactic Empire have delivered an epic metal version of composer John Williams’ famous Star Wars theme music.

As it turns out, Galactic Empire consists of some pedigreed metal men—Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland of Atrium Audio, who have produced bands like August Burns Red and Rivers of Nihil; members of Alustrium; and, on this song, a guest vocal from Black Crown Initiate singer James Dorton.

Says guitarist “Darth Vader”: “These instruments are crude but should be adequate to shred some faces as we journey across the galaxy. We have been doubling our efforts to complete our debut full-length album in time for the Emperor’s arrival. If you are not part of the Rebel Alliance or a traitor, buy our single on iTunes and prepare to succumb to the Dark Side upon our album’s release.”

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments!

Richard Bienstock

Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.