Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has randomly come out with a version of Blink-182‘s iconic Dude Ranch anthem ‘Dammit’ and it’s — well — it’s ‘Dammit’ like you’ve never heard it before.
The heavy metal dude has transformed the pop-punk classic — whose eternally singable riff inspired a generation of high-schoolers to pick up a guitar — into a sombre Johnny Cash-style ballad.
“I’ve always loved Blink, and I wanted to cover ‘Dammit’, but I knew it had to be different,” Heafy explains on YouTube. “I thought in my head, ‘How would In Flames Jester Race/ Whoracle/ Colony -era do “Dammit”?’ Musically, this is that result.
“Vocally, I wanted to stick with that Johnny Cash covers album sorta range, but add in the fun harmonies that I love to do. The result is something I’m definitely proud of.”
Heafy’s stripped-back, down-tempo, low-octave melody, minor-key version of ‘Dammit’ is bizarre to be sure, but somehow it kind of works? Kind of?
See what you make of it below.