When someone decides to cover a song, something in the pop music genre is often the go-to. But Sint Martinuskerk church has no interest in being typical. In Weert, during Netherland’s Torenfestival (a.k.a. the “Tower Festival”), carillon musician Frank Steijns played Sint Martinuskerk’s Medieval church bells to the tune of Motörhead’s classic “Ace of Spades.”
We discovered the video via The A.V. Club and though I am not a metalhead myself, trust me, you’re going to want to listen to this cover.
Steijns performs the church bell cover for onlookers and festival goers from way up above in the 15th-century church. You can see the audience go from “what exactly is this?” to clearly enjoying the unique performance. Some even start bobbing along to the incredible sounding bells and guitar. According to an interview with Classic FM, the musician has played the church’s carillon, basically the bells, for over 27 years. Guitarist Jitse Zonneveld joined him for these special performances.
The church bells cover is so well-liked, the British metal band even shared it on Twitter.
Here's one we really like. Enjoy!https://t.co/BIQwxeRvUP
— Official Motörhead (@myMotorhead) August 5, 2021
Though this cover definitely stands out, the band has been honored in various inspired ways. For example, the Tumblr account Kitten Covers. Though the site is now pretty much defunct (no updates since 2012), the kitten cover of the metal band is definitely one for the books. However, if you’re looking for a more traditional homage, there’s also a Lemmy bronze statue in The Rainbow Room, a popular bar located on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip.
Though the Netherland’s festival is now over, don’t worry. You can still enjoy Steijns cover. Motörhead shared it on their official YouTube channel.
Yolanda Machado is the West Coast News Editor for Nerdist. Her bylines have also appeared in TheWrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Elle, GQ, and more.
