On the surface heavy metal music and fantasy seem like strange bedfellows. Until relatively recently, dragons and orcs weren’t exactly cool or mainstream. Groups like Led Zeppelin definitely were though, yet that didn’t stop the band from referencing The Lord of the Rings in their music. Despite the two genres seemingly being on opposite ends of the pop culture spectrum, the band knew combining fantasy and heavy metal makes sense. Maybe it’s because they both involve skilled people with long hair carrying around kickass instruments (whether they be swords or guitars). Or it might have something to do with them both being epic in nature. Whatever it is, the two are a natural fit, like this fantastic heavy metal cover of The Witcher‘s “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher.”
This rendition comes from musician Dan Vasc (who has his own Patreon page if you want to toss a coin to him). He not only sings on it, he did the arrangement and plays all of the instruments too. Even The Witcher‘s bard Jaskier needed a backing band to sing for Queen Calanthe. (Though in fairness to Jaskier, Dan Vasc probably wasn’t worried about being murdered by angry lords while he was performing. We certainly hope he wasn’t.)
For the first two-and-a-half minutes this is a genuinely great version of the song. The way the music swells and builds makes the “White Wolf” feel like the greatest, most important hero to walk any continent. But then at the 2:33 mark it goes to a whole other plane when Vasc starts scream-singing. It’s so impressive it makes our throats hurt to hear it. (We promise that’s a compliment.)
And like any great cover this makes us appreciate the original version even more. We didn’t even think that was possible. But only because we really, really, really love it. We basically haven’t stopped singing it since we first watched episode two.
Toss a coin to your Witcher
O’ Valley of Plenty
O’ Valley of Plenty
Oooooh
Toss a coin to your Witcher
A friend of humanity!
(You can find the full lyrics here.)
All fantasy shows and movies should be legally required to feature original songs sung by characters. When they are great, like Game of Thrones’ “ The Bear and the Maiden Fair” or “ Jenny of Oldstones,” they add so much texture to their stories. They help make their worlds feel lived-in and authentic. And then we also get the added benefit of people recording a whole bunch of great covers of them, especially heavy metal ones.
Would Geralt of Rivia like this heavy metal version anymore than he does Jaskier’s? No, definitely not. But would it probably get some more people to toss him a coin? We know it would make us fork over some money, because fantasy and heavy metal really go great together. They always have.
Featured Image: Netflix