The Star Wars score and soundtrack is one of the greatest pieces of music ever created thanks to John Williams. However, Galactic Empire has taken the perfect score and said “let’s make it more metal.”
Galactic Empire may not be news to some people, but for those who don’t know of the band you have to give them a listen. The group was formed in 2015 and they’ve been shredding their way through the galaxy ever since. The band has taken Williams’ music and added their own flavor of metal.
The brainchild of Carson James Slovak (Bass Commander) and Grant McFarland (Boba Sett), both music producers, Galactic Empire tours the world in their cosplay giving us a glimpse of “what if Star Wars was more metal.” The band’s ability to take music we all know and twist it to the enjoyment of us metal fans is like no other. As producers, they’ve worked alongside a number of popular artists, such as August Burns Red and All That Remains. Fans of metal may know McFarland’s other band This or the Apocalypse.
Initially, McFarland courted a few fellow musicians to remix “The Imperial March” as a bit of fun, but the success of their first track lead to the remix and cover of tracks such as “Cantina Band,” “Duel of Fates,” “The Force Theme,” and of course the “Main Theme.”
The songs listed above were released on their debut self-titled album in 2017 with a follow up release featuring songs from the sequel trilogy entitled Episode II in 2018. The group has also have fun remixing The Book of Boba Fett theme song and a single of the classic Jurassic Park theme.
Some covers of any music just fall short of paying homage to the original source material, but listening to Galactic Empire riff away at the classic score leads you to think the music was created that way in the first place. If someone, don’t know who wouldn’t, didn’t know the Star Wars theme song they may think the band’s rendition of the song as record they way they play the music.
The band is made up of Darth Vader (lead guitar), Shadow Ranger (guitar), and Red Guard (guitar), along with the previously mentioned Boba Sett (drums) and Bass Commander (bass).
Galactic Empire is nearly perfect for nerds who are fans of both Star Wars and metal. The band’s ability to cleanly remix and cover such classic material is like no other. Messing with Williams’ score was a risky move, but they nailed it.
If you get a chance to take in a special performance by this amazing band, you should not miss the experience. Let’s also hope the group continues to take amazing Star Wars and other classic music and metal the hell out of it in the future.
