Connections part 3 Chris Isaak and His Infernal Majesty

Chris Isaak first hit it big when songs from his first album were featured in David Lynch's Blue Velvet but "Wicked Game" is by far his most memorable music legacy (incidentally, also featured in another David Lynch production albeit as an instrumental). The clip too, shot in black and white and featuring Chris and supermodel Helena Christensen rolling around on a beach was an instant classic too, later being voted number 1 in MTV's Sexiest Video Ever countdown. This was all back in 1991.



Seven years later, Finnish tongue in cheek love metal band, His Infernal Majesty widely known both for the heartagram logo as well as their acronym HIM, recorded their palm muted metal inspired tribute by listening to a tape copy of David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" soundtrack and thus this new version was born. I'm pretty impressed with HIM's vocalist Ville Valo's vocals (sorry, I just had to write that). Just like there being no good covers of Morrisey songs, Chris Isaak's emotionally charged vocals are nigh impossible to recreate with the same amount of intensity and feeling but I feel Ville did a great job of getting close. Great vocals and a great metal intepretation of the original make for a great cover. It doesn't surpass the original but instead adds a new twist on an old favourite.