MUSIC | COVERS | AMAZING GRACE
Can Metal Do It Better?
Can Dan Vasc’s metal cover of “Amazing Grace” stand up against the best?
There are some songs that touch your heart, cause shivers up your arms, and make you feel the artist spoke directly to you.
“Amazing Grace” is undeniably one of those songs.
As a child being forced to go to church, it was my favorite hymn. It seemed as if the male baritone took on a different intensity when they sang this one song. Sitting in the middle of church, feeling small and insignificant, it was the only song that made me feel as if there was a purpose to giving up my Sundays.
Then, “Amazing Grace” was forever etched into my soul when played at my grandfather’s funeral. The song gave me permission to cry and also, somehow, gave me strength through my tears.
That’s the beauty of the song. The lyrics are haunting, the melody pure, and it allows the breadth of emotions to run without self-control.
The Chasanoff/Elozua “Amazing Grace” Collection at the Library of Congress has an amazing archive of over 3000 published recordings — and those are only recordings from the 1930s and 2000.
