Metallica singer James Hetfield has received his fair share of vocal criticism over the decades, but surely putting his voice over the famed bubbly instrumental of Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’ would only improve things? The answer is a resounding…maybe?
Bill McClintock of YouTube channel McClintock Mashups has returned with a fun mixing of the two vastly different bands (as per Metal Injection).
Cleverly titled ‘Land Down One-der’, the mashup puts Hetfield’s grizzly vocals from Metallica’s ‘One’ atop the instantly recognisable instrumental of ‘Down Under’.
Is it a match made in heaven? Is it one of the most grating musical creations ever? You can listen and decide for yourself below – it’s never anything less than interesting.
Tone Deaf has featured the quirky work of McClintock before, including last year’s mashup of Slayer and Prince in the genuinely groovy ‘Crazy Black Magic’.
The mashup brought together the former’s ‘Black Magic’ and the latter’s ‘Let’s Go Crazy’, alongside a little sprinkling of the Led Zeppelin classic ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Van Halen’s ‘I’m the One’ for good measure.
‘One’ was the third and final single from Metallica’s 1988 album …And Justice for All. The song won the metal icons a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance the following year. ‘One’ has remained a staple of Metallica shows ever since.
‘Down Under’ has seen more acclaimed remixes over the years. Just last year, Gold Coast electronic producer Luude reworked the song as a drum and bass track.
Luude’s version received the seal of approval from Men At Work’s Colin Hay, who recorded new vocals for the club track. And it paid off, with the remixed ‘Down Under’ reaching number 65 on 2021’s triple j Hottest 100, and peaking at number 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
It also gave Luude his first U.K. top 10 entry, and remarkably only the second for Hay, when it reached the fifth spot in the country in February.
