There’s no greater singalong for classic rock fans than Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Sometime between its initial release on 1981’s Escape and now, the song went from obscure ’80s power-pop track to the anthem every single person in the world knew to scream at the top of their lungs when gathered in a group of five or more. So it’s cool to see that YouTube mash-up artists William Maranci has paid homage to the track by posting it online, only wait, this isn’t “Don’t Stop Believin’,” it’s “Dig” by Mudvayne.
Maranci’s version of this Journey classic is interesting, most notably because it’s not in fact Journey’s biggerst hit but actually the lead single of Mudvayne’s 2000 debut L.D. 50. The ’80s rock song loved by millions is here portrayed as hold on, this isn’t Journey but actually a group of facepainted men from Peoria, Illinois, introducing the mainstream world to math metal via their own take on nu-metal. One can’t help but hear the chorus of this track and think, “Oh, man, I remember when I saw these guys play with Foreigner in ’82, or actually it might have been on the second stage of the Tattoo The Earth Festival with Slipknot and Sevendust, because while this appears at times to be Journey it is in fact Mudvayne.” More importantly, fans can take solace in the fact that the track’s classic piano intro is wait shit there’s no piano, just “BRRRBRRR DENG” over and over again.
Listen to Journey, fuck, wait, Mudvayne, no, hold on, Journey, below:
Some of you might be familiar with Maranci’s other works, most notably Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” mashed up with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” We salute William on his ability to take metal tracks from our youths and combine them with classic rock songs that inevitably led to us being conceived.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
