For those of us lucky enough to remember being in a theater in 1977, watching that now famous title crawl and listening to the never-before-heard opening strains of John William’s incredible Star Wars main theme, it was the experience of a lifetime. Nothing could prepare you for that experience. Now, after 40 years, fandom has stepped up to take a sort of visceral ownership of Star Wars. It’s part of our culture now. It’s ours to live in.

Today’s video selection is the brainchild of Carson Slovak and Grant MacFarland, and is the logical extension of that first moment, in the form of a band called Galactic Empire. They perform Star Wars music as heavy metal in full costume. In this video, they have also added a full digital set to the mix, using visual effects to put the finishing touch on their recreation of the universe originally imagined by George Lucas.

Boba Fett is on drums. That’s Darth Vader on lead guitar. A Storm Trooper is on bass, which is probably a good thing.

If he were on drums, he’d miss every note.  It’s a Storm Trooper thing.

Darth Vader (guitar) had the following to say:

“These instruments are crude but should be adequate to shred some faces as we journey across the galaxy. We have been doubling our efforts to complete our debut full-length album in time for the Emperor’s arrival. If you are not part of the Rebel Alliance or a traitor, buy our single on iTunes and prepare to succumb to the Dark Side upon our album’s release.”

Just as epic are the band’s behind the scenes videos. In one of them, we see Darth Vader having to come to terms with the fact that the guitar just doesn’t sound as good if you’re playing with gloves on. In another, Chewbacca is an intern just trying to get the coffee maker to work and not having the best time doing it.

Grant MacFarland plays Boba Fett. Carson Slovak is the Storm Trooper. C.J. Masciantonio is the Shadow Trooper. Chris Kelley is Darth Vader, and Josh Willis is the Imperial Guard.

The attention to detail is just jaw-dropping, and the music itself is pretty great too. We hope you enjoy today’s selection.

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SCIFI Radio Staff

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