Track listing: What God Wants
The genre of Ben Sebastian's musical pursuits are described pretty simply and accurately as an "epic symphonic and maniacally progressive metal." Living up to the billing is his latest endeavor: a metal interpretation of Roger Waters' own epic of near-14-minutes "What Got Wants (parts I, II, and III)." Sebastian has taken a few creative liberties, whittling down the original to a cool 5-1/2 minutes, while not at all sacrificing the emotional intensity of its inspiration.
Personally, when I hear any cover song the least interesting approach is to recreate a note-for-note copy of an original artist's work. Why even bother? Just give me the original! Well, there's no mistaking Sebastian for Waters. As evidenced in the lyric video for "What God Wants," what we're experiencing is Ben Sebastian's requisite onslaught of heaviness--blast beats, growl-scream vocals, symphonic synths, the whole works! And with the video, we're treated to his now trademark AI-generated visual accompaniment, pulling in many of Waters' original lyrical elements.
God wants sedition
God wants sex
God wants freedom
God wants semtex
What God wants God gets
Don't look so surprised
I'm only joking
The alien comic cried
The jackass and hyena
Took the feather from its hook
The monkey in the corner
Wrote the joke down in his book
Sebastian explains some of his editorial choices when it comes to the arrangement and lyrics:
"Purists will note that the total 14 minutes of the three parts have been condensed, and some of the lyrics omitted, even changed to suit the music. I chose this route to keep a metal pace, and bring a couple of lyrics up-to-date either by their omission, or by their tweaking to fit. However, on the whole, I believe I kept as close to the original as is possible when transposing such work into a metal format."
What would be amazing is to be able to get feedback from Waters himself. If anyone knows anyone connected with the Pink Floyd founder, please direct him to this cover. If I had to wager a guess, more than a 'like' or 'dislike' reaction, Waters' might have a deep appreciation for the passion put into to such a unique interpretation of his work. I hope we get to find out one day.
In the meantime, give Ben Sebastian a follow on all the major social and streaming mediums. You can find all of his relevant platforms at: faceripperrecords.com.