As Baron Corbin was announced as the "new WWE United States champion" this past Sunday at WWE's Hell In A Cell event, you may have heard a familiar voice singing Corbin's entrance theme. Bad Wolves frontman and former vocalist of Snot and Divine Heresy, Tommy Vext.
The song is called "I Bring the Darkness (End of Days)" and was created by longtime WWE composer Jim Johnston. We spoke to Vext who offered a bit of insight into how the collaboration came about. Here's the track, if you haven't heard it yet:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJnzfT44KXI[/youtube]
Vext has been friends with Corbin for a few years and they reconnected last year when Corbin spotted Vext in the crowd at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles. The two briefly discussed collaborating then and when Vext was getting press for filling in for Five Finger Death Punch, it reminded Corbin of their discussion and he put Vext in touch with Johnston.
Vext initially recorded a version of the song that sounds entirely different than the final product at LA's Echelon Studios with Joseph McQueen, but that version was deemed "too brutal." I would love to have heard what that sounded like. Vext noted the collaboration with Johnston. "Jim had tons of great ideas and direction," Vext notes, "He's been doing this a long time. He basically gave me several melodies. The end result was a hybrid of both of our versions."
The revisions were recorded with Logan Mader at his Las Vegas studio.
Tommy is a longtime wrestling fan, considering the greats like Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Sgt. Slaughter as some of his favorites. He notes he even mimmicks the Bushwhackers in some of his stage moves. Some current favorites of his are Baron Corbin, Sasha Banks and Roman Reigns.
Bad Wolves are currently working on their full-length debut album.
Metal Injection loves covering the intersection of wrestling and metal. One of the ways is with our podcast, Squared Circle Pit, where we talk to metal musicians about their love of wrestling. Slipknot's Corey Taylor, NJPW star Kenny Omega, Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, Jamey Jasta, Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Zakk Wylde, Killswitch Engage's Mike D, Converge's Jacob Bannon, Neurosis' Scott Kelly, former WWE announcer Justin Roberts, and more.
