If anyone knows anything about me, they know quite well that “Over The Hills and Far Away” by Gary Moore is my favourite song of all time. It’s from the ‘Wild Frontier’ album that came out in 1986 and it is filled with top notch songs, performed by late Gary Moore, that have been since covered over the decades by some of my favourite Metal bands like Nightwish, Powerwolf and Sonata Arctica.

On January 21st, 2022, another epic performer took up the challenge of covering this Gary Moore classic and, knowing the precision of his high note performance, I couldn’t deny myself the indulgence. Tommy Johansson (Sabaton, Majestica) known for his Swedish Pagan antagonizing, and his spine-tingling guitar solos absolutely blew me away.

Not only does Tommy display some jaw-dropping vocals on this cover but, in the video he shows some expert riff work that’s fueled by the energy and passion that he displays in all of his performances. He takes up the ‘Live at Isstadion 1987’ version, showing off the epic intro solos and piercing the sky with top-notch vocal prowess throughout the near 7-minute show.

Since its debut, I’ve had it on repeat, and run through it more than a dozen times, taking brief breaks between to remember the original but, this one comes in very VERY close. If Tommy would like to take up any other Gary Moore covers, I’d be happy to stop dead in my tracks and give them a listen!

Watch his performance here! And subscribe to his channel on YouTube for some other killer covers, including his Disney version of “Swedish Pagans” that just dropped!