Whenever anyone covers Gary Moore, or mentions his work, my ears are immediately tuned in. With Tommy Johansson (Majestica, Sabaton) filling his week with Gary Moore tributes, it was hard not to once again indulge his talent by throwing up another favourable review.

This track is a cavalcade of epic solos, divine riff work, and heart-pounding vocals. Gary Moore has never been one to shy away from his talent on the guitar, and Tommy makes great note of that in each of his covers, taking great care in not only perfecting the strum of each chord but, doing so on his very own Gary Moore replica piece.

You can see Tommy’s original take from 11 years ago; his admiration for the musical great still more than evident in his focus on guitar work and epic high notes. He executes the holds with precision, careful to linger on the end of each “rising” before pulling it into a sharp but, solid close.

The re-record, or re-master, is phenomenal, with Tommy’s vocals becoming stronger and more ferocious than his previous cover of this masterpiece. His exquisite guitar work once again takes prominence as it is clear that Tommy’s admiration for Gary is as great, if not greater, than my own.

I absolute love the harsh take on the vocals while the high notes are still sky high with amazingly clear transitions from beginning to end. There is no gap, or drop off, or struggle as I would expect from Tommy’s fantastic vocal capabilities.

Once again, I am beyond impressed by Tommy’s work. Not only on this cover, and his previous covers for Gary Moore, but for his devoted solo as well. He takes a classic and elevates it with amplified but, careful riffage and vicious vocals that cascade like a freshly cracked beer into the perfectly angled glass.

Check out Tommy’s solo from this track on its own, and his other pieces on his YouTube channel here !