Metallica remastered cover of Budgie’s “Crash Course in Brain Surgery

Metallica are now streaming their remastered cover of Budgie’s “Crash Course in Brain Surgery.”

– In advance of their The $5.98 EP – Garage Days Re-Revisited release this Friday, Metallica are now streaming their remastered cover of Budgie’s “Crash Course in Brain Surgery.” Take a listen here. The collection will be available in vinyl, CD and cassette formats.

Budgie are a Welsh hard rock band from Cardiff. They are described by author Garry Sharpe-Young as one of the earliest heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts of that scene, with fast, heavy rock (an influence on the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) and acts such as Metallica) being played as early as 1971. The band has been noted as “among the heaviest metal of its day”.

Budgie’s music is often described as a cross between the progressive textures of Rush and the heaviness of Black Sabbath. Burke Shelley’s vocals have been compared to Geddy Lee due to his similar approach of high-pitched banshee wails (incidentally, Shelley and Lee are also the bass players in their respective power-trio bands). Although Budgie remained quite obscure during their early career, many future stars of hard rock/metal have cited them as an important influence and covered their songs, including Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Van Halen, Melvins, Queens of the Stone Age, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden.