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It’s not every day fans get to see an Elvis impersonator take on a death metal band as they sing songs about the Empire. Darth Elvis and Anchorhead hit the stage to compete for the coveted Bith trophy in the Battle of the Bands at Celebration Europe. While both rocked the stage and entertained the audience with their own renditions of Star Wars tunes, only one would be chosen as the fan favorite.
Hosted by Jay Laga’aia, the Saturday night Battle of the Bands pit two of the top original Star Wars music acts, based on voting by the fans via the Web, against each other to see who has the best performance at Celebration Europe.
Darth Elvis, who wore a classic white sequined jumpsuit underneath a dark Sith cloak, sang a medley of Star Wars– inspired tunes set to the hits of Elvis Presley. The song “Viva Mos Eisley” brought down the house. The Scottish singer has toured Europe with his act and has been singing as the King for over 2 1/2 years.
Once Elvis left the stage, Anchorhead appeared with the band wearing stormtrooper, Boba Fett and Darth Vader headgear. The lead singer proudly wore his Jedi robe as he growled into the microphone. The fans stood to their feet as the stormtrooper’s Imperial theme guitar solo reached a fever pitch. Darth Metal never sounded so good. Even Darth Maul (holding his baby to see the band) could be spotted in the audience, bobbing his head to the riffs.
At the end, Laga’aia let the audience applause determine the winners, and though Darth Elvis wooed the crowd with his Sith-inspired crooning, it was clear that Anchorhead won the audience’s attention and respect with their eclectic mix of John Williams and Pantera-inspired music.
Watch the full Anchorhead performance here.
Listen to the Darth Metal tunes on the Anchorhead Myspace page here.
Be sure to check out all the photos of the event captured on the Official Star Wars Flickr Blog here.
The Official Star Wars Blog 
Hey, thanks for posting up the worst part of the performance you could find! A thousand apologies for being in completely the wrong key. I promise the rest didn’t sound this bad!
As a Metal guitar player and Star Wars fan, I can honestly say that Anchorhead’s interpretation of classic Star Wars pieces is nothing short of amazing – they most certainly deserved to win!
Congratulations guys!!
Sounded rockin’ to me, Suave.
I didn’t think it was the worst part of the performance. In fact, there was NO worst part. Any time I see a guy wearing a stormtrooper helmet rocking out to John John Williams, that’s always going to be the BEST part!
Yeah i agree! You guys melted my face! Rock on!
I need to know one thing… i’ve worn some of those masks, how the hell do you play the guuitar in them without messing up or passing out?
M
Hey Mike, the short answer is – you don’t! The playing gets easier with practice, but the passing out is a real possibility.
Thanks Bonnie – do you have the rest of the show on tape? there are definitely better moments. Like when we were all playing in the same key!
My video camera battery died before I could get the whole thing. But I’ll check with other folks who were there to see if we can get the full show footage. Again, you guys rocked! 😉