Earlier this week, alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams stopped by the BBC’s Radio 2 to perform an acoustic cover of Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years,” one of the 13 metal tracks that he recommended to Blender in 2008.  Check out a stream of the track after the jump.

The original Iron Maiden track comes from 1986’s Somewhere in Time, which has since gone platinum.  The original is, not surprisingly, classic Maiden, with vocalist Bruce Dickinson belting out his trademark apocalyptic squelch amid cocky guitar solos and driving drums.

With all that piss and vinegar going, the surprisingly emotional lyrical content of “Wasted Years” can get lost. Backed by a flowing fingerpicked acoustic guitar, Adam’s sentimentally sung version doesn’t seem to suffer from that problem.

Decide for yourself below:

Adams will release his thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, on October 11 via Capitol Records. You can preorder the album here.

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