Musicians from all genres and eras have been taking to social media and the Internet to release new music and entertain their fans, as the coronavirus pandemic keeps the live music world shut down. Most recently the trio of Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick, and Suicidal Tendencies bassist Roberto “Ra” Diaz released a cover the 1978 Rush classic “La Villa Strangiato,” according to the Rolling Stone.

While the trio’s cover didn’t feature the entirety of the nearly ten minute instrumental epic, their four minute cover showed the mild blowing technical ability of Benante’s Neil Peart-esque ability. Skolnick and Diaz also had their shining moments, including a crazy Skolnick guitar solo, but Benante truly shined as he drove the rhythm and force of the song.

The trio’s installment of “La Villa Strangiato” was their second Rush cover since the shut down of live music began; they released a cover of Rush’s “YYZ” last week, which was another testament to both’s Rush’s music as well as the trio’s ability to add their own sounds and styles to the song.

The trio received so much positive feedback after the release of “YYZ” that they decided releasing another Rush cover was certainly inspiring to many. “Despite being an instrumental, the song tells a complete story, complete with plot and characters, writes Benante in the video description of the song. “It’s based on some nightmares Alex Lifeson experienced We hope you all enjoy it as much as we did playing it! Stay safe and wishing everybody a great week!”

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat