Australian Metal Band Lord Turned Savage Garden’s ’90s Hit “To the Moon and Back” Into a Soaring Power Ballad

In the mid to late 1990s, it was nearly impossible to avoid the earworm pop songs from Savage Garden, the Australian duo that scored major international hits including “I Want You,” “Truly Madly Deeply” and “I Knew I Loved You.”

“To the Moon and Back,” released as the second single from the group’s 1997 self-titled debut record, won the ’97 ARIA Music Award for Song of the Year. It wasn’t as big a hit in the U.S. as the other singles from the record, but it was a rather engaging introduction to the Savage Garden sound for anybody intrigued by “I Want You” or “Truly Madly Deeply”:

Recently, Australian metal band Lord (not to be confused with New Zealand’s Lorde) released a cover of “To the Moon and Back,” part of a new compilation called Undercovers Vol. 1, currently available on the band’s Bandcamp page. The compilation features a number of other notable covers from the group, ranging from fellow metal bands like Judas Priest, Metallica and Iron Maiden, as well as more pop-oriented acts such as Kylie Minogue, The Police and more.

As for the band’s take on “To the Moon and Back,” credit to them for bringing the tune’s melodies full circle into a soaring power ballad that works quite well with crunchy guitars and the powerhouse vocals from Lord Tim (a.k.a. Tim Ian Grose):

Appreciative of the tribute, Darren Hayes, the former front man/vocalist of Savage Garden, gave Lord’s cover his seal of approval:

This is a heavy metal cover of ‘To The Moon and Back’ by Aussie Metal band, LORD. The music video is shot in the same area of Sydney we lived while we recorded the album. Brings back lots of memories, not all great ones, but memories the same!

https://twitter.com/darrenhayes/status/1409053554686402565