Ancient church bells ring out Motörhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ to an unsuspecting crowd

9 August 2021, 12:55

Proof that bellringers are the original metalheads.

Sitting before a carillon’s baton keyboard, musician Frank Steijns was preparing to unleash some thundering church bells onto the unsuspecting people below.

His music of choice? ‘Ace of Spades’ by ‘70s hard rock band Motörhead.

Steijns’ magnificent carillon treatment of the heavy metal hit was part of this year’s Torenfestival (Tower festival) in Weert, a city in southeastern Netherlands.

Watch below as he expertly strikes the hefty bells, and fills the streets below with an unforgettable cover of the 1980 single.

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Ace of Spades - Torenfestival Weert

Steijns wasn’t alone during his rendition, as Jitse Zonneveld joined him in the city’s gothic Sint Martinuskerk (Saint Martin’s Church) on his electric guitar.

The marriage of church bells and heavy metal has caused quite a stir on the Internet.

The British rock band has even watched the performance, tweeting: “Here’s one we really like”, with a link to watch the video.

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The centuries-old Dutch tower hosted a series of mini concerts from 24 June to 24 July, including this memorable show from Steijns and Zonneveld.

Steijns has played the church’s carillon for 27 years, and also performs with André Rieu’s great Johann Strauss Orchestra as a violinist.