Elton John's 1983 hit "I'm Still Standing" has been given the metal treatment courtesy of Germany's Mystic Prophecy — and it's just one track from an entire album of unlikely seeming covers.

The group's version of "I'm Still Standing," which you can listen to above, was recorded for its upcoming Monuments Uncovered LP, which finds the band putting its spin on classic pop and rock hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Billy Squier and Donna Summer, among others. As singer R.D. Liapakis explained in a press release, the project served as a way of bridging his earliest influences with Mystic Prophecy's harder-edged sound.

"I’ve always been a huge fan of pop and rock music of the '70s, '80s and '90s," said Liapakis. "I always asked myself how these songs would sound Mystic Prophecy-style. That’s why I began searching for well-known songs that also mean something to me personally and that bring back memories, respectively."

Calling the '70s and '80s "the golden age of pop and rock music" and crediting the period with heavily influencing his own work, Liapakis admitted that the Monuments Uncovered project presented its own set of difficulties — primarily the question of how to honor a favorite song while still bringing something of yourself to it.

"It’s tough to cover songs, adding your own signature sound while making sure that the song itself is still recognizable," he added. "This album is like a love letter to the music that accompanied so many of us, myself included — and believe me, you have not heard the songs like this before! I’m also really excited to show you a new and different side of Mystic Prophecy."

Mystic Prophecy, 'Monuments Uncovered' Track Listing
"You Keep Me Hangin' On"
"Hot Stuff"
"Shadow on the Wall"
"Are You Gonna Go My Way"
"I'm Still Standing"
"Because the Night"
"Space Lord"
"Get It On"
"Toyko"
"Proud Mary"
"The Stroke"

 

 

Top 100 Classic Rock Artists

More From WRKI and WINE