If we're being completely honest, Black Sabbath's 1970 classic War Pigs isn't the cheeriest of Geezer Butler lyrics, what with all that talk of war machines and burning bodies and Satan spreading his wings and stuff.
But if you ever wanted proof of man's ability to take a sad song and make it sadder, look no further than Mike Geier, a.k.a. giant unhappy clown Puddles Pity Party, who's just released a cover version of the song that plumbs almost unparalleled depths of despair.
The video, which is filmed in stark monochrome, finds Puddles sitting alone a piano. He proceeds to deliver his sombre take on the original, his forlorn baritone voice taking the song to places Ozzy Osbourne never ventured, with skittish, Radiohead-like rhythms filling the spaces once occupied by Tony Iommi's crashing riffs.
"Oh hello," says Puddles. "Here it is. We had no idea what we were doing, by doing this tune. But we did it anyway. And thanks to Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for writing this."
"The original version has spoke to me since 1970," says YouTuber Bryan. "This beautiful rendition leaves me with a smile and appreciation for your art. The message is still there, yelling from a different window. Wonderful work."
"Puddles has pulled a musical orb from the past, dusted it off and reshaped it," adds Gwen Rutherford. "Still dark and intense but with such musical clarity. He never disappoints."
Mike Geier has been performing as Puddles Pity Party since 1998, and now has a repertoire of songs that includes a version of The Who's Pinball Wizard sung in the style of Johnny Cash, and a mournful version of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.
