Pacific Rim Theme Played By Tesla Coils And A Robot Drummer

By Nick Venable | Published

This article is more than 2 years old


When it comes to musical instruments, there are few on Earth more legitimately badass than a guitar, with its seemingly infinite versatility in both an acoustic and electric capacity. But the musical battlefield has a recent arrival that threatens to rise above its underdog status to take over the world. I’m talking about the Tesla coil, obviously. (What, you thought I was referring to the keytar?) You can watch and listen to a pair of coils performing the rock anthem main theme from Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim above. Consider this a holiday parting gift, since Santa couldn’t fulfill your request for eternal life as the most powerful being in the universe, or that hat you wanted.

ArcAttack, a science-driven performance group, has taken musical coil technology to all new heights in the last few years with mindblowing concerts featuring lighting guitars and King Beat, their robotic MIDI-operated drummer prototype. (Think of it as Johnny Bonham Five.) The ArcAttack team has been at it for years, and they’ve recently outdone themselves in taking on renditions of pop culture theme music, and their version of the Pacific Rim theme is largely more enjoyable than the original version, with its generic riffs that already sounded like they were written by a depressingly passive robot. Thankfully, King Beat is highly active, with a brain made out of a plasma ball.

To get a feel for how close the Tesla coils are to the original, take a listen below.

While it wasn’t so obviously boring during the gigantic action scenes within the film itself, the soundtrack was pretty bland, and this video is all the proof needed that ArcAttack should get the job should that prequel or sequel ever get made. I realize it’s more fun to watch the coils performing the music than it is to just hear it in the background, so I’m proposing that there be a picture-in-picture screen in the top left corner, so that audiences can pay attention to that whenever Charlie Hunnam is supposedly having an emotionally jarring moment.

So we won’t be cancelling any apocalypses tonight, but we’re certainly going to be pumping our claws in the air while jamming to a few more ArcAttack compositions, like the below cover of the theme from that sci-fi crime classic Inspector Gadget.

And while you’re busy typing out a petition to get these guys to create a version of the theme from Beverly Hills Cop, check out this massive take on a Vivaldi composition that’s sure to become your next ringtone.