Check Out This Heavy Metal Version of Toto’s ‘Africa’

A Cleveland-based metal band has recorded a version of Toto's "Africa," complete with a crunchy solo that rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.

Affiance, who released their first EP in 2007, came upon this radio staple again not long after a tour of the continent that gave the song its name.

"About a month before we left for our South Africa tour in 2014, [Affiance drummer] Patrick [Galante] and I were at a bar, and Toto's 'Africa' came on," singer Dennis Tvrdik told New Noise. "I had joked that we should cover the song since we did a cover of 'The Final Countdown' by Europe, thinking it was clever to keep the whole continent thing going."

Then the guys in Affiance decided to take it up a notch. Why not bless the rains down in Africa ... while actually in Africa?

"The rest is history," Tvrdik noted. "We recorded and mostly [arranged] 'Africa' while in Africa at Audio Militia in Johannesburg. Well, if that wasn't on my bucket list, it sure is now! This is a reminder of one of the most personally impacting and life-changing tours [and] experiences to date."

Affiance recently released a seven-song EP titled Gaia, while Toto are continuing a huge tour in support of Toto XIV – their first new studio project since 2006's Falling in Between. "Africa," written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, became Toto's first and only chart-topping hit in 1982.

The Top 100 Rock Albums of the '80s