See ROLLINS BAND play raucous "Ghost Rider" in 1989 | Page 2 | Revolver

See ROLLINS BAND play raucous "Ghost Rider" in 1989

'The Crow' soundtrack standout evolved over the years

Rollins Band's apocalyptic blues-metal cover of Suicide's "Ghost Rider" gained immortality when it appeared on the 1994 soundtrack to the goth-est movie of all time, The Crow. But Henry Rollins and his cohorts were playing the song live long before then — in fact, they performed it the most between the years of 1987 and 1989, and never past 1992.

The Rollins Band's cover evolved over those performances. Their '87 run-through — captured at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri, and seen below — is faster and bouncier, with a skittering energy more akin to Suicide's synth-punk original than the swampy, slo-mo take that appears on the Crow soundtrack.

The '89 rendition, meanwhile, at Barwon Club in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, is much closer to the cover we all know so well and love so much (watch that video above). It's fascinating to witness the progression — and, of course, to watch the former Black Flag frontman throw himself, as always, so physically into his performance. Burn with fire, indeed.