Frank Iero And The Future Violence Announce New EP With R.E.M. Cover
Thursday, 19 November 2020
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Mitchell Wojcik
Frank Iero has unveiled details of a new EP with the Future Violence, also known as the Future Violents.
'Heaven Is A Place, This Is A Place' is scheduled to land on January 15 via UNFD, and is preceded by a newly shared intimate cover of R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion.
The stripped-back rendition will appear alongside Violence, Sewerwolf, and Record Ender, with the EP serving as a companion piece to the My Chemical Romance guitarist's 2019 album 'Barriers'. Its four tracks are split into two contrasting movements, with the first half presenting an aggressive aesthetic before its delicate second half.
During Iero's recovery following a motor incident in 2016, the R.E.M. song started making appearances in strange places. When he returned to the road in 2017, the musician spoke with one of the members of his support band, Kayleigh Goldsworthy. Iero said:
"From the first show I was completely impressed with her musicianship and by touring together I realized she was also a rad human being who I desperately wanted to write and play music with. In my mind she was already in my next band, I just had to write the music, name the band, find the other musicians, oh and of course ask her. But during that first tour together we got to talking about how she played the mandolin and how we shared a love for REM, and more specifically Losing my Religion. So, on the last night of tour in San Francisco we found an empty room/hallway/stairwell type place and made an iPhone voice memo demo of the song. It felt like magic and that was the moment I was convinced this couldn’t be the only thing we did together."
Expanding on the origin of the EP, he added: "The title of the EP actually comes from the night before we started recording 'Barriers' at Electrical Audio in Chicago. The band went out to eat and get drinks at a local Tiki bar called, Lost Lake. On the menu that night there was a drink called Heaven is a place/This is the place.
"I love when the universe gives you gifts like that. You just have to be in tune to your surroundings. The name struck me as clever and I started to think about how changing one word in that title meant something way more profound to me. Heaven is a place, if you believe in that sort of thing… It is the reward at the end of a long hard journey of fighting the good fight and living your life to whatever standards you hold dear. But it’s just a place. And so is this…This is a place, the earthly realm, miraculous on so many levels but also just a place. The difference is you and your perception."
Iero will hit the road with My Chemical Romance for their rescheduled reunion tour in summer 2021, including three huge gigs at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes.
'Heaven is a Place, This is a Place' tracklist:
1. Violence
2. Sewerwolf
3. Losing My Religion
4. Record Ender
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