Frank Iero, a prolific musician in his own right but also known as the guitarist of emo deities My Chemical Romance, has announced today that his band’s new EP, Heaven is a Place, This is a Place, will drop this January. To celebrate the announcement, Frank Iero and The Future Violence have shared a cover of R.E.M.’s legendary track ‘Losing My Religion’, which features vocals not only from Iero himself but also band member Kayleigh Goldsworthy.
Speaking on the forthcoming EP, Iero explains: “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.”
He continues: “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.”
The EP is split into two sides, with Side B having been described as a far more delicate affair than Side A, paying homage to the journey of Frank Iero and The Future Violents, throughout the band’s multiple incarnations (those playing at home may remember Frank Iero and The Cellabration, Frank Iero and The Patience and Frank Iero and The Patients.)
Iero has shared that ‘Losing My Religion’ played a significant part in his process of recovery from the 2016 motor vehicle accident that he experienced in Sydney, Australia. After resuming touring, Iero and Goldsworthy shared a love for R.E.M., and from there, the first voice memo demo of this cover of ‘Losing My Religion’ was born.
Heaven is a Place, This is a Place is out on January 15, 2021 via UNFD.
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