Heavy metal band Inter Arma took on an industrial classic earlier this month by taking on Nine Inch Nails’ “March of The Pigs” from the project’s classic album The Downward Spiral. The project are now taking on another classic, reworking Prince’s iconic “Purple Rain,” the title track from his celebrated 1984 album.

Inter Arma’s take on “Purple Rain” is reworked into a groove metal cover, opening up with slow ballad like progressions and emotional, but rough vocal performances. During the song’s iconic guitar solo, the band channel Prince’s energy, working it in with their own style that both honors the iconic original, while showcasing the band’s own influences on the track.

The band commented on the difficulty of recrating this cover, stating that the vocals were not pitch corrected because it is nearly impossible to recreate the iconic Prince sound. They also eplained that they felt great respect for the pop song and thought it would never be released as the icon hated covers of his music.

“This was never meant to be heard publicly. It was meant to be outrageous- to be played late at night while laughing and drinking beer with our friends,” the band explained. “Because that’s what this is: Inter Arma covering the greatest pop song of the 1980s, and arguably of all time, by Prince, who HATED when people covered his music.”

This track will be featured on the band’s upcoming covers album Garbers Days Revisited, which will be released via Relapse next month. In 2019 the band released two singles “The Atavist Meridian” and “Stillness” alongside a studio album titled Sulphur English.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat