Nearly 40 years to the day, Varja delivers a reimagined version of Pat Benatar's original, "Love Is A Battlefield", showcasing the band's signature style and their ability to make a well-known song their own, with all of the elements and a great new spin on them. Varja's cover has a distinct and unique sound, given the band's penchant for blending different musical elements and their ethereal and heavy style.
The band transforms the song, creating an atmospheric and moody ambiance with a quick pummel to gut. Varja frontwoman Annamaria Pinna embodies the song on a cellular level. Pinna's raw, haunting and ethereal vocals emphasize the emotional depth of the lyrics as she adds her own unique vocal nuances that will bring a tear to your eye and a defiance to your spirit, all in under three and a half minutes. Varja combines djenty, layered, arpeggiated and soundscaped guitars with a melodic drum groove, hi-hat spice and jaw dropping fills, transforming the traditional backbeat and creating bombastic choruses.
"We don't normally do covers, but we wanted to pay tribute to one of our inspirations, and we wanted a song that had some room to 'Varjasize' and make our own. We were diving the New York Thruway singing along to the radio, and when Annamaria soared through this song, I knew it was the one." guitarist Dave Sussman remembers.
Pinna adds, "The song captures some of the confusion that I have in a world that feels upside down. We are all still recovering from the pandemic, shut-downs, and are embroiled in a broken economy. We haven’t fully healed. Music and art seem to be overshadowed by scripted reality TV, and I'm not sure where I fit anymore. I've been re-examining who I am, and singing this song grounds me to the earth, and inspires me to wipe my face, get in there, and figure it out."
About the video itself, Dave continues, "We came up with the concept, had a friend shoot the video, and we edited it ourselves. No green screens, no CGI, no costumes, no pseudo-angry faces... we’re not interested in competing with the slick big-budget hallmarks of modern metal videos. We simply wanted to put you right inside our Brooklyn practice space with us, and feel us…know us. We want you to dance around the room with us."
Varja has garnered a cult following, touring the US several times, Canada and Europe. The band is scheduled to play select dates this October.
Varja is:
Annamaria Pinna - vocals, flute, keys
Dave Sussman - guitars
Jimmy DeMarco - drums
John Heaney - bass
