Inter Arma Release Hilariously Drunken Cover of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’

Blackened sludge monsters Inter Arma have released a profoundly drunk cover of Prince’s iconic “Purple Rain.” According to the band, this cover was never supposed to be heard publicly, but after some back-and-forth with Relapse Records, Inter Arma added it to their new covers album.

The cover has already received a mixed reaction from fans, mostly due to vocalist Mike Paparo being audibly intoxicated on the track. Inter Arma make sure people don’t take their covers album too seriously, though, calling the collection of songs Garbers Days Revisited.

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. 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.

The vocals were done in one take by the drummer and not pitch-corrected, because who else can sing like that? Prince. So we opted to stay honest and simple because we never thought that the general public would hear it. Once Relapse heard it there was a little bit of back and forth between the two camps and it was decided, reluctantly, to be included on the record.

We hope everyone enjoys this and gets a little bit of a chuckle because I think we could all use that right about now. Stay safe, stay outrageous, BLM.

"Hunter Thompson used to punch out pages of Ernest Hemingway on his typewriter just to get the feeling of what it was like to write that way," drummer T.J. Childers comments. "The same can be said for anyone learning a great cover song: there's a lot to be deduced from the information there. Actually learning the songs can lead to inspirational, new musical ideas."

He continues, "Covers have been an integral part of Inter Arma since the beginning of the band and some of these songs have a direct lineage while others are a little more… obscure. As timing would have it, we hope this provides a bit of an escape for listeners, given the surreal circumstances we're in at the moment, because after all, great art should provide an escape which is part of why we chose to do this: sometimes you just wanna be runnin' down a dream…"

Check out the lyrics to Prince's "Purple Rain" below:

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted to one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you
Laughing in the purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you
Bathing in the purple rain
I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
Baby, I could never steal you from another
It's such a shame our friendship had to end
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you
Underneath the purple rain
Honey, I know, I know
I know times are changing
It's time we all reach out
For something new, that means you too
You say you want a leader
But you can't seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it
And let me guide you to the purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
If you know what I'm singing about up here
C'mon, raise your hand
Purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you
Only want to see you
In the purple rain