Californian rockers The Scarlet Opera have followed up on their 2024 EP Mirror, Mirror with a rock anthem cover of Belinda Carlisle’s ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’.

Beginning timidly, Buzulka’s vocals sweep into the track with their characteristic smooth, pinched tone instantly giving the cover an ANGRA ‘Wuthering Heights’ feel. The verse is thin, with plucked, clean guitar sitting below the mix to give it a tinny, sparse feel. The focus of the opening verse is to build suspense and give the track room to grow. The drums achieve this well, with the 2-4 high-hat and noticeable lack of kick drum leading to a rhythmic build throughout the pre-chorus.

It’s here that we really feel the track ramping up, exploding into the familiar chorus. There’s a sense of release as the guitars are given permission to unleash, and the distortion is amped to create thick crunches. The drums are used again to control the track, dropping out at the end of the chorus to give space to the sustained guitar chords before leaping back in with a tight drum break.

Going back into the repeated melody of the verse, The Scarlet Opera recognise the need for variation in the simple structure. Reflecting the intro, the lead guitar returns to a plucking pattern, this time with heavy distortion to thicken up the texture and provide melodic variation. Bulzuka’s vocals dance around the original melody, expanding the well-worn phrasing and showing us the vocal acrobatics they are capable of.

The track unfolds in an expected but enjoyable way, with appropriate ebbs and flows in rhythm and texture. Taylor’s guitar solo is at home in the track, with arpeggiated rhythmic licks showing off the guitars depthy tone before it drops out, leaving the vocals and drums to deliver a dramatic chorus. With a final flourish, The Scarlet Opera pull a key change out of the bag, fully delivering on an epic rock anthem.

A tried and tested track, The Scarlet Opera’s cover of ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’ is the perfect package. The American rockers have dragged what was a great – if not slightly cheesy – 80s track into 2024 and given it a new lease of life.