Vera Farmiga is conjuring up some serious hardcore spirit. The 48-year-old actress, best known for her recurring role in the supernatural The Conjuring horror film series, sent out a heavy metal message of support to Ukraine by covering Iron Maiden‘s “The Trooper” in a video posted to her Instagram account on Sunday (April 3).
Singing at a show arranged by Woodstock, New York music school Rock Academy, Farmiga — whose parents are Ukrainian — began her performance by shouting what sounds like “Slava Ukraini!” The phrase is a Ukrainian battle cry meaning “Glory to Ukraine” that also indicates support for the country as they continue defending their territory from Russia’s invasion, which began in February.
As the Bates Motel alumna and her band — which includes Scott Ian from Anthrax playing guitar — rage onstage, a young audience member waves a large Ukrainian flag. An article by Metal Hammer identified that Farmiga’s husband Renn Hawkey, who plays keyboard in the band Deadsy, is also backing her up in the video.
“Sometimes @RockAcademyOfficial lets the adults ROCK too,” she captioned her post. “And sometimes, if you’re really lucky… you get to rock out with @scottianthrax.”
Music has maintained an essential role in the Ukrainian people’s fight for freedom over the past few months. Citizens like violinist Vera Lytovchenko and 7-year-old “Let It Go” singer Amellia Anisovych made headlines for performing songs while sheltering, and President Zelensky himself appeared virtually at the 2022 Grammys to ask viewers for support.
“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos,” he told the award show’s audience. “They sing to the wounded. In hospitals.”
The lyrics to “The Trooper,” which was released in 1983, are eerily relevant to the situation in 2022, with Iron Maiden painting a detailed picture of wartime violence and mentioning Russia specifically. “We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground,” Farmiga sings in the video. “And the Russians fire another round/We get so near, yet so far away/We won’t live to fight another day.”
Watch Vera Farmiga’s performance of Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” below.