A Drug Against War

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"A Drug Against War"
Drugagainstwar.jpg
Single by KMFDM
from the album Angst
B-side"Blood"
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1993 (1993-09-14)[1]
RecordedChicago Recording Company
GenreSpeed metal[2][3], Industrial metal
Length3:49
LabelWax Trax!/TVT
Songwriter(s)Mark Durante, Sascha Konietzko, Klaus Schandelmaier, Günter Schulz, Chris Shepard
Producer(s)KMFDM
KMFDM singles chronology
"Sucks"
(1993) 		"A Drug Against War"
(1993) 		"Light"
(1994)
Audio sample
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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4/5 stars[1]

"A Drug Against War" is a song by industrial rock band KMFDM, taken from their 1993 album Angst. It was released as a single prior to the album. A music video, featuring animated depictions of the band's previous album covers and singles, was made for the single, and was subsequently shown on the MTV cartoon Beavis and Butt-head on July 11, 1994.[4] It was re-released as a 7" in 2009. The song was featured in the video game Brütal Legend and, on December 16, 2010, it was made available as a downloadable song for the game Rock Band.[5] In late 2011, the band released a new version of the song called "A Drug Against Wall Street", with lyrics in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and made it available for free download from their site.[6]

Song[]

The song includes several militaristic samples. The primary one, in which someone calls for the bombing of enemy troops, comes from a live news broadcast about the Gulf War that Konietzko taped.[7] The lyrics mix social criticism with regular reference to war, and the instruments simulate the sounds of missiles and gunfire. Eventually, the martial symbolism becomes so overt and over-the-top that academic S. Alexander Reed identifies this as a sign that it is meant satirically. Reed compares these militaristic themes to the "war on drugs", which is ironically referenced in the song's title and turned into an anti-war motto. According to Reed, the song's ironic use of militarism marks it as yet another social ill to be criticized.[8]

Critical reception[]

Andy Hinds, in the 2002 book All Music Guide to Rock, called the song KMFDM's most over the top moment to date.[3] Ten years after its release, Brad Filicky of CMJ New Music Report said "A Drug Against War" was one of the most potent speed metal songs ever.[2] Joshua Landau of Allmusic said that while the song was "one of the best introductions to KMFDM's antagonistic guitars and viewpoints", the four track single was "only of interest to serious fans".[1]

"A Drug Against War" was ranked No. 47 on COMA Music Magazine's 101 Greatest Industrial Songs of All Time.[9]

Track listing[]

1993 release[]

No.TitleLength
1."A Drug Against War"3:40
2."A Drug Against War (Overdose-Mix)"5:25
3."A Drug Against War (Hookah-Mix)"3:33
4."Blood"4:00
Total length:16:38

2009 7" reissue[]

No.TitleLength
1."A Drug Against War (Single Mix)"3:40
2."Blood (Single Mix)"3:58
Total length:7:38

Personnel[]

  • Sascha Konietzko – vocals (1-4), programming (1-4), drum sequences and arrangement (3, 4), production
  • En Esch – drum sequences and arrangement (1, 2)
  • Mark Durante – guitars (1-3)
  • Svet Am – guitars (1-4)
  • Christine Siewert – backing vocals (4)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Landau, Joshua. "KMFDM: A Drug Against War". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Filicky, Brad (September 22, 2003). CMJ Silver Salute. CMJ New Music Monthly. Haber, Robert K. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Hinds, Andy (2002). "KMFDM". All Music Guide to Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-87930-653-3. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Mr. Anderson's Balls Episode". TV.com. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  5. ^ "A Drug Against War by KMFDM". Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Dashiell, William (October 17, 2011). "COMA Music Magazine News Round-Up October 17, 2011". Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  7. ^ Macek, J. C. (August 16, 2017). "The Way Is the Goal: A Revealing Talk with KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko". PopMatters. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  8. ^ Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 29–31. ISBN 978-0-19-983258-3.
  9. ^ Schock, David (March 7, 2012). "Feature: 101 Greatest Industrial Songs of All Time – # 60 – # 41". COMA Music Magazine. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
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