Bat Country

"Bat Country"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album City of Evil
Released	August 9, 2005
Genre	Heavy metal hard rock
Length	5:13 (album version) 4:11 (radio edit)
Label	Warner
Songwriter(s)	Avenged Sevenfold
Producer(s)	Andrew Murdock Avenged Sevenfold Fred Archambault
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Burn It Down" (2005) "Bat Country" (2005) "Beast and the Harlot" (2006)
Audio sample
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"Bat Country" is a song by Avenged Sevenfold, released in August 2005 as the second single from their third album, City of Evil. Avenged Sevenfold won 'Best New Artist Video' at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards for "Bat Country" and on October 1, 2009, the single was certified gold by the RIAA. For these reasons, "Bat Country" is often believed to be the band's most commercially successful song. The song was ranked at number 20 on Loudwire's Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs.^[1] It also was rated as number 9 on Ultimate Guitar's list of Top 25 Best Songs With Guitar Duels.^[2]

Background and content[]

The song's main influence comes from Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and the title itself also comes from a line from the book in which Raoul Duke, the alter-ego pseudonym of Thompson himself, is on his way to Las Vegas while being affected by various drugs, and thus hallucinates, seeing huge bats and manta rays in the sky. With this, he gasps to his companion and attorney, Dr. Gonzo, "We can't stop here. This is bat country."

The following quote, also included at the beginning of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is referred to twice throughout the song (at the beginning and the bridge before the last chorus) and is shown at the beginning of the music video.

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." – Samuel Johnson

Also referenced in the song is a lyric derived from the final words spoken about Dr. Gonzo at the end of the film adaptation. The lyric is used at the end of the second breakdown of the song, as the final lyric of the song.

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." – Raoul Duke

In popular culture[]

The song has been used in several video games including EA Sports' NHL 06, Madden NFL 06,^[3] SSX on Tour, Saints Row 2, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as downloadable content for Rock Band and Rock Band 2, the iPhone application Tap Tap Revenge 3 and on the newer version Tap Tap Revenge 4. However, in NHL 06, Madden NFL 06, and SSX on Tour the word "doses" has been replaced by "save me" to avoid any drug content in the game. The song is featured on the soundtrack to the extreme mountain bike film New World Disorder 7: Flying High Again. The song is featured in the rhythm game Rocksmith 2014. The song appeared on an episode of the FOX TV series Bones entitled "The Superhero in the Alley". It is also appeared briefly in the comedy film Big Momma's House 2.

Track listings[]

CD

1. "Bat Country" – 5:13
2. "Beast and the Harlot" (Live from the Warped Tour) – 6:08
3. "Bat Country" (Music video)

Charts and sales[]

Peak positions[] Chart (2005–2006) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 60 U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 2 U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 6

Certifications[] Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[4] Platinum 1,000,000 Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel[]

Avenged Sevenfold

• M. Shadows – lead vocals
• Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, co-lead guitar, backing vocals
• The Rev – drums, backing vocals
• Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Johnny Christ – bass

Production

• Produced by Andrew Murdock
• Music video directed by Marc Klasfeld
• Artwork by Cam Rackam

References[]

External links[]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics