"Raise Your Weapon" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5 featuring vocals from Faroese singer Greta Svabo Bech.[2] It was released on May 23, 2011 as the fifth and final single from his fifth studio album 4×4=12. The song was written by Deadmau5, Cydney Sheffield and Skrillex.[3] Musically, "Raise Your Weapon" is a progressive house song that begins with a piano melody and Bech's vocals and ends with a dubstep breakdown with the vocals repeated.[3][4] The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with some highlighting it as a standout track from the album. It reached number 100 on the BillboardHot 100, making it his first song to make an entry on the chart.[5] It also reached number 117 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was nominated at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording, where he also performed the song in a sequence with David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters, with the other songs being "I Can Only Imagine" and "Rope".[6]
"Raise Your Weapon" received generally positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries from AllMusic gave the song a positive review, saying, "When the one-two punch of "Raise Your Weapon" and "One Trick Pony" introduce the Mau5's newfound love of dubstep, you've got just enough variety."[7] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone also gave a positive review, "The masterstroke is "Raise Your Weapon," which breaks down into a sick dubstep beat. "How does it feel now, to watch it burn?" asks singer Greta Svabo Bech before the bass hits".[4] Dave Simpson of The Guardian said "Raise Your Weapon – featuring Greta Svabo Bech's soulful vocal – shows he can turn his hand to thoughtful sounds".[8] Alex Denney of BBC Music "Raise Your Weapons lurches suddenly from vocal-led, ambient house into the dentist-drill arsenal of sounds more commonly associated with Benga".[9] Michelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club gave the song a mixed review, calling Bech's verses "half-baked" and the use of dubstep "by-the-numbers".[10]
Chart performance[]
In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number 117 on the UK Singles Chart briefly after the single's release in mid-2011.[11] In the United States, the song debuted at number 100 on the BillboardHot 100 on the issue date of March 3, 2012,[12] as well as number 11 on the Heatseekers Songs chart.[12] It also made an entry at number 93 on the Canadian Hot 100.[13] According to Keith Caulfield of Billboard, its latest chart entries is possibly due to a sales boost after performing at the 54th Grammy Awards along with David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters.[14]
