Megadeth "Symphony Of Destruction (Single & Video)"

"Symphony of Destruction" is a song by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released as a single from their 1992 album, Countdown to Extinction. The lyrics explore the hypothetical situation where an average citizen is placed in a position where he runs the country while the public is led by a phantom government. Penned by vocalist and frontman Dave Mustaine, the song received significant radio play and charted in various territories, making it one of Megadeth's best known songs.

The song was generally well received by critics, and its accompanying music video by Wayne Isham initially received heavy rotation on MTV, but eventually became controversial and was edited because of an assassination scene that MTV felt was "too harsh". The video features each band member individually playing, with a mostly black-and-white nonlinear narrative revolving around a political candidate who is assassinated, and the massive amount of anarchy and riots caused by the event. The song has been featured in several sources of media, and has been covered by several bands.

Vocalist Dave Mustaine described, in Guitar Center Sessions, the development of "Symphony of Destruction" as stroke of luck. One day while driving down Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles to his home, he was stricken by a headache. Inspired, he began writing lyrics on the back of a sushi receipt, " My metal brains corroding, my head is going to explode". In 1992 Megadeth recorded the demo for what would become "Symphony of Destruction" and after some tweaking, the song was finished and recorded for inclusion on their fifth studio album, Countdown to Extinction. Originally, the first version of the song was much longer but was edited a lot during its pre-production for Countdown.

Mustaine wrote the lyrics to the song, which were written about what he perceived to be how the masses were being led to their own destruction by political leaders, which is where the title is derived, Symphony of Destruction. The famous legend Pied Piper of Hamelin, is mentioned in the song and contains direct correlations to the lyrical meaning of the song. In the legend, the Pied Piper had the ability to force children and rats to follow his demands mindlessly, like the political leaders do to the public.

"Symphony of Destruction" is 4 minutes, 7 seconds long. In the first five seconds of the song, the classical piece at the beginning of the song is part of the beginning of "The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms" from Devil Doll and the vocals were taken from the Offertorium, Domine Jesu Christe from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem (K. 626), and the sound heard is an orchestra tuning their instruments, and then it immediately shifts into a heavy guitar riff, which plays continuously throughout the duration of the song. The song contains what has been described as catchy, with a more commercially mainstream, standard song structure, as opposed to some of Megadeth's more aggressive and structurally intense songs, such as "Hangar 18" or "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due".

By 1992, Mustaine's vocal performance and style, along with Megadeth's bombastic aesthetic, were considered jarring by some music listeners, meaning they had not yet been exposed to more mainstream audiences. Partially due to the success and radio friendliness of this song and Countdown to Extinction, Megadeth was capable of reaching a higher level of public awareness and cultural relevance.

To promote the commercial success of the song as a single, Capitol Records produced a music video in 1992. Directed by Wayne Isham, who also directed the videos for "Train of Consequences" and "99 Ways to Die", the video begins with shots of a burning American flag with the motto For the People imprinted on it, followed by a gun trigger being pulled, and then a man's unblinking eye, foreshadowing the assassination that occurs later in the video. Each member of Megadeth separately appear playing instruments during the video, although none of them are actually seen playing together. Rioting crowds and anarchy are shown in contrast of political figures laughing, which leads to the President and First Lady exiting a limousine to a cheering crowd, where a man with a pistol appears and shoots the president. The remainder of the video consists of nonlinear footage of the band performing and miscellaneous destruction caused by the chaos inflicted by citizens and significant collateral damage.

At first, the song was shown considerably on MTV without any concern, but later the scene where the politician finally gets assassinated was edited out because the assassination scene was deemed "too harsh". The edited version continued to be played on MTV, though to a smaller degree. The controversy was defended by Dave Mustaine, where he stated "I think it's more important that our point got across than the fact of whether or not we had to soften up a certain scene or lose it altogether."

When the song is performed live, the crowd will usually shout 'Megadeth, Megadeth, aguante Megadeth!' in between each of the opening riffs. This chorus began in Argentina and quickly spread worldwide. It can be loosely translated as 'Megadeth, Megadeth, go Megadeth'. 'Aguante' is an Argentinian slang term that means to "hold on tight", which represents to stick strongly to something, it's normally used in sports events to give support to the team players. It is also applied to something that "rules" or "rocks". The first time the Argentine crowd chanted this out, heavily influenced by its soccer song singing culture in stadiums, Dave Mustaine was blown out of his mind. This is a major reason that Argentina became one of his favorite countries to play in, as he states in the That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires DVD filmed in Argentina. Another is that "it's the only public that will sing out the guitar parts".

The song remains Megadeth's most widely known song, and a live staple that has been performed in nearly all Megadeth concerts since its composition. Because of this, it has been featured in the following:

• Exposure of a Dream
• Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years (Compilation)
• Rude Awakening (Live CD & DVD)
• Still Alive... and Well? (Live/Compilation)
• Video Hits
• Greatest Hits: Back to the Start
• Arsenal of Megadeth (Video compilation)
• That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires (Live CD & DVD)
• Warchest (Box set)
• Anthology: Set the World Afire
• Rust in Peace Live (Live CD)
• The Big 4 Live From Sofia, Bulgaria

Single track listing

CD Single (US & UK / UK 12")

1. "Symphony Of Destruction (Radio Mix)" - 4:07
2. "Breakpoint" - 3:33
3. "Go To Hell" - 4:37

CD Single (JAP)

1. "Symphony Of Destruction" - 4:05
2. "Anarchy In The UK (Live)" - 3:11
3. "Hangar 18 (Live)" - 4:58
4. "Special Messages For Japan" - 2:19

Cassette Single (US)

1. "Symphony Of Destruction (LP Version)"
2. "Symphony Of Destruction (Edited Gristle Mix)"
3. "Skin O' My Teeth (Live)"

Limited 7" (UK)

1. "Symphony Of Destruction"
2. "In My Darkest Hour (Live)"

Megabox Disc 4 (JAP)

1. "Symphony Of Destruction"
2. "Peace Sells (Live)"
3. "In My Darkest Hour (Live)"
4. "Foreclosure Of A Dream"
5. "Symphony Of Destruction (Extended Gristle Mix)"
6. "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due (General Schwarzkopf Mix)"

There are also two promo versions of this single: first with only one track - "Symphony of Destruction (Radio Mix)", second with "Symphony of Destruction (Edited Gristle)" and "Symphony of Destruction (The Gristle Mix)". Remix on the second version was made by Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, and the CD is called simply "Symphony...".