Background
"War" was a demo that Chester Bennington brought in after Mike Shinoda asked him if he had any punk-sounding songs. He went home and wrote the idea that would become War in "about 5 minutes".[1][2]
Very little changed between the demo version of the song, and the track found on The Hunting Party, though an early version of the track did have Chester yelling "1-2-1-2-FUCK-YOU" instead of the "1-2-1-2-THANK-YOU" that made the album.[3][4]. Rob Bourdon also recorded the drums for "War" in only one take.[5] He explained, "“War” is one song that’s live all the way through, pure punk rock. It’s raw drumming with nothing added, nothing edited. That’s really new for us, almost one take all the way through. Completely live and untouched. I think I used the ending from a different take, but that’s it."[6]
Brad Delson had a similar experience regarding his solo on the song, stating that "There is a solo on “War” where someone asked me if I wrote the parts. I don’t think I’m talented enough to write them. They are just an exuberant expression of the song."[7]
The outro sample is a stock sound also present in the 2017 A&E series The Murder Of Laci Peterson (Season 1, Episode 3).[8]
Remix
On December 24, 2014, several members from the Linkin Park Association community teamed up to release a remix album of The Hunting Party titled Viscera. The album was later released to the LP Underground on June 18, 2015 after the band received the full rights to distribute the album. The remix of "War" was done by RostaSliwka. The instrumental version of the remix was released February 28, 2015.
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
Studio
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| War | The Hunting Party | 2:11 | 2013-2014 | June 13, 2014 | |
| War (Instrumental) | The Hunting Party: Acapellas + Instrumentals | 2:05 | 2013-2014 | August 12, 2014 |
|
| War (Acapella) | The Hunting Party: Acapellas + Instrumentals | 2:11 | 2013-2014 | August 12, 2014 |
|
Remix
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| War: RostaSliwka | Viscera | 3:34 | 2014 | December 24, 2014 |
|
| War: RostaSliwka (Instrumental) | Viscera (Instrumentals) | 3:34 | 2014 | February 28, 2015 |
|
Live
On January 13, 2015, Linkin Park posted a picture from the rehearsals for the 2015 North American tour with the caption "BBB rehearsing a new song."[9] In the picture, Brad was playing a G5 powerchord on a Fender Stratocaster in standard tuning. This ruled out every song from the Carnivores Tour setlists, because none of them are played in standard tuning, and every other song from The Hunting Party that had not been played live at that point; with the only option left being "War".[10] However, the band never played it on the North American tour that began on January 15, 2015. Instead, "From The Inside" and "A Place For My Head" were added to the setlist.[11]
Despite the song never being played live, the outro sample from "War" was used as an intro to "Wastelands" once on The Hunting Party's touring cycle, at the 2014.07.24 San Diego, CA Comic-Con show. Almost three years later, the sample was brought back as an intro to "Wastelands" for 2017's One More Light touring cycle starting at Maximus Festival in Buenos Aires.
Personnel
Linkin Park is
- Chester Bennington
- Rob Bourdon
- Brad Delson
- Phoenix
- Joe Hahn
- Mike Shinoda
Production
- Produced by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson
- Lyrics & Vocals by Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington
- Background Vocals by Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Rob Bourdon, and Phoenix
- Additional Lyrics by Brad Delson
- Engineering by Ethan Mates and Mike Shinoda
- Digital editing by Josh Newell
- Assistant Engineer: Alejandro Baima
- Additional Assistant Engineers: Brendan Dekora and Jennifer Langdon
- Studio Electro Tech: Warren Willis
- Studio Drum Tech: Jerry Johnson
- Album Production Coordination: Ryan DeMarti
- Recorded at Larrabee Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA
- Additional Recording at EastWest Studios and Glenwood Place Studios
- Mixed by Andy Wallace
- Pro Tools Engineered by Paul Suarez
- Assisted by Del Bowers
- Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge
- Assisted by Rich Morales
Lyrics
One, two
One, two, thank you
There's no peace / only war
Victory decides who's wrong or right
It will not cease / only grow
You better be prepared to fight
And it will not apologize
For laying down your
LIFE
WAR
There's no pain / it will spare
Fear has become your only right
And once you're lost / in your despair
Forever black eternal night
And it will not apologize
For laying down your
LIFE
War
Destroyer
War
DESTROYER
It needs no side to justify
LAYING DOWN YOUR LIFE
War
Destroyer
WAR
[riot voices]
Gallery
-
Brad rehearsing a new THP song, allegedly "War"
External Links
References
- ↑ ScuzzTV, July 2014
- ↑ LPLive, June 2014
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Linkin Park's Rob Bourdon - Modern Drummer Magazine, September 2014
- ↑ Guitar World, June 2014
- ↑ What are the odds that I find the sample from War while watching a random show? I have no idea why they picked this or how I recognized it : LinkinPark, August 24, 2020
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “BBB rehearsing a new song. Join us at #TheHuntingPartyTour”, January 13, 2015
- ↑ Winter 2015 North American Tour Announced! - Page 5 - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, January 13, 2015
- ↑ 2015.1.15 - Orlando, Florida - Previous Show Discussion - Linkin Park Live, January 13, 2015