Inspired by the race to the White House, the new issue of Revolver features politico-rock superfriends M. Shadows, Dave Havok, Serj Tankian, Randy Blythe, and Dave Grohl on the red-white-&-blue cover. A lot like this! (Hmm, let's hope the choice has better results this time.) Here's an excerpt from the "Hard Rock The Vote" roundtable. Spoiler alert: Rockers are Democrats! (Unless you're called the Nuge, or played guitar in in the Ramones, etc..)
REVOLVER: Does a musician or artist have a responsibility to engage with the politics of the day and to express his or her views?
DAVE GROHL: I think you have to look at us not as five musicians but as five American citizens. During the last election I supported John Kerry on the campaign trail not as the guy from the Foo Fighters but as a citizen concerned about the future of this country. I did it because the Bush campaign was using some of our music at their rallies, and I didn't feel like the songs they were using made sense in the context of the message he was delivering. I couldn't stop them from using them; there's legally nothing really you can do. So I thought, Well, I'll go out and sing those songs at Kerry rallies, where they seem to make more sense -- songs about love and hope and compassion. I was performing to veterans and teachers and factory workers, and nobody knew who the hell I was. But when you sing a song like "Times Like These" or "My Hero," I think they sort of understood what I was trying to say.
Better step it up Dave. You're up against this. For the issue, Revolver also compiled a listicle called "Bombtracks: Top 10 Greatest Political Metal Songs Of All Time"...
In no particular order:
Black Sabbath - "War Pigs"
Corrosion Of Conformity - "Vote With A Bullet"
Lamb Of God - "Now You're Got Something To Die For"
Machine Head - "Clenching The Fists Of Dissent"
Megadeth - "Peace Sells"
Metallica - "...And Justice For All"
Ministry - "Lies Lies Lies"
Napalm Death - "Multinational Corporation"
Rage Against The Machine - "Take The Power Back"
System Of A Down - "B.Y.O.B."
Or, how about Carcass' "R**k The Vote"? Maiden's "Run To The Hills"? Though maybe not this version.
