Raise Your Weapon

"Raise Your Weapon"
Single by deadmau5 featuring Greta Svabo Bech
from the album 4×4=12
Released 23 May 2011
Format Digital download
Recorded 2009–10[1]
Genre
Length
  • 3:22 (radio edit)
  • 8:22 (album version)
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) deadmau5
deadmau5 singles chronology
"HR 8938 Cephei"
(2011)
"Raise Your Weapon"
(2011)
"Aural Psynapse"
(2011)

"Raise Your Weapon" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer deadmau5. It was released on May 23, 2011 as the fourth and final single from his fifth studio album 4×4=12. The song was written by Joel "deadmau5" Zimmerman and Cydney Sheffield,[2] and features contributing vocals from Greta Svabo Bech.[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. At first it was thought Skrillex did the breakdown but it was later denied by Joel during an interview.[2][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 Billboard Hot 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 songs being "I Can Only Imagine" and "Rope."[6]

Critical reception

"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 Billboard Hot 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 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]

Track listing

Digital download[15]
No. Title Length
1. "Raise Your Weapon" (Radio Edit) 3:23
2. "Raise Your Weapon" (Album Version) 8:23
3. "Raise Your Weapon" (Madeon Extended Remix) 4:15
4. "Raise Your Weapon" (Noisia Remix) 5:36
5. "Raise Your Weapon" (Stimming Remix) 7:18

Charts

Chart (2011–12) Peak
position
Canadian Hot 100[13] 93
UK Singles Chart[11] 117
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 100
US Heatseekers Songs (Billboard)[12] 11

References

  1. "Dub5tepthingie4 by fuckmylife on SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  2. 1 2 David Jeffries. "4 x 4 = 12 - Deadmau5 | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  3. 1 2 Will Hermes (2010-12-07). "4x4=12 | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  4. "The Hot 100 : Mar 03, 2012 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  5. Swickey, Zachary (2012-02-13). "deadmau5, David Guetta Celebrate EDM's Big Night At The Grammys - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  6. David Jeffries. "4 x 4 = 12 - Deadmau5 | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  7. Dave Simpson (2010-12-02). "Deadmau5: 4x4=12 – review | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  8. "Music - Review of deadmau5 - 4x4=12". BBC. 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  9. Matos, Michaelangelo (2010-12-07). "Deadmau5: 4 x 4 = 12 | Music | MusicalWork Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  10. 1 2 "2010-10-02 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive". Official Charts. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "deadmau5 : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  12. 1 2 Archived February 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. Mitchell, John (2012-02-13). "Skrillex, deadmau5 Likely To Experience Boost From 2012 Grammys - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  14. Archived December 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
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