"The War Is On" is a song by Japanese rock band Coldrain. It is the second single for their third studio album The Revelation, produced by David Bendeth, written by Masato Hayakawa and Ryo Yokochi, and was released on 25 July 2013.[1]
| "The War Is On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Coldrain | ||||
| from the album The Revelation | ||||
| Released | 25 July 2013 (Japan) 13 May 2014 (International) | |||
| Recorded | December 2012 – February 2013 | |||
| Studio | House of Loud (Elmwood Park, New Jersey, US) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | David Bendeth | |||
| Coldrain singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "The War Is On" on YouTube | ||||
At the time of the song's release, this was frontman, Masato Hayakawa's favourite song from the record and the band, in which he states that he didn't think the song wouldn't have translated into a live setting as well as it did.[2]
Background
edit"The War Is On" was released on 25 July 2013 as the band's second single and the opening track off their third studio album The Revelation, following the release of the first and lead single "The Revelation" which was released three months prior in April of the same year. It was the first single to be released after the album's Japanese release.[3]
Promotion and release
editUpon signing an international deal for the first time with Hopeless Records, becoming the first Japanese band to sign with the North American independent label in the process.[4] The band would go on to announce the re-release of their 2013 album The Revelation. Alongside the announcement, they would re-release the single for "The War Is On" on 13 May 2014.[5] The single would end up getting substantial airplay on BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! in the UK.[6][7]
Composition
edit"The War Is On" has been described as a post-hardcore, metalcore, alternative metal, alternative rock and a hard rock song.[8][9][10] The track runs at 160 BPM and is in the key of D minor. It runs for three minutes and 33 seconds.[11] The song was written by Masato Hayakawa and Ryo Yokochi, it was produced by David Bendeth who also handled the production for the rest of the album.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The War Is On" |
| 3:33 |
Music video
editThe music video for "The War Is On" was released alongside the single on 25 July 2013 on the Gilsoundworks YouTube channel. Among the re-release, the music video would also be published to the Hopeless Records YouTube channel on 13 May 2014.[12] The video was directed by Inni Vision.[13]
The video starts with frontman, Masato Hayakawa, who takes off a creepy looking mask to start the song with the band. The video is set in a large office building in Tokyo where all the workers wear a creepy mask, which are akin to that of which is worn by Michael Myers in the Halloween films. As the song progresses, the band members are individually surrounded by a whole room worth of workers wearing these masks around a circular table which surrounds the band members one by one, as if they are about to be interrogated. As the song culminates, the band defies the group of cult-like workers by jamming the rest of the song in the room as it turns to darkness.
As of January 2022, the song between the two videos has a total of 2.1 million views on YouTube.
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Tidal.[14]
Coldrain
- Masato Hayakawa – lead vocals, lyricist, programming
- Ryo Yokochi – lead guitar, programming, composition
- Kazuya Sugiyama – rhythm guitar, programming
- Ryo Shimizu – bass guitar
- Katsuma Minatani – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- David Bendeth – producer, mixing, arrangement
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Brian Robbins – audio engineer, mixing engineer, editing
- Michael Milan – electronic programming, engineer, editing
- John Bender – engineer, vocals, vocal arrangements
- Dan Graziano – editing
- Mike Lisa – editing
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 25 July 2013 | VAP | |
| International | 13 May 2014 |
References
edit- ^ "COLDRAIN (HOPELESS RECORDS) ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM; STREAM NEW SONG, "THE WAR IS ON"". Alternative Press. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ Ghilarducci, Laure (11 November 2014). "[English Interview] Coldrain : let's start the conquest!". Journal Du Japon. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Coldrain vocalist recovers, 'The War is On' music video released". Barks. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Welcome Coldrain to the Hopeless Records Family". Hopeless Records. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "COLDRAIN TO RELEASE 'THE REVELATION' IN JUNE". Rock Sound. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Daniel P Carter Radio 1 Rock Show - Jimmy Page and Slam Dunk highlights". BBC Radio 1. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Daniel P Carter Radio 1 Rock Show - Download Special". BBC Radio 1. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "The War Is One - Coldrain". Metal Kingdom. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Coldrain - The War Is On". Flowlez. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Julin, Sarah (24 September 2014). "COLDRAIN - THE REVELATION" (in Danish). Revolution-music. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Key and BPM of The War Is On by Coldrain". Musicstax.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ Hopeless Records (13 May 2014). "Coldrain - The War Is On (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Coldrain:The War Is On (Clip)". Nautiljon. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Credits / The War Is On / Coldrain". Tidal. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.