Death and All His Friends
Encyclopedia
"Death and All His Friends" is a song by English alternative rock
band Coldplay
. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
. The song begins with Chris Martin
singing softly to a piano accompaniment before morphing into an uplifting arrangement featuring drums, piano, chiming guitars, and choir recorded in an art gallery in Barcelona. A hidden song featured on the album, entitled "The Escapist", shares this track with "Death and All His Friends", bringing the length of the track up to over six minutes. A brief 40 second section of "The Escapist" is what begins "Life in Technicolor" making the album cyclical.
A live version of "Death and All His Friends" was featured on the band's 2009 live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft
.
EP
. However, "School" was eventually re-worked into the current state of the "Death and All His Friends".
Singer Chris Martin
also revealed in an interview for MTV
that the name of the song was supposed to be the theme of the album, he said: "We're aware of all the bad stuff in life, you know , but that doesn't mean you should ever give in to it, you know? So we all sing that bit together really loudly, as kind of a message to ourselves: never giving up and never focusing on the bad stuff too much."
While the band was working on the song, producer Brian Eno
was the most obsessed with finishing it, even creating the line "I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge"
The song was recorded in several different places around the world such as Barcelona
, London
and New York City
, taking several months for it to be finalized.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
. The song begins with Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
singing softly to a piano accompaniment before morphing into an uplifting arrangement featuring drums, piano, chiming guitars, and choir recorded in an art gallery in Barcelona. A hidden song featured on the album, entitled "The Escapist", shares this track with "Death and All His Friends", bringing the length of the track up to over six minutes. A brief 40 second section of "The Escapist" is what begins "Life in Technicolor" making the album cyclical.
A live version of "Death and All His Friends" was featured on the band's 2009 live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft
LeftRightLeftRightLeft
LeftRightLeftRightLeft is a live album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released at 9:00 am GMT on 15 May 2009. The album was given away for free at all of the remaining concerts on the Viva la Vida Tour and is available as a free download on the band's official website...
.
Writing and composition
The "quiet half" of the song was originally a separate song altogether named "School". "School" was originally intended to be an introduction to another Coldplay song entitled "Rainy Day" that was later featured on the Prospekt's MarchProspekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
. However, "School" was eventually re-worked into the current state of the "Death and All His Friends".
Singer Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
also revealed in an interview for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
that the name of the song was supposed to be the theme of the album, he said: "We're aware of all the bad stuff in life, you know , but that doesn't mean you should ever give in to it, you know? So we all sing that bit together really loudly, as kind of a message to ourselves: never giving up and never focusing on the bad stuff too much."
While the band was working on the song, producer Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
was the most obsessed with finishing it, even creating the line "I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge"
The song was recorded in several different places around the world such as Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, taking several months for it to be finalized.
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Charts | 50 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
183 |