"Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" is the opening track of heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

's 1990 album Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on September 24, 1990, it was the third Megadeth album distributed through Capitol Records. The album was the band's only collaboration with record producer Mike Clink who was the first producer to...

.

The song has an unusual structure, shifting at 2:26 after an acoustic bridge

Bridge (music)

In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...

 by Marty Friedman

Marty Friedman (guitarist)

Marty Friedman is a guitarist, well known for his tenure as the lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth, which lasted almost a decade...

 to a different, slower and heavier section called "The Punishment Due", before speeding up again. The entire song is commonly referred to as simply "Holy Wars".

The lyrical theme of "Holy Wars" deals with the Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 conflict

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

, and Mustaine's feelings concerning religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

. In an interview with the UK magazine Guitarist, Mustaine says that he was inspired to write the song in Northern Ireland, when he discovered bootlegged Megadeth T-shirts were on sale and was dissuaded from taking action to have them removed on the basis that they were part of fund raising activities for "The Cause" (i.e. the Provisional Irish Republican Army

Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

). Dave also stated at a gig at Rock City (Nottingham, U.K. 18 February 2008) that it was at this venue that he wrote Holy Wars, after they travelled there from Ireland in a bulletproof bus. "The Punishment Due" is based on the popular Marvel

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 character, The Punisher

Punisher

The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...

.

A cover version of the song is playable in the band simulation game Rock Revolution

Rock Revolution

Rock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...

. The master recording is purchasable as part of the Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on September 24, 1990, it was the third Megadeth album distributed through Capitol Records. The album was the band's only collaboration with record producer Mike Clink who was the first producer to...

album pack on the Rock Band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

band simulation platform, and is also playable in the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is a music video game and the sixth main entry in the Guitar Hero series for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles. The game was released September 24, 2010 in Europe, September 28, 2010 in North America and September 29, 2010 in Australia...

game.

Music video

The "Holy Wars...the Punishment Due" video was made in August 1990 (around the time of the beginning of the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 in 1990) and it contained news footage of various conflicts throughout the world during the 1980s and 1990s, the majority of which were of the conflicts in the Middle East.

Personnel

• Dave Mustaine
  Dave Mustaine
  David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
  
   : guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Marty Friedman : guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• David Ellefson
  David Ellefson
  David Warren "Dave" Ellefson is a bassist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Megadeth. He also goes by "Junior." He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona...
  
   : bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Nick Menza
  Nick Menza
  Nick Menza is an American drummer best known for his work in Megadeth from 1989 to 1998, appearing on four of the band's studio albums.-Early life:...
  
   : drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  and percussion

CD single track listing

7" edition

1. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
2. Lucretia

12" edition

1. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
2. Interview with Dave Mustaine

12" edition

1. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
2. Lucretia
3. Interview with Dave Mustaine (Edited)

CD edition

1. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
2. Lucretia
3. Interview with Dave Mustaine (Edited)
   • Capitol Records DPRO-79462