They Will Kill Us All
Encyclopedia
"They Will Kill Us All" is a song by the Los Angeles
-based punk rock
band The Bronx
, released as the first single
from their 2003 debut album The Bronx. It was their first single to chart, reaching #65 on the UK Singles Chart
.
While the album was released by Ferret Music
and the band's own label White Drugs, the singles for all of their albums have been released exclusively in the United Kingdom
, through Wichita Recordings
. The single was released on both compact disc
and 7-inch vinyl, the latter pressed on white vinyl and limited to 1,500 copies. The B-side
song is a live recording of "I Got Chills" from a performance at the Three Clubs in Hollywood
. The cover artwork was designed by guitarist Joby J. Ford.
The music video
for "They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)" was directed by Mike Piscitelli. It depicts an African American
man in a heavy jacket walking through Los Angeles, lip sync
ing the song's lyrics while dancing and making exaggerated gestures to the music. The band members appear as extra
s whom the man bumps into or passes on the street. During the final chorus
the man is shot in the chest by an unseen gunman and bleeds to death on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
. In a 2009 interview, singer Matt Caughthran
named it as his favorite of the band's videos and explained its nature:
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Bronx
The Bronx (band)
The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
, released as the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their 2003 debut album The Bronx. It was their first single to chart, reaching #65 on the 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 ...
.
While the album was released by Ferret Music
Ferret Music
Ferret Music is an independent record label, founded in 1996. The label is owned in part by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and in part by Philadelphian artist manager Paul Conroy, and based in West Windsor Township, New Jersey...
and the band's own label White Drugs, the singles for all of their albums have been released exclusively in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, through Wichita Recordings
Wichita Recordings
Wichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees are Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Her Space Holiday, Los Campesinos! and Peter Bjorn and John...
. The single was released on both compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and 7-inch vinyl, the latter pressed on white vinyl and limited to 1,500 copies. The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
song is a live recording of "I Got Chills" from a performance at the Three Clubs in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. The cover artwork was designed by guitarist Joby J. Ford.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)" was directed by Mike Piscitelli. It depicts an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
man in a heavy jacket walking through Los Angeles, lip sync
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
ing the song's lyrics while dancing and making exaggerated gestures to the music. The band members appear as extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
s whom the man bumps into or passes on the street. During the final chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
the man is shot in the chest by an unseen gunman and bleeds to death on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
. In a 2009 interview, singer Matt Caughthran
Matt Caughthran
Matt Caughthran is an American singer, best known as the frontman for Los Angeles based punk band The Bronx. In addition to The Bronx, Caughthran is involved in a side project, The Drips. Caughthran has also recorded a number of tracks with Bullet Treatment which can be found on the What More Do...
named it as his favorite of the band's videos and explained its nature:
The idea behind that video was that if the TV was turned all the way down and there was no sound, that it would look like a hip-hop video. The great thing about that was that it actually worked, 'cause I would get interviews, like we were in Sweden for [...] the Hultsfred FestivalHultsfred FestivalThe Hultsfred Festival is an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It takes place at the lake Hulingen during three days in the June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, its attendance has increased from 7,500 visitors to approximately 32,000 people in...
and I was doing press and I sit down with this lady and she just starts laughing. She goes "I think there's a mistake here. I think this is the wrong band." I'm like "What are you talking about?" She's like "I'm here to interview The Bronx", and I'm like "That's me. I sing for The Bronx." She's like "But you're not black." [...] That was a good moment, 'cause that means the video worked.
CD version
Vinyl version
Band
- Matt CaughthranMatt CaughthranMatt Caughthran is an American singer, best known as the frontman for Los Angeles based punk band The Bronx. In addition to The Bronx, Caughthran is involved in a side project, The Drips. Caughthran has also recorded a number of tracks with Bullet Treatment which can be found on the What More Do...
– lead vocalsSingingSinging 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... - Joby J. Ford – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, backing vocals, artwork and design - James Tweedy – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Jorma Vik – drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
Production
- Gilby ClarkeGilby ClarkeGilbert "Gilby" Clarke is an American guitarist and record producer best known for a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, recording - Howie Weinberg – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...