Blood Eagle Wings

Album: For All Kings (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This multipart 8-minute epic is the centerpiece of the For All Kings album. Guitarist Scott Ian told Rolling Stone regarding the song's theme: "Any great city, whether it's London, Rome, Paris, New York, Los Angeles - these cities are alive because of how many people were killed to make these cities what they are, how much blood was spilled over time."
  • The song's music video was directed by Jack Bennett, who also worked with Scott Ian on the Blood and Guts series. The clip features a king presiding over a draconian society built on torture, torment and murder. James Duval (best known for his roles of Frank in Donnie Darko and Miguel in Independence Day) plays the hero who after initially resisting the carnage, succumbs to his own grisly demise.

    That's comedian Brian Posehn who is the guard which quips at the end, "That was brutal."

    "We created this torture chamber, sitting below this horrible king's hall," said Bennett. "This guy gets to play with his toys and look through the grate in the floor and see this group of people that he's essentially crushing. The idea is that this power is built on top of these people. It's brutal and there's a lot of amazing torture gags happening, but it all serves this concept that progress is brutal. Civilizations progress in a way that is violent."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.