Divide and Conquer

Album: Fire From The Sky (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This was the last song written for Fire From The Sky. "We were working on the song 'Divide and Conquer' for a while but we just couldn't get it right, so we put it on the backburner," recalled guitarist Matt Bachand. "At the end of the recording session, we were like, 'Ah s--t, don't have enough stuff.' We needed one more song and we needed it fast. I was working on it with a laptop in a side room at Zing, trying to pull this thing out of my head while Jason [Bittner] was already tracking the drums. I work best under pressure, so it was coming along and I had most of it down. Then Jason finished the drums, so we said, 'Okay, let's go in and try it.' We jammed on it for about 20 minutes and couldn't figure out what to do for the chorus. Then Jon [Donais, lead guitar] comes into the door, listens for a second, grabs his guitar and goes, 'I got your fu--in' chorus,' and plays this riff out of nowhere. And, boom, it's done. In one hour, this song literally went from a couple riffs and barely an idea to being a complete track."
  • Vocalist Brian Fair penned the song's lyrics in 2011 in reaction to the polarization that's going on between opposing factions all over the world. "It's kind of my posi-youth unity song," he explained. "The more people get divided, whether it's bipartisan politics or social standings, the harder it's going to be to regain control. This song is about getting together to fight for a better future instead of sitting around and complaining and watching everything pass you by."

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