Dystopia (song)

Last updated

"Dystopia"
Single by Megadeth
from the album Dystopia
ReleasedJanuary 7, 2016
RecordedApril–July 2015
Studio Lattitude Studio South, Leiper's Fork, Tennessee
Genre Thrash metal
Length5:00
Label Tradecraft/Universal
Songwriter Dave Mustaine
Producers
  • Dave Mustaine
  • Chris Rakestraw
Megadeth singles chronology
"The Threat Is Real"
(2015)		"Dystopia"
(2016)		"Post American World"
(2016)

"Dystopia" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth, written by Dave Mustaine. It is the second and title track from their fifteenth studio album Dystopia , which was released on January 22, 2016. The song was released early on streaming services on January 7, 2016. [1]

Contents

Performances

The song debuted live in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 26, 2016. The performance was entirely instrumental. [2] It is the most performed song from the album, being played over 280 times as of September 2022. [3]

Lyrical meaning

Mustaine has said that "Dystopia" was inspired by the movies "Total Recall", "Twelve Monkeys", and The Terminator franchise.[ citation needed ]

Music video

The song's post-apocalyptic animated video follows on from the band's "The Threat Is Real" clip. It features a high-speed chase and a bloody fight in the futuristic war zone envisioned by Megadeth. About the video direction, Dave Mustaine told Mashable.com: "We had met with a guy in England, and I basically talked to him about this dystopian city that I had kind of visualized. You see all these movies like Armageddon, Independence Day, 12 Monkeys, Planet of the Apes and stuff, and there's always a moral at the end of the story: If you stand up for what's right, you won't have to give in to a dystopian world. It's just one of those things we grew up in. Explaining that concept to the artist - I thought he got what I was saying pretty clearly." [4]

Critical reception

The song is the top rated track from the album on Metacritic. [5] Rolling Stone called it, "The most radio friendly Dystopia single so far." [6] It was ranked the best song from the album by Return Of Rock. [7]

Grammy

"Dystopia" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards, the band's first win after 12 nominations. Mustaine, Loureiro, Ellefson, and Verbeuren attended the ceremony; however, album drummer and award recipient Chris Adler did not. [8] While accepting the award, the house band played Mustaine's former band Metallica's "Master of Puppets" causing some controversy among fans. [9]

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [10] 28

Personnel

Megadeth

References

  1. ↑ Monomyth. "Megadeth Dystopia". Megadeth. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Megadeth Setlist at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, NV, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Dystopia by Megadeth". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Megadeth - Dystopia". songfacts.com. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Megadeth - Dystopia". Metacritic. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ Grow, Kory. "Hear Megadeth Shred Guitar on 'Dystopia' Title Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Dystopia Songs Ranked". Return Of Rock. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Chris Adler". The Grammys. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  9. ↑ Teitelman, Bram (February 19, 2017). "Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Reflects on First Grammy Win, House Band Playing Metallica". Billboard . Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Megadeth Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard .
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