"Liar" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Rollins Band | ||||
from the album Weight | ||||
Released | 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1993–1994 | |||
Genre | Alternative metal [1] [2] | |||
Length |
| |||
Label | Imago | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rollins Band | |||
Producer(s) | Theo Van Rock | |||
Rollins Band singles chronology | ||||
|
"Liar" is a song by Rollins Band and the lead single from their fourth album, Weight , released in 1994. It was the album's only charting single and is one of the group's best known songs.
In 2011, [3] Rollins reported that "Liar" began during one of the first practice jam sessions with bassist Melvin Gibbs who joined in 1993, replacing Andrew Weiss. "Liar" was a loose, humorous improvisation performed at live concerts until executives at Imago Records suggested the song had the potential to be a hit single. Rollins thought the song was a b-side that would not even be featured on Weight . However, when the record label heard it they immediately proposed it be the lead single. The lyrics are narrated from the perspective of a manipulative liar who repeatedly takes pleasure from deceiving others after luring them closer with false sympathy and friendship: "And all the time that you're needing me / Is just the time that I'm bleeding you".
Both a short edit (4:19) and a longer "video edit" (4:49) were distributed as CD singles in various territories, often with one or more unreleased tracks from the Weight sessions added; these and other outtakes were included in the 2004 release Weighting .
The video edit of "Liar" was featured in the song's music video and features a different vocal track and slightly different lyrics in the opening section. Directed by Anton Corbijn, the video itself features alternating depictions of vocalist Henry Rollins. During the song's verses, he wears glasses and a plain black T-shirt and speaks in a calm, soothing tone about trust and friendship; from one verse to the next, his arms and face become increasingly stained with black paint. For the chorus segments, he is shirtless and painted red, wildly jumping and flailing about as he screams derisively at his audience for believing his lies. He is also seen dressed in a Superman parody costume, a police officer uniform, and a nun's habit.
The song's lyrics are from the perspective of a serial liar who alternates between declarations of sympathy and friendship on the one hand, then repeatedly gloating celebrations of their deceptions. Shortly after the release of Weight, Rollins said that "Liar" was not specifically written from the perspective of an abusive male character, but rather from a more general perspective. [4]
In 2005, music critic and author Essi Berelian described the song's style as "jazz metal". [5] Bass guitarist Melvin Gibbs worked extensively in jazz before joining Rollins Band, and Rollins himself is a jazz enthusiast. In his 1998 book Turned On: A Biography of Henry Rollins, author James Parker wrote that, "'Liar' is a classic Rollins Band arrangement, following the contours of what is basically a hard-edged, stand-up routine: first the easy listening hull of the verse, in which Rollins, his musicians hitting a bullshit cocktail hour groove behind him, seduces his lover with the promise of an end to loneliness — and then the explosive heavy metal punchline of the chorus in which he reveals himself as a parasite, destroyer, liar, a iago like instrument of evil." [6]
It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1995, with Rollins Band performing the song at the ceremony. Upon release, the "Liar" video gained heavy airplay on MTV. This led to it appearing as part of the Beavis and Butt-head episode "Liar! Liar!", which aired on July 15, 1994. In the episode, Beavis becomes excited about the chorus, repeating the word "Liar!" in the same way he typically says "Fire! Fire! Fire!". Butt-head comes to the conclusion that "lying rules." [7]
"Liar" was named the 64th best hard rock song of all time by VH1. [8] It was included in the 1997 book The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era, which called it a "bravura piece of heavy metal as performance art." [9] In 2019, former Headbangers Ball host Riki Rachtman ranked it fifth on his list of the "10 Best Metal Videos Of The '90s." [10]
Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Studio Brussels | Belgium | "Best Songs of the Year (1994)" | 21 [11] |
2004 | Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "666 Songs You Must Own (Alternative Rock)" | * [12] |
"*" denotes an unordered list. |
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [13] | 65 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [14] | 28 |
UK Singles (OCC) [15] | 27 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [16] | 9 |
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [17] | 26 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [18] | 40 |
Adrenaline is the debut studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released on October 3, 1995, by Maverick Records. The majority of the album was produced by Terry Date, while a hidden track titled "Fist" was produced by Ross Robinson.
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early-mid 1990s.
Ascendancy is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. It was released on March 15, 2005, through Roadrunner Records and was produced by Jason Suecof and Matt Heafy.
Weight is the fourth studio album by American rock band Rollins Band, released on April 12, 1994. It featured the band's biggest hits, "Liar" and "Disconnect".
"Spiders" is a song by the American heavy metal band System of a Down released as the second single from their self-titled debut album.
"Starfuckers, Inc." is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their third studio album The Fragile. Although the song does not have an official halo, an edited single was distributed with exclusive radio edits and a video for the song was produced.
Come In and Burn is the fifth full-length studio album by Rollins Band. Released in 1997 on DreamWorks Records, it is their major label debut. It is also the last album before vocalist Henry Rollins dissolved the band's "classic" lineup of guitarist Chris Haskett, bassist Melvin Gibbs, drummer Sim Cain and sound technician Theo Van Rock. Rollins later formed a new version of Rollins Band with musicians from Mother Superior, who provided his backing band from 1998 until 2006, when the classic Rollins Band lineup briefly reunited.
"Cochise" is a song by American rock supergroup Audioslave. It was released as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album on September 25, 2002, through Epic Records. The band produced the song alongside Rick Rubin. The song reached number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the top ten of both the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Songs charts.
"You Can't Bring Me Down" is a song by Suicidal Tendencies, released in 1990 on the Lights...Camera...Revolution! album. It delivered moderate commercial success, and aided in the band's transition from punk rock to thrash metal. Although the song never reached any of the major music charts, it was a successful single.
"Let There Be Rock" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the third and title track of their album Let There Be Rock, released in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
"Unsung" is a single by the American alternative metal band Helmet from their 1992 album, Meantime. A music video was produced for the song and found significant airplay on MTV in the early 1990s. "Unsung" is recorded in drop D tuning on both guitars and bass, and begins with a bass intro. Its stop-and-go dynamics and catchy rhythm made it somewhat of a flagship of the growing 1990s alternative metal scene. In 1991, a full year before the release of Meantime, Amphetamine Reptile Records issued the "Unsung" 7-inch record, featuring an earlier recording of the song.
Get Some Go Again is the sixth studio album by Rollins Band, released in 2000. It is also the first album by lead singer Henry Rollins after dissolving his longtime lineup featuring guitarist Chris Haskett and others. On this album, and its follow-up Nice, Rollins was backed by the band Mother Superior.
"Children of the Grave" is a song by English rock band Black Sabbath, from their 1971 album Master of Reality. The song lyrically continues with the same anti-war themes brought on by "War Pigs" and "Electric Funeral" from Paranoid.
"Send Me Your Money" is a song by Suicidal Tendencies, released as a single in 1990 from their fifth studio album Lights...Camera...Revolution!. It featured a music video that received heavy airplay at MTV's Headbangers Ball and aided in Suicidal's transition from a punk metal band to a thrash metal one. This was the first and only Suicidal Tendencies single to chart in the UK.
"It Never Ends" is a song by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. Produced by Fredrik Nordström and Henrick Udd, it was featured on the band's 2010 third studio album There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret. The song was released as the lead single from the album on 20 August 2010, and was the band's first song to chart when it reached number 103 on the UK Singles Chart, number 3 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and number 11 on the UK Independent Singles Chart.
"Unholy Confessions" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released as the lead single from their second album, Waking the Fallen. It is the band's first official single after their 2001 debut EP release Warmness on the Soul, and was the first single by the band to receive mainstream exposure, being heavily rotated on MTV2's Headbangers Ball. The song is about a couple who find out they are both cheating on each other.
"Oh, Candy" is the debut single by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1977 from their self-titled debut studio album. It was written by Rick Nielsen and produced by Jack Douglas.
Master Volume is the second studio album by Canadian punk rock band, The Dirty Nil. The album was released on September 14, 2018 through Dine Alone Records. The album's first single, "Bathed in Light", was released ahead of the album in June 2018.
The Bastards is the third studio album by Canadian-American rock band Palaye Royale, released May 29, 2020 by Sumerian Records. It reached no. 12 on the Billboard Top Alternative Albums Chart and no. 27 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart.
Zeal & Ardor is the self-titled third studio album by avant-garde metal artist Zeal & Ardor, released on 11 February 2022.