"Pure Massacre" | ||||
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Single by Silverchair | ||||
from the album Frogstomp | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 16 January 1995 | |||
Length | 4:34 | |||
Label | Murmur | |||
Songwriter(s) | Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies | |||
Producer(s) | Kevin "Caveman" Shirley | |||
Silverchair singles chronology | ||||
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"Pure Massacre" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair, released in January 1995 as the second single from their debut album, Frogstomp (1995). It was a successful follow-up to the band's debut number-one single, "Tomorrow", peaking at number two in both Australia and New Zealand. It also reached number 17 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 12 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Silverchair played the song during a live performance on Saturday Night Live on 9 December 1995. [1] [2] The song was included on Silverchair's The Best Of: Volume 1 compilation album, released on 13 November 2000.
According to interviews with lead singer and guitarist Daniel Johns in January 1995 and 1996, the song and its lyrics are inspired by the Bosnian War: [3]
"It's pretty stupid, war, like that. So, it seemed the right thing to write a song about, rather than about the usual--girls or whatever. It took about a half an hour; it came straight to my head." [4] [5]
The Australian music video was directed by Robert Hambling and filmed at a Silverchair concert in Sydney, Australia. [6] [7] The American music video was directed by Peter Christopherson. [8]
Australian CD and cassette single (MATTCD005; MATTC005)
European CD single (6612872)
UK CD single (6622642)
UK 12-inch single (0166226420)
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [19] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 16 January 1995 |
| Murmur | [20] [ failed verification ] |
United Kingdom | 17 July 1995 |
| [21] |
Silverchair are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, Ben Gillies on drums, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo competition conducted by SBS TV show Nomad and ABC radio station Triple J. The band was signed by Murmur and were successful in Australia and internationally. Silverchair has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.
Frogstomp is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Silverchair. It was released on 27 March 1995, when the band members were only 15 years of age, by record label Murmur. The album features the band's commercially most successful single, "Tomorrow", which was first released on the band's extended play of the same name on 16 September 1994. Music videos were made for four songs: "Tomorrow", "Pure Massacre", "Israel's Son", and "Shade".
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