Wretches and Kings

"Wretches and Kings" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It is the tenth track from their 2010 album, A Thousand Suns. The song was written by the band and produced by co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin.[2] "Wretches and Kings" was used as a promotional single and was featured as a part of the "Linkin Park Track Pack" Downloadable Content for the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The song was also used for the backdrop for EA's opening sequence in EA Sports MMA.

"Wretches and Kings"
Promotional single by Linkin Park
from the album A Thousand Suns
ReleasedOctober 9, 2010
Recorded2009–2010
Genre
Length4:15
Label
Songwriter(s)Linkin Park
Producer(s)

Content

In line with the album's theme, the song's theme is about rebelling against the government and those in positions of power. The song begins with a sample of the "put your bodies upon the gears" speech address given by Mario Savio, a key figure in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, at Sproul Hall, University of California, Berkeley on December 2, 1964. The lyrics bear some traces of a commentary on the abuses of the powerful. Shinoda's raspy vocals are meant to vocalize the anger felt by the oppressed. In the chorus, Chester's line "we the animals take control" evocates the uprising of common individuals against those in power. The first line, "steel unload, final blow", is an assumptive premonition of the coming conflict, wherein all bets are off and no regard for the consequences are given any longer.

Promotion

"Wretches and Kings" features Mario Savio's "Bodies upon the gears" or the "Operation of the Machine" speech. The promotional single was first obtainable on the band's official website and was streamed on Noisecreep. The tempo of the song was set to 90 BPM. The song was also released for the albums like A Thousand Suns+ as the live version and It's The Bootleg, Muthafuckas! Volume 3: Fire Walk With Me[3] as a remix.

Personnel
  • Chester Bennington – vocals
  • Mike Shinoda – rap vocals, keyboard, sampler
  • Brad Delson – electric guitar
  • Dave Farrell – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Joe Hahn – turntables, samplers, backing vocals
  • Rob Bourdon – drums, backing vocals
  • Mario Savio – speech part ("Operation of the Machines" speech)

Remixes

A number of remixes have been done by various artists like HavocNdeeD as well as the Los Angeles rap group Get Busy Committee, the latter in co-production by Scoop DeVille, with their GBC remix appearing on Apathy's third It's the Bootleg, Muthafuckas! compilation installment It's the Bootleg, Muthafuckas! Vol. 3: Fire Walk With Me, which was released on September 11, 2012 under the simplified title of "Wretches [Remix]".

Remix Title Artist Album
Wretches and Kings Remix (Get Busy Committee remix) Get Busy Committee, Apathy "It's the Bootleg, Muthafuckas! Vol. 3: Fire Walk With Me"
Wretches and Kings (HavocNdeeD Remix) HavocNdeeD "Non album Single"
Wretches and Kings (zwieR.Z. Remix) zwieR.Z "Non album Single"
Wretches and Kings (Xefuzion Remix) "Xefuzion" "Non album Single"

Release history
Region Date Format Label
Worldwide September 8, 2010 Digital download

References
  1. "Album Review: A Thousand Suns". Rolling Stone. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  2. Wood, Mikael (July 9, 2010). "Linkin Park On New Album 'A Thousand Suns,' Tour". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  3. "Bootleg Volume 3: Fire Walk With Me". UndergroundHipHop.com. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
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