Bat Country

"Bat Country"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album City of Evil
Released August 9, 2005
Format Compact Disc, 7" vinyl
Genre Heavy metal
Length 5:13
4:11 (radio edit)
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) The Rev and M Shadows
Producer(s) Andrew Murdock
Avenged Sevenfold and Fred
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Burn It Down"
(2005)		 "Bat Country"
(2005)		 "Beast and the Harlot"
(2006)
Audio sample
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"Bat Country" is a song by Avenged Sevenfold. The song was released in August 2005 as the second single from their third album, City of Evil. Avenged Sevenfold won 'Best New Artist Video' at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards for "Bat Country" and on October 1, 2009, the single was certified gold by the RIAA. For these reasons, "Bat Country" is often believed to be the band's most commercially successful song. The song was peaked at number 20 on Loudwire's Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs.[1]

Background and content

The song's main influence comes from Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and the title itself also comes from a line from the book in which Raoul Duke, the alter-ego pseudonym of Thompson himself, is on his way to Las Vegas while being affected by various drugs, and thus hallucinates, seeing huge bats and manta rays in the sky. With this, he gasps to his companion and attorney, Dr. Gonzo, "We can't stop here. This is bat country."

The following quote, also included at the beginning of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is referred to twice throughout the song (at the beginning and the bridge before the last chorus) and is shown at the beginning of the music video.

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." - Samuel Johnson

Also referenced in the song is a lyric derived from the final words spoken about Dr. Gonzo at the end of the film adaptation. The lyric is used at the end of the second breakdown of the song, as the final lyric of the song.

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." - Raoul Duke

In popular culture

The song has been used in several video games including EA Sports' NHL 06, Madden NFL 06,[2] SSX on Tour, Saints Row 2, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as downloadable content for Rock Band and Rock Band 2, the iPhone application Tap Tap Revenge 3 and on the newer version Tap Tap Revenge 4. The song is featured on the soundtrack to the extreme mountain bike film New World Disorder 7: Flying High Again. The song is featured in the rhythm game Rocksmith 2014. The song appeared on an episode of the FOX TV series Bones entitled "The Superhero in the Alley". It is also appeared briefly in the film comedy Big Momma's House 2.

Track listings

CD
  1. "Bat Country" - 5:13
  2. "Beast and the Harlot" (Live from the Warped Tour) - 6:08
  3. "Bat Country" (Music video)

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (2005-2006) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 60
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 6

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
U.S.[3] Gold October 1, 2009 500,000 +

Personnel

Avenged Sevenfold
Production

References

  1. ↑ "No. 20: Avenged Sevenfold, 'Bat Country' – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs". Loudwire.
  2. ↑ "Madden NFL 06 Soundtrack - Music News at IGN". Music.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  3. ↑ U.S. certifications, database riaa.com Archived June 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved August 31, 2008)

External links

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