"A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation", often referred to as "Gunshot", is a song by American heavy metal band

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the ...

. Written by

Matt Heafy Matthew Kiichi Heafy (born January 26, 1986) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist for heavy metal band Trivium. He was also the lead vocalist for the band Capharnaum, along with Trivium's former producer Jason ...

and

Corey Beaulieu Corey King Beaulieu (born November 22, 1983) is the guitarist of American heavy metal band Trivium. At live shows, he also performs backing and, sometimes, lead screaming vocals. Biography Personal life Born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, Beaulieu i ...

, both of whom perform vocals and guitars on the track, it was featured on the band's second studio album '' Ascendancy'' in 2005. The song was also released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

in May 2005, with an accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

following in September.

Composition and lyrics

According to Trivium frontman

, who wrote the lyrics for the song and co-wrote the music with guitarist and backing vocalist

, "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" is written from the point of view of a child who is either a victim of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

or a witness to

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

, and is described by the vocalist and guitarist as "the punching bag for the underdog". Speaking in a track-by-track commentary of the album released on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

in 2015, Heafy explained that "the outcome of the story of this song was that someone was able to create something out of eing abused, and that it means "putting that terror away ... by allowing yourself to grow from it and learn from it and not harm yourself or anyone around you negatively from it". Heafy began writing the song in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

during the band's second

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

, noting that he played the riff for drummer Travis Smith while the two were "drunk and fucked up", who then added the preliminary drum parts by "playing something on the floor". The gang vocals during the later stages of the song were recorded while the album was being mixed at

Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaime ...

's Backstage Studios in

Ripley, Derbyshire Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley borough of Derbyshire, England. History Little information remains as to when Ripley was founded, but it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot. In 1251 Henry III grante ...

. They were performed by Heafy, Smith, Sneap, Chad Sunderland and

Gizz Butt Graham Anthony "Gizz" Butt (born 3 August 1966 in Manchester, England) is a British musician, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Janus Stark best known for being the live guitarist for the band The Prodigy in the late 1990s. His own band Jan ...

Promotion and release

Following its inclusion on ''Ascendancy'' in March 2005, "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" was released as a

in May 2005 featuring an edited version of the track. The song was included on the 2005 ''

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

Summer Sampler'' CD, before the band's performance of the track at the festival was included on the ''Ozzfest 10th Anniversary'' live video album released later in the year.

Music video

The

for "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation" was filmed in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

on June 21, 2005. Directed by

Shane Drake Shane C. Drake is an American music video director and producer originally from Redding, California. He has directed videos for many artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Trivium, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the ...

, the video featured a crowd made up of 300 of the band's fans, who were recruited the previous week. It was premiered in September 2005.

Critical reception

Vik Bansal of

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

praised the song for featuring a "burst of melodic backing vocals", as well as "the unexpected but effective" gang vocal section near the end of the track.

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

writer Cosmo Lee likened the song's use of guitar harmonies to those performed by

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

and

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

's 1988 fourth studio album '' ...And Justice for All'', while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Johnny Loftus highlighted bassist

Paolo Gregoletto Paolo Francesco Gregoletto (born September 14, 1985) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the heavy metal band Trivium. Music career Trivium Gregoletto joined Trivium on September 5, 2004 when Matt Heafy, C ...

's performance on the track.

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitars, gang vocals, production *

– guitars, backing vocals, gang vocals *

– bass, backing vocals, gang vocals * Travis Smith – drums, percussion, gang vocals *

Jason Suecof Jason Suecof (born April 3, 1980) is an American record producer, audio engineer and guitarist best known for his work with heavy metal bands such as Trivium, Battlecross, Death Angel, All That Remains, Bury Your Dead, The Black Dahlia Murder, ...

– production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

– mixing, mastering, gang vocals *Chad Sunderland – gang vocals *

– gang vocals

References

External links

"A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation"
music video at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation, A 2005 songs Trivium (band) songs Music videos directed by Shane Drake Songs about child abuse Songs about domestic violence Songs written by Matt Heafy Songs written by Corey Beaulieu