"Barrel of a Gun" is a song by English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, released as the first single from their ninth studio album, ''

Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...

'' (1997), on 3 February 1997. The song reached number one in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and Sweden while reaching the top 10 in several other countries, including Finland, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom. In North America, the song reached number 47 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number five on the Canadian ''RPM'' Alternative 30.

Song meaning

"It's about understanding what you're about and realising that you don't necessarily fit into somebody else's scheme of things," said keyboardist

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the electronic rock band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist an ...

. Singer

Dave Gahan Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, who was weakened from his battle with substance abuse at the time, added, "The song sums up the way I was treating myself and everybody around me. That's what life had in store for me every day. It's a really powerful statement. When you're in that kind of row, the last thing on your mind is dying."

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote, "One of the true pioneering acts of electro-pop ends a lengthy break from the airwaves with a thoroughly satisfying if often caustic blend of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

synths and metallic guitars. Singer Dave Gahan has a field day digging into Martin Gore's typically heavy lyrics, comfortably swerving back and forth between hypnotic lethargy to white-knuckled intensity. Producer Tim Simenon wisely underlines the track with the kind of hip-hop motion needed to crack the pop market, while carefully weaving the instrumentation so that rockers and clubheads alike can happily jam on this one—and they will." Dominic Pride from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' noted that Depeche Mode "serve up the sombre, industrial sound for which they've become huge in Europe, but with Simenon adding some open space to the production." He added that Gahan's "distorted vocals bring a touch of

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

to the party." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song four out of five, commenting, "After four years away, this atmospheric epic hints at an even darker approach from the 'Mode. As the first taster for their new album, this is a certain smash."

Music video

The

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 ...

for the song, shot in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

, features Gahan with long hair singing with his eyes closed, with eyeballs drawn on his eyelids to make it seem like they are open.

Track listings

All songs were written by

. * UK and European CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" # "Painkiller" # "Barrel of a Gun" (

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

soft mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) * UK and US 12-inch single :A1. "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:31 :A2. "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) – 9:36 :B1. "Barrel of a Gun" (3 Phase mix) – 5:25 :B2. "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix (V2)) – 5:29 :B3. "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld soft mix) – 6:29 * UK limited-edition 12-inch vinyl :A1. "Painkiller" ( Plastikman mix) :A2. "Painkiller" :B1. "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) :B2. "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) * US CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:30 # "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) – 6:34 # "Painkiller" (original mix) – 7:28 * US 7-inch single :A. "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:30 :B. "Painkiller" (original mix) – 7:28 * Canadian CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" (single version) – 5:29 # "Painkiller" (Plastikman mix) – 8:39 # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld soft mix) – 6:27 # "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) – 5:25 # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) – 9:36 * Australian CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) # "Painkiller" (Plastikman mix) * Japanese CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" # "Painkiller" # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld soft mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) # "Painkiller" (Plastikman mix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at Abbey Road, Eastcote, Westside, Strongroom, RAK (London, England), Electric Lady (New York City), and Larrabee West (Los Angeles) * Mastered at The Exchange (London, England) Personnel * Martin Gore – writing (as Martin L. Gore) * Dave Clayton – keyboards, keyboard programming * Victor Indrizzo – percussion * Tim Simenon – production, mixing * Q. – mixing, engineering * Kerry Hopwood – programming * Mike Marsh – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site

Allmusic review
{{Authority control 1996 songs 1997 singles Depeche Mode songs Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Bomb the Bass Songs written by Martin Gore UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles