"Crush 'Em" is a song by American heavy metal band

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

and the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from their eighth studio album, ''

Risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...

''. It first appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to '' Universal Soldier: The Return'' in July 1999 and debuted as the third most added track on

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

stations on July 5. Intended as a

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

anthem, "Crush 'Em" has become associated with sporting events and was heavily promoted by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

. The 2004

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ed edition of ''Risk'' includes the

bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

"Crush 'Em" (Jock Mix).

Overview

Like many tracks on ''Risk'', "Crush 'Em" is a prime example of Megadeth's musical experimentation of the 1990s. It begins with an ominous

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 ...

beat (removed on the remaster) and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

bass line. This is soon followed by

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

guitar riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

s in between sets of

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

. The song eventually culminates into a heavy metal pre-

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

and finally with chants of "Crush! ...Crush 'em!" As track #4 on ''Risk'', it is preluded by "Enter the Arena," which foreshadows the chorus guitar riff and crowd chanting of "Crush 'Em." Regarding the song's style,

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...

told

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, "We're going into an arena we've never been in before." He added, "I think the best part about it is, it's a good ass-whuppin' song. . . It's the kind of song I would imagine wanting to hear while I was beating somebody senseless." "Crush 'Em" appeared on the compilations '' Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years'' and ''

Warchest ''Warchest'' is a box set from the American heavy metal band Megadeth. ''Warchest'' features five discs (4 CD + DVD) and features studio tracks, demos and live recordings of a number of the band's songs from its first ten studio albums and rar ...

''; however, it was not included on '' Greatest Hits: Back to the Start'', by which the tracks were largely dictated through an online fan poll and is neither included on '' Anthology: Set the World Afire''. However, Mustaine later went on to state that Crush ‘Em was one of the “dumbest songs they had ever wrote.”

WCW, NHL, and other sporting appearances

The producer/director of '' Universal Soldier: The Return'' initially wanted "Crush 'Em" for the film which stars

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Bill Goldberg William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is best known for his tenures in WCW and WWE. One of the most ...

. Upon hearing the song, Goldberg, a big Megadeth fan, spoke with officials of his employer,

(WCW), and convinced them to have the band perform it live on the July 5, 1999 edition of ''

Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United ...

''. This also marked the return of Goldberg after a six-month absence; immediately after the song, he appeared out of a cloud of fog and announced "I'm ''baaack!''" After the song, ''Nitro'' went off the air and the band played three more songs with the

Nitro Girls The Nitro Girls were a dance team in World Championship Wrestling. Their initial function was to dance and entertain the live crowds during commercial breaks. History The Nitro Girls were formed in 1997 by Kimberly Page at Eric Bischoff's reque ...

dancing on stage with them. A VHS of the ''Nitro'' performance was later released. The song also became Goldberg's temporary

entrance theme The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others ...

and was used in a video montage of his in-ring performances. This shortened version was included on '' WCW Mayhem: The Music'' along with his previous theme, "Invasion." Mustaine, a black belt and fan of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

, has described "Crush 'Em" as Megadeth's official sports and wrestling anthem. He wrote the song primarily as a hockey theme and said that he was "sick of hearing

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

's ' Rock and Roll Part 2' every time someone scored a goal." Mustaine added, "I thought, 'maybe we can do something that is celebratory and inspiring.' So we did 'Crush 'Em,' which we also felt would be good for any sport." After offering the Coyotes severals songs that they declined to use, the band decided to give "Crush 'Em" directly to the NHL, which chose to use it on the JumboTron screens the following season. Aside from WCW and NHL appearances, "Crush 'Em" became a favorite in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

and was requested for use by the NFL. It appeared on ''NHL 2Toronto: All Star Game Hits!'' in 2000, and the

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radio show regularly uses portions of the song as transitional music. The song was also used as the theme for the UFC video game released in 2000 for the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

and

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Music video

The "Crush 'Em"

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

was shot in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

in early June 1999. Directed by Len Wiseman, it was coincidentally filmed in the same Water & Power building as " Hangar 18,"Rosen, Crai
"Megadeth Talks About 'Crush 'Em'; Donates Horse To School"

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...

(June 15, 1999). Retrieved on April 19, 2008. and the video bears a

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setting reminiscent of its predecessor. It is themed around '' Universal Soldier: The Return'' and features both

and

. The latter performer menacingly stands behind

and joins him in the

. "Crush 'Em" also serves as the opener to the ''Universal Soldier''

which was released in July that same year. The video is not featured on the DVD ''

Arsenal of Megadeth ''Arsenal of Megadeth'' is a DVD by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on March 21, 2006 via Capitol. Presented as an anthology of the band's first 20 years, the two-disc DVD set contains music videos, live performances, interviews, h ...

''.

Track listing

# "Crush 'Em" (radio edit) # "Crush 'Em" (album version)

Charts

References

{{authority control 1999 singles Megadeth songs Songs written for films Sporting songs Songs written by Dave Mustaine Songs written by Marty Friedman 1999 songs Capitol Records singles Song recordings produced by Dann Huff American hard rock songs Industrial rock songs