"Gonna Raise Hell" is a song written by

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...

and originally released on

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

's 1979 album ''

Dream Police ''Dream Police'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick. It was released in 1979, and was their third release in a row produced by Tom Werman. It is the band's most commercially successful studio album, going to No. 6 on ...

''. The subject of "Gonna Raise Hell" has been disputed. Some authors, such as

Ira Robbins ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', have believed that the song was about the

Jonestown Massacre The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationa ...

. However, the song was written before that event.

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 ...

critic Tom Maginnis claims that the song is about having a good time despite the apathy in the world; since we can't change the world "we might as well raise some hell." Composer

claims that the song is about "religious, political and nuclear fanatics."

Music

"Gonna Raise Hell" has a

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 ...

beat. At one point the band was planning to issue a 12" disco record of the song. According to Nielsen, the band has performed the song "in a 10 minute version for discos," although he also stated that "I never thought of it as a disco song, but it does have that Detroit jungle beat." The guitar melody played by

mostly follows that of the vocals. Both AllMusic's Maginnis and Trouser Press' Robbins praise

Tom Petersson Thomas John Peterson, better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known for being the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands, including t ...

's strong bass line, which ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Dave Swanson described as "infectious." The song contains an interlude for

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s that was scored by Rick and Jai Winding. According to drummer

Bun E. Carlos Brad M. Carlson, better known by the stage name Bun E. Carlos, is the original drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He recorded and performed with the band from 1973 to 2010. Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 ...

, producer

Tom Werman Tom Werman (born 1945) is an American former record producer responsible for many hard rock and heavy metal albums. Early life and education Werman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Newton. He earned a bachelor's degree and an ...

enhanced the

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

sound on the recording by

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

bing the sound of two wooden boards hitting each other.

Reception

AllMusic's Maginnis praises aspects of the song, including its "nice build ups, breakdowns and solos," but does not think that the string interludes work as well in "Gonna Raise Hell" as they did in the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

of the ''Dream Police'' album. Maginnis also criticizes the song's length, at over nine minutes. Carlos has explained the length by stating that the song was originally intended to be about five minutes long, but when the band decided to go for a disco interpretation, they improvised an additional five minutes during the recording. According to Carlos, the first take of the improvised music sounded good enough to the band to be left in. Fellow AllMusic critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

praises "Gonna Raise Hell" as an "epic rocker" that ranks "among Cheap Trick's finest." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

sees the song as a "variation on ' Helter Skelter'" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and believes that the layering of the vocals was inspired by The Beatles' ''

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...

''. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won fir ...

rated "Gonna Raise Hell" as Cheap Trick's 6th greatest song, saying it sounds like "

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

having a go with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

" and commenting on the scary sounding instrumental elements. ''

Mojo Magazine ''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...

'' claimed that "Gonna Raise Hell" and " Need Your Love," another song from ''Dream Police'', "proved the Trick could do heavy, freaky rock jams as well as any of their peers." ''Audio Magazine'' found the track amusing but complained that Cheap Trick was willing to go so far as to record a disco track in order to be successful. Cheap Trick biographer Mike Hayes claims that with this song, producer

achieved "the definitive Cheap Trick sound," even though the song's style differs from typical Cheap Trick fare. ''Classic Rock'' critic Malcolm Dome rated it as Cheap Trick's 9th greatest song, saying that it "builds from a low key opening into an almost sombre, heavy song, with Zander's vocal and Carlos' drumming adding to the sinister atmosphere." The song has been popular live at Cheap Trick concerts.

Controversy

It has been said that "Gonna Raise Hell" contains a hidden satanic message. Using back-masking, it was claimed you can hear, "You know Satan holds the key to the lock" when played backwards.

Other appearances

Since its original appearance on ''Dream Police'', "Gonna Raise Hell" has been included on a number of Cheap Trick compilation albums, including ''

Sex, America, Cheap Trick ''Sex, America, Cheap Trick'' is a 1996 box set by the rock band Cheap Trick. It includes 17 previously unreleased songs (among them the earliest studio recording of the 1979 hit " I Want You to Want Me"), as well as the band's biggest hits. A ...

'' in 1996 and ''

The Essential Cheap Trick ''The Essential Cheap Trick'' is the fourth compilation album by Cheap Trick and part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. It contains at least one song from every album up to '' Special One'' (including ''Silver''), except the commercial fai ...

'' in 2004. It was also included on the live album ''

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

'' in 2001. In Japan, it was included on the 1991 compilation album '' The Greatest Hits''. It was used in 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 ...

of the television show ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen drama, teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive producer, executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 United States network television schedul ...

'' in the episode "Tricks and Treats." when Sam, Neil, and Bill put on their costumes and later as Sam gets egged by Lindsay.

Sam Kinison Samuel Burl Kinison ( ; December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distinc ...

covered "Gonna Raise Hell" on his 1990 album ''

Leader of the Banned ''Leader of the Banned'' is the third Sam Kinison comedy album released in 1990. The first side consists of stand-up comedy, and the second side consists of covers of classic rock songs by bands such as AC/DC, Mountain, Cheap Trick, and The Rolli ...

''.

critic Bret Adams called Kinison's recording a "horrible hair metal version" of the song. "

Renegades of Funk "Renegades of Funk" is a song written by Afrika Bambaataa, Arthur Baker, John Miller & John Robie and recorded by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force. Released in 1983 as a single on the Tommy Boy label, it was also included on the 1986 album '' ...

" by

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

uses the riff.

References

{{authority control 1979 songs Cheap Trick songs Songs written by Rick Nielsen Song recordings produced by Tom Werman