"Raise Your Weapon" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produce ...

featuring vocals from Faroese singer

Greta Svabo Bech Greta Svabo Bech (born in Tórshavn) is a Faroese singer-songwriter. She first became known for her work with Canadian producer Deadmau5, when "Raise Your Weapon" was nominated for Best Dance Record at the 2011 Grammy Awards54th Annual Grammy Aw ...

. It was released on May 23, 2011 as the fifth and final single from his fifth studio album '' 4×4=12''. The song was written by Deadmau5, Cydney Sheffield and

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

. Musically, "Raise Your Weapon" is a

progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music. The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s. It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of American and European house music of the late 1980s.Gerard, Morgan; ...

song that begins with a piano melody and Bech's vocals and ends with a

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

breakdown with the vocals repeated. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with some highlighting it as a standout track from the album. It reached number 100 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100, making it his first song to make an entry on the chart. It also reached number 117 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was nominated at the 54th Grammy Awards for

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

, where he also performed the song in a sequence with

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

, Chris Brown,

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

and Foo Fighters, with the other songs being " I Can Only Imagine" and "

Rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similar ...

Critical reception

"Raise Your Weapon" received generally positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries from

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 databa ...

gave the song a positive review, saying, "When the one-two punch of "Raise Your Weapon" and "One Trick Pony" introduce the Mau5's newfound love of dubstep, you've got just enough variety." Will Hermes of ''

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

'' also gave a positive review, "The masterstroke is "Raise Your Weapon," which breaks down into a sick dubstep beat. "How does it feel now, to watch it burn?" asks singer Greta Svabo Bech before the bass hits". Dave Simpson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said "Raise Your Weapon – featuring

's soulful vocal – shows he can turn his hand to thoughtful sounds". Alex Denney of

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

"Raise Your Weapons lurches suddenly from vocal-led, ambient house into the dentist-drill arsenal of sounds more commonly associated with Benga". Michelangelo Matos of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave the song a mixed review, calling Bech's verses "half-baked" and the use of

"by-the-numbers".

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number 117 on the

. In the United States, the song debuted at number 100 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 on the issue date of March 3, 2012 as well as number 11 on the Heatseekers Songs chart. It also made an entry at number 93 on the Canadian Hot 100. According to Keith Caulfield of ''Billboard'', its latest chart entries is possibly due to a sales boost after performing at the 54th Grammy Awards along with

, Chris Brown,

and Foo Fighters.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''4×4=12''. Management *Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd. / Cupcake Revolution ( BMI) and Kobalt Music Publishing Personnel *Joel Zimmermanlead artist, songwriter, producer, arrangement *Greta Svabo Bechfeatured artist *Cydney Sheffieldsongwriter * Sonny Mooresongwriter

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2010 singles Deadmau5 songs Songs written by Deadmau5 2010 songs Ultra Music singles Virgin Records singles Songs written by Skrillex