"Square Hammer" is a song by Swedish
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Ghost. It was released as the lead single from the group's second EP ''
Popestar
''Popestar'' is the second EP by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It consists mainly of covers and was produced by Tom Dalgety. The EP was released on 16 September 2016, by Loma Vista Recordings. The band began the Popestar Tour of North America fo ...
''. The song peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
chart in January 2017, making the band the first Swedish band to top the chart. "Square Hammer" was one of the official theme songs for
NXT TakeOver: San Antonio.
Track listing
CD single
7" single
Music video
The camera travels through a green-lit city during a lightning storm.
Papa Emeritus III takes a paper from a
hawker
Hawker or Hawkers may refer to:
Places
* Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Hawker, South Australia, a town
* Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia
* Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...
. He reads about a
Mysterious Spectre who has seized power. He also reads about his role in the first ever moving picture. The picture "Square Hammer" is set to premiere at the Meliora Grand that very night. He exits the limo and waves to his fans. He and his
Nameless Ghouls enter the theatre. They greet fans and take their seats in the front row.
The
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
starts with a man holding a torch amidst a dark and stormy landscape, also during a lightning storm. He finds a tunnel. A
portcullis raises, revealing Papa Emeritus III as a mysterious spectre. He conducts the man inside, showing him a stone coffin, which starts to open, revealing more lightning within. Back in the theatre, Papa Emeritus III appears surprised about this part and the projector starts to spark. In the film, a squared hammer surrounded by
electric arc
An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma; the plasma may produce visible light. An ...
s is revealed. The
intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
refers to it as the "Square Hammer". The man picks it up as the mysterious spectre makes mystic passes. The Hammer glows and emits lightning, and the mysterious spectre's left eye glows.
Suddenly, the mysterious spectre puts his hand through the screen. It arcs with power. Papa Emeritus III sees it, but the others appear unconcerned. Then the mysterious spectre bows and becomes a cloud of bats, which chase everyone except Papa Emeritus III and the ghouls outside the theatre. An afterimage of the mysterious spectre glows blue on the screen.
Outside, the bats ascend into the night sky and congeal into a giant spectre, silhouetted against the full moon. Inside the theatre, the projector sparks even more violently and shows an image of a red
Cardinal on top of a cross before the film melts. Papa Emeritus III has had enough and leaves. Outside, the blue image of the spectre glows against the sky. A spotlight passes over it and its left eye glows. Papa Emeritus III's left eye begins to glow before the cut.
Production
* Director – Zev Deans
* VFE Director – Madeline Quinn
* Starring Brendan McGowan
Reception
MetalSucks gave the video a positive review. Metal Injection gave the song a positive review.
Loudwire named "Square Hammer" the best metal song of 2016
and awarded the video as Best Metal Video in their ''6th Annual Loudwire Music Awards'' in 2017, leading the vote with 39.27% over videos such as
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...
's "
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
" and
Slayer's "
You Against You". Also in December 2019, Loudwire named it the Metal Song of the Decade.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
*
References
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Square Hammer
2016 songs
2016 singles
Ghost (Swedish band) songs
Loma Vista Recordings singles
Spinefarm Records singles
Songs written by Tobias Forge
Song recordings produced by Tom Dalgety