"Undead" is a song by American

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

band

Hollywood Undead Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. All of the band members use pseudonyms and previously wore their own unique mask, most of which were based on the common hockey goaltender design. The ...

. It is the first track and first single from their debut full-length album, ''

Swan Songs The swan song ( grc, κύκνειον ᾆσμα; la, carmen cygni) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful s ...

''. It was released as a single on August 26, 2008, a week before ''Swan Songs'' was released.

Reception

The song peaked at #10 on the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

, #12 on the

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

, and #4 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

. "Undead" was released as a 7" single in the United Kingdom on HMV with "Circles" as a second track. During

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

, a trailer aired for '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' which featured "Undead". The song is also featured in the video game ''

UFC 2009 Undisputed ''UFC 2009 Undisputed'', also known as ''UFC Undisputed 2009'', is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. The game was released for PlayStation 3 a ...

'' from

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...

and is part of the soundtrack for ''

Madden NFL 09 ''Madden NFL 09'' is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 20th annual installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. The game was released for the Ninten ...

''. MMA fighter

Josh Neer Joshua Martin Neer (born March 24, 1983) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2003, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL, and Shark Fights. Ne ...

used this song as his entrance music during ''

UFC 101 ''UFC 101: Declaration'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first UFC event held in Philadelphia. The event featured the second ...

''. The song was used in the New York Knicks 2009-2010 intro video. The song was used in the NBC telecast of

WrestleMania XXV WrestleMania 25 (also marketed as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and written as WrestleMania 25th Anniversary) was the 25th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ...

, highlighting the match between

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...

and

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

. Most recently, the song was used in a TV spot trailer for the 2011 remake film ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

''. The song was also used for

Shiima Xion Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is a American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Smackdown brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Paris began his career in 2004 ...

during his run in the indy circuit. For the 2011 - 2012 season, the

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of the

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used the song for their pre-game player introductions. In 2012,

Deuce Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deuce, in the ''Danger Girl'' comic book series * Deuce, a character in ''Shake It Up'' * Deuce, in the ''Wild Cards'' science fiction universe * Deuce Biga ...

, former frontman of Hollywood Undead, remixed the song under the title "Nine Lives". This version consists of Deuce performing the original chorus, and Deuce yelling "Nine Lives", rather than "Undead". Deuce also sings over Johnny 3 Tears' verse, making slight changes to some lines. This track was used for a promotional release for Deuce's debut solo album Nine Lives.

Arrangement

The main riff of the song is the same as that from "

Crazy Train "Crazy Train" is the debut solo single by English heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and was released in 1980 from his debut album as a solo artist, ''Blizzard of Ozz'' (1980). A live version of the song recorded in 1981 from the album ''Trib ...

" by

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, played on a synthesizer rather than a guitar and transposed into a different key. As with all songs from the band's debut, Deuce sings the chorus. Johnny 3 Tears prominently screams "Undead!" at the beginning and at the end with the other members, and raps the first and fourth verses. Charlie Scene raps the second verse, and J-Dog raps the third. The uncut version, in which J-Dog disses Jeffree Star, is rapped at live shows, but was cut from Swan Songs. Da Kurlzz screams with Deuce in the chorus, and provides backup shouts on Charlie Scene and J-Dog's verses.

Chart performance

Personnel

;Hollywood Undead *Charlie Scene – lead guitar, vocals *Da Kurlzz – vocals *Deuce – bass guitar, engineering, keyboards, programming, vocals *Funny Man – gang vocals *J-Dog – keyboards, vocals *Johnny 3 Tears – vocals ;Additional *Josh Freese – drums *Ben Grosse – mixing *

Billy Howerdel Billy Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel h ...

– additional engineering *

Danny Lohner Daniel Patrick “Danny” Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project. He has also played for Methods of M ...

– engineering, programming

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Undead (Song) 2008 singles Hollywood Undead songs Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund 2008 songs A&M Octone Records singles Songs written by Bob Daisley Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Randy Rhoads