“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Will “No Knock” be considered the anthem of war-fighters heading down range? All that Remains front man Philip Labonte certainly believes so, “Its about door kickers and what I imagine that mindset is like. What dudes like that think about the mission and how to get it done!”. While the song is not entirely new it certainly does fit the requirements. Philip, if you remember, filled in for Ivan from 5 finger death punch, also known for their support of Americas troops, while on tour last year.
This song might not be a 100% accurate depiction of a dynamic entry, its does however match up to the mentality and thought processes of our nations war-fighters heading into a conflict. Its an Alpha mentality. A never quit, never fail mentality. The last thing they want to hear is some light jazz before cracking skulls and stacking bodies, and before this all we had was limp dick attempts to psych us up before we had to do work. You can only listen to let the bodies hit the floor so many times before it becomes mundane.
Key lyrics in “No Knock” illustrate some of the thoughts and the mentality that one must have heading into dangerous locations abroad. Take for instance the line,
“You best be ready for anything And keep your eyes on the road.”
can directly relate to the situational awareness that is imperative to running operations in a hostile enviroment. Keeping your head on a swivel and watching for anything out of the ordinary can be the difference between life and death. with a direct link to the paranoid feelings you get when driving looking over every dead dog and every overpass waiting for the next IED, sizing every person you meet up wondering which one will be a suicide bomber.
Other lines cover the almost invincible, super human feeling one gets while they are blasting doors and clearing rooms in high tension environments ( think rage boner)
“It’s fuckin’ easy see? We blow the front door on 1, 2, 3 Kill everyone in sight We’ll stack the bodies high And when the smoke clears we’ll all just smile And everyone goes home”
This mentality requires those heading into danger to basically believe they own the building. It is theirs, they are the dominating force in that theater of operation. They realize its a kill or be killed situation and have to act accordingly. Taking time to think or hesitating can get you or your team members killed.
So where warfighter anthems like this stem from? Early on in the Iraq campaign 3 doors down released their music video for “When I’m gone” in 2002. Not only was it performed live on the U.S.S. George Washington, dedicated to the men and women of the US Navy, it also served as a tribute to those who were about to head into harms way. Videos like this also serve as motivation and as a reminder of what service members are fighting for, removing any doubt from their minds about the task at hand.
So now, the question is what music are the pipe hitters listening to, what are the true warriors listening to? Videos and shows like generation kill showed war fighters riding in hmmvs singing songs popular from the time like “teenage dirtbag” and other pop hits.
Later in the campaign it wasn’t unusual to hear bands like 5 Finger Death Punch blaring out of shitty speakers in vehicles over seas. Various other bands that were popular included Drowning pool and their song “Bodies” and Dope’s “Die mf die” While these bands may not have made “Official” videos, service members wasted no time splicing in some combat camera footage to the music. Many of these videos became infamous for being shown to recruits in basic training as a way to psyche them up.
A couple of Tactical Shit’s own Veterans gave some insight as to what they where listening to while heading out on a mission. The bands ranged from Amon Amarth, Cannibal Corpse, Bohemoth, and surprisingly according to one of our guys Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks. Which isn’t entirely too strange because in that environment the give a f*cks are out the window and really anything is on the table. There has always been a long history with rock and war. Going back even further many band members have served. Take for instance, Jason Everman of nirvana who joined the army, became a ranger, and went on to join special forces.
The Generation Of Operation Iraq freedom/Enduring Freedom unlike other generations of war fighters didn’t really have an anthem, ours was a generation raised on SEGA, and Nintendo, where killing was as easy as pushing a button, and pop culture music wasn’t really portraying what was going on in country. Unlike during the Vietnam era which basically had it’s own soundtrack with hit’s like Hendrix’s “all along the watchtower”, CCR’s “Fortunate Son”, and any song you hear in a Kubric War film. The generation of today is basically drawn out to singing the songs of our youth, where we were all little shithead’s listening to whatever the fuck came down the line. With very few songs actually written and pointed at our fighters today it’s nice to see Phil step up and take the problem head on. Helping to fuel our freedom boners to a better tomorrow. All that remains isn’t just throwing soft jabs with this song, they are straight up muzzle fucking the perceived notions of the kill music genre into a whole new realm.
