"Wretches and Kings" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It is the tenth track from their 2010 album, '' A Thousand Suns''. The song was written by the band and produced by co-lead vocalist

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocal ...

and

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

. "Wretches and Kings" was used as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

and was featured as a part of the "Linkin Park Track Pack" Downloadable Content for the video game '' Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''. The song was also used for the backdrop for EA's opening sequence in ''

EA Sports MMA ''EA Sports MMA'' is a 2010 sports video game which was developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 19, 2010, in North America and October 22, 2010, everywhere else. Online serv ...

''.

Content

In line with the album's theme, the song's theme is about rebelling against the government and those in positions of power. The song begins with a sample of the "put your bodies upon the gears" speech address given by

Mario Savio Mario Savio (December 8, 1942 – November 6, 1996) was an American activist and a key member of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. He is most famous for his passionate speeches, especially the "Bodies Upon the Gears" address given at Spro ...

, a key figure in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, at Sproul Hall, University of California, Berkeley on December 2, 1964. The lyrics bear some traces of a commentary on the abuses of the powerful. Shinoda's raspy vocals are meant to vocalize the anger felt by the oppressed. In the chorus, Chester's line "we the animals take control" evocates the uprising of common individuals against those in power. The first line, "steel unload, final blow", is an assumptive premonition of the coming conflict, wherein all bets are off and no regard for the consequences are given any longer.

Promotion

"Wretches and Kings" features

's "Bodies upon the gears" or the "Operation of the Machine" speech. The promotional single was first obtainable on the band's official website and was streamed o
Noisecreep
The tempo of the song was set to 90 BPM. The song was also released for the albums like '' A Thousand Suns+'' as the live version and It's The Bootleg, Muthafuckas! Volume 3: Fire Walk With Me as a remix.

Personnel

* Chester Bennington – vocals * Mike Shinoda – rap vocals,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, sampler * Brad Delson –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

* Dave Farrell –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals * Joe Hahn – turntables, samplers, backing vocals * Rob Bourdon – drums, backing vocals *

– speech part ("Operation of the Machines" speech)

Remixes

A number of remixes have been done by various artists like HavocNdeeD as well as the Los Angeles rap group Get Busy Committee, the latter in co-production by

Scoop DeVille Elijah Blue Molina (born October 15, 1987), better known by his stage name Scoop DeVille, is an American record producer, rapper and DJ. DeVille has produced records for rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle, 5 ...

, with their GBC remix appearing on

Apathy Apathy is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of intere ...

's third It's the Bootleg, Muthafuckas! compilation installment It's the Bootleg, Muthafuckas! Vol. 3: Fire Walk With Me, which was released on September 11, 2012 under the simplified title of "Wretches emix.

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2010 songs Linkin Park songs Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Songs written by Mike Shinoda Protest songs Industrial rock songs Songs based on actual events Industrial hip hop songs