"Barrel of a Gun" is a song by English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

, released on 3 February 1997 as the first single from their ninth studio album, ''

Ultra Ultra may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II * Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application * Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer work ...

''. The song reached No. 1 in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and Sweden and reached the top 10 in the Denmark, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom. In North America, the song reached No. 47 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 3 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...

Song meaning

Keyboardist

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English musician and songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the electronic music band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist and keyboardist, and occasiona ...

said, "it's about understanding what you're about and realising that you don't necessarily fit into somebody else's scheme of things." Singer

Dave Gahan David Gahan ( ; né Callcott; born 9 May 1962) is an English singer best known as the lead singer of electronic music band Depeche Mode since their formation in 1980. Noted for his commanding stage presence and unique baritone voice, Gahan was ...

, who was weakened from his battle with substance abuse at the time, added, "The song sums up the way I was treating myself and everybody around me. That's what life had in store for me every day. It's a really powerful statement. When you're in that kind of row, the last thing on your mind is dying."

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote, "One of the true pioneering acts of electro-pop ends a lengthy break from the airwaves with a thoroughly satisfying if often caustic blend of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

synths and metallic guitars. Singer Dave Gahan has a field day digging into Martin Gore's typically heavy lyrics, comfortably swerving back and forth between hypnotic lethargy to white-knuckled intensity. Producer Tim Simenon wisely underlines the track with the kind of

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

motion needed to crack the pop market, while carefully weaving the instrumentation so that rockers and clubheads alike can happily jam on this one—and they will." Dominic Pride from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' noted that Depeche Mode "serve up the sombre, industrial sound for which they've become huge in Europe, but with Simenon adding some open space to the production." He added that Gahan's "distorted vocals bring a touch of

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

to the party." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' rated the song four out of five, commenting, "After four years away, this atmospheric epic hints at an even darker approach from the 'Mode. As the first taster for their new album, this is a certain smash."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song, shot in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

, features Gahan with long hair singing with his eyes closed, with eyeballs drawn on his eyelids to make it seem like they are open.

Track listings

All songs were written by

. * UK and European CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" # "Painkiller" # "Barrel of a Gun" (

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

soft mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) * UK and US 12-inch single :A1. "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:31 :A2. "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) – 9:36 :B1. "Barrel of a Gun" (3 Phase mix) – 5:25 :B2. "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix (V2)) – 5:29 :B3. "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld soft mix) – 6:29 * UK limited-edition 12-inch single :A1. "Painkiller" ( Plastikman mix) :A2. "Painkiller" :B1. "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) :B2. "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) * US CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:30 # "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) – 6:34 # "Painkiller" (original mix) – 7:28 * US 7-inch single :A. "Barrel of a Gun" – 5:30 :B. "Painkiller" (original mix) – 7:28 * Canadian CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" (single version) – 5:29 # "Painkiller" (Plastikman mix) – 8:39 # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld soft mix) – 6:27 # "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) – 5:25 # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) – 9:36 * Australian CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) # "Painkiller" (Plastikman mix) * Japanese CD single # "Barrel of a Gun" # "Painkiller" # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld soft mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (One Inch Punch mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld hard mix) # "Barrel of a Gun" (United mix) # "Painkiller" (Plastikman mix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

, Eastcote, Westside, Strongroom, RAK (London, England), Electric Lady (New York City), and Larrabee West (Los Angeles) * Mastered at The Exchange (London, England) Personnel * Martin Gore – writing (as Martin L. Gore) * Dave Clayton – keyboards, keyboard programming *

Victor Indrizzo Victor Indrizzo (born September 23, 1967) is an American session musician, primarily known for playing the drums, as well as a songwriter and producer. Indrizzo was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York. He has toured, recorded and worked wit ...

– percussion * Tim Simenon – production, mixing * Q. – mixing, engineering * Kerry Hopwood – programming * Mike Marsh – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site

AllMusic review
{{Authority control 1996 songs 1997 singles Depeche Mode songs Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Bomb the Bass Songs written by Martin Gore UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles