"Unchained" is a song from

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

's fourth album '' Fair Warning''. The song was released as a single in various countries, including Germany, Spain, and Japan.

Writing and composition

Vocalist David Lee Roth's working title for the song was "Hit the Ground Running". The song features prominent use of the MXR M-117

flanger Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and ...

, which became a popular sound and spurred sales of the pedal. A preset for the flanger was also included on the EVH Flanger MXR pedal. It uses a Drop D tuning with

suspended fourth A suspended chord (or sus chord) is a musical chord in which the (major or minor) third is omitted and replaced with a perfect fourth or a major second. The lack of a minor or a major third in the chord creates an open sound, while the dissona ...

chords Chord or chords may refer to: Art and music * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...

interspersed. The song is producer

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. Among the acts with whom he has had a long relationship are the rock bands Van Halen and Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced ...

's only vocal contribution to the band, when he says "Come on, Dave, gimme a break!" during the interlude of the song.

Reception

A 2011 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' reader's poll placed the song at number one on a list of the 10 best Van Halen songs. Chuck Klosterman of

Vulture.com ''Vulture'' is an American entertainment news website. It is the standalone pop culture section of ''New York'' magazine. Its tagline is "Devouring Culture". History ''Vulture'' debuted in April 2007 as an entertainment blog on nymag.com, the w ...

named it the second-best Van Halen song, writing that it "merely feels like insatiable straight-ahead rock, but the lick is freaky, obliquely hovering above the foundation while the drums oscillate between two unrelated performance philosophies."

Writing and composition

Reception

References

Further reading