"Showdown" is the fourth single and first track from the album In Silico by Australian electronic rock band Pendulum. It has been remixed by several artists, including DJ Clipz (who is also Red Light) and Excision. It is also the first single taken from In Silico not to use the album logo prominently on its cover.
The single was originally released through various online music stores on 5 January 2009. It was not available in any physical format until 9 February, when Warner Music UK released the 12-inchpicture disc of "Showdown". To help promote the single, Pendulum also released a Space Invaders themed video game which offered players a chance of winning an official framed gold disc of In Silico.[1]
"Showdown" was originally written and produced for the album In Silico by Rob Swire.[2][3] Although primarily influenced by drum and bass, the song contains prominent elements of both early hard rock and techno,[4][failed verification] and has even been described as "dance metal" by some critics.[5] "Showdown" opens with vocals from Swire, before going into a heavy guitarriff which is the main focus of the track. It also makes extensive use of both sampled and acoustic drums to produce large and heavy sounds respectively.[6]
Critical receptionedit
"Showdown" has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Angry Ape reviewer David Adair described the single as "a snappy and slightly abrasive number that will keep their new found fans amongst the Kerrang reading community, very happy".[7] David Knight observed that "you won't hear a better riff on a dance track without a great amount of searching", but described the remixes released with the single as "absolutely terrible".[5]
The music video for "Showdown", directed by Nick Bartleet, was released on MyspaceTV on 12 December 2008 to promote Pendulum's upcoming single.[8] It was originally intended to be Internet-only, but was subsequently A-listed on the television channel MTV Dance.[9]
The video draws parallels from dog fighting, focusing on a fight scene in which the dogs are replaced by two young women, and culminates in the escape of one woman at the end of the video. It also depicts controversial scenes of women being kept in cages and men gambling on the outcome of fights, which contributed to Knight describing the video as "highly problematic".[9] Some scenes of the video have been compared with the movie Fight Club by various sources, including Bartleet.[9]
Promotional video gameedit
The "Showdown" video game.
On 24 December, shortly after the release of their music video, Pendulum presented a Space Invaders themed video game on their website to further promote "Showdown". By scoring more points, players who submitted their details could unlock more of the "Live at the Brixton Academy" version of "Showdown". They also had a chance of winning an official framed gold disc of In Silico.[1]
The game was a modified version of Space Invaders, in which the aliens had been replaced with different coloured variants of the In Silico logo, and the bunkers were replaced with pairs of letters spelling out the band's name. Players had three lives to score as many points as possible, after which their score was logged on a high score table.[10] The album version of "Showdown" was played during the game.
Marketing and releaseedit
"Showdown" was first released on 5 January 2009 through various online music stores, including 7digital, Amazon.com, and iTunes.[11] Along with the album version and radio edit of the song, the download bundle included a live recording and several remixes by other artists. The single was later released on a 12-inchpicture disc, containing the album version and Excision remix of "Showdown", on 9 February by Warner Music UK.
The song "Showdown" was featured on In Silico as the opening track. It was the first single from the album not to use the In Silico logo prominently on its cover, although most of the logo can be seen on a bass drum in the cover art. Live versions of the song have appeared on iTunes Live: London Festival '08, as a B-side on "The Other Side", as well as in the single download bundle. It was also featured in the soundtrack of Disney Interactive Studios' off-road racing video game Pure.[12] The track is also featured in the first trailer for Forza Motorsport 3, on the Xbox 360 as well as in the game itself during races, and CSI: NY episode "Green Piece". The song was featured for available in the soundtrack of Marvel's the Punisher: War Zone.
Track listingsedit
These are the major formats and associated track listings of single releases of "Showdown", written and produced by Rob Swire.[2][13]
^Greene, Jo-Ann. In Silico > Overview. Allmusic, Macrovision. Retrieved on 3 March 2009.
^ abKnight, David (12 January 2009). Pendulum – Showdown [Single]. altsounds.com. Retrieved on 9 February 2009.
^Moayeri, Lily (1 July 2008). Pendulum on In Silico 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Remix Magazine. Retrieved on 9 February 2009.
^Adair, David (24 December 2008). Pendulum – Showdown [Warners]. Angry Ape. Retrieved on 9 February 2009.
^Pendulum (12 December 2008). The Next Single: "Showdown". Official website. Retrieved on 7 February 2009.
^ abcdKnight, David. Pendulum's "Showdown" by Nick Bartleet 2009-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. Promo News (15 January 2009). Retrieved on 7 February 2009.
^Pendulum Versus Space Invaders. Rock Sound TV (6 January 2009). Retrieved on 8 February 2009.
^ abcPendulum – Showdown. UK iTunes Store. Retrieved 4 February 2009. Note: Requires iTunes software with UK iTunes Store.
^Pure to Rock Hard. IGN Music (29 August 2008). Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
showdown, pendulum, song, showdown, fourth, single, first, track, from, album, silico, australian, electronic, rock, band, pendulum, been, remixed, several, artists, including, clipz, also, light, excision, also, first, single, taken, from, silico, album, logo. Showdown is the fourth single and first track from the album In Silico by Australian electronic rock band Pendulum It has been remixed by several artists including DJ Clipz who is also Red Light and Excision It is also the first single taken from In Silico not to use the album logo prominently on its cover Showdown Single by Pendulumfrom the album In SilicoReleased5 January 2009Recorded2007 2008GenreElectronic rock drum and bassLength5 27 album version 3 22 radio edit LabelWarner Music UKSongwriter s Rob SwireProducer s Rob SwirePendulum singles chronology The Other Side 2008 Showdown 2009 Watercolour 2010 Music videoPendulum video Showdown The single was originally released through various online music stores on 5 January 2009 It was not available in any physical format until 9 February when Warner Music UK released the 12 inch picture disc of Showdown To help promote the single Pendulum also released a Space Invaders themed video game which offered players a chance of winning an official framed gold disc of In Silico 1 Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Promotional video game 5 Marketing and release 6 Track listings 7 Personnel 7 1 Video personnel 8 Release history 9 References 10 External linksBackground and writing edit nbsp Showdown album version source source 30 second sample demonstrating the distinction between acoustic and sampled drums Problems playing this file See media help Showdown was originally written and produced for the album In Silico by Rob Swire 2 3 Although primarily influenced by drum and bass the song contains prominent elements of both early hard rock and techno 4 failed verification and has even been described as dance metal by some critics 5 Showdown opens with vocals from Swire before going into a heavy guitar riff which is the main focus of the track It also makes extensive use of both sampled and acoustic drums to produce large and heavy sounds respectively 6 Critical reception edit Showdown has received generally positive reviews from music critics Angry Ape reviewer David Adair described the single as a snappy and slightly abrasive number that will keep their new found fans amongst the Kerrang reading community very happy 7 David Knight observed that you won t hear a better riff on a dance track without a great amount of searching but described the remixes released with the single as absolutely terrible 5 Music video edit nbsp Part of the Fight Club style fight scene taken from the Showdown music video The music video for Showdown directed by Nick Bartleet was released on MyspaceTV on 12 December 2008 to promote Pendulum s upcoming single 8 It was originally intended to be Internet only but was subsequently A listed on the television channel MTV Dance 9 The video draws parallels from dog fighting focusing on a fight scene in which the dogs are replaced by two young women and culminates in the escape of one woman at the end of the video It also depicts controversial scenes of women being kept in cages and men gambling on the outcome of fights which contributed to Knight describing the video as highly problematic 9 Some scenes of the video have been compared with the movie Fight Club by various sources including Bartleet 9 Promotional video game edit nbsp The Showdown video game On 24 December shortly after the release of their music video Pendulum presented a Space Invaders themed video game on their website to further promote Showdown By scoring more points players who submitted their details could unlock more of the Live at the Brixton Academy version of Showdown They also had a chance of winning an official framed gold disc of In Silico 1 The game was a modified version of Space Invaders in which the aliens had been replaced with different coloured variants of the In Silico logo and the bunkers were replaced with pairs of letters spelling out the band s name Players had three lives to score as many points as possible after which their score was logged on a high score table 10 The album version of Showdown was played during the game Marketing and release edit Showdown was first released on 5 January 2009 through various online music stores including 7digital Amazon com and iTunes 11 Along with the album version and radio edit of the song the download bundle included a live recording and several remixes by other artists The single was later released on a 12 inch picture disc containing the album version and Excision remix of Showdown on 9 February by Warner Music UK The song Showdown was featured on In Silico as the opening track It was the first single from the album not to use the In Silico logo prominently on its cover although most of the logo can be seen on a bass drum in the cover art Live versions of the song have appeared on iTunes Live London Festival 08 as a B side on The Other Side as well as in the single download bundle It was also featured in the soundtrack of Disney Interactive Studios off road racing video game Pure 12 The track is also featured in the first trailer for Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox 360 as well as in the game itself during races and CSI NY episode Green Piece The song was featured for available in the soundtrack of Marvel s the Punisher War Zone Track listings editThese are the major formats and associated track listings of single releases of Showdown written and produced by Rob Swire 2 13 Music download 11 released 5 January 2009 Showdown 5 27 Showdown radio edit 3 22 Showdown DJ Clipz remix 4 52 Showdown Excision remix 4 47 Showdown Redlight remix 5 09 Showdown live at Brixton Academy 7 38 12 inch picture disc vinyl 13 WEA454T released 9 February 2009 Showdown 5 27 Showdown Excision remix 4 47Personnel edit Showdown is credited to 3 13 Pendulum Rob Swire writer producer vocals mixing Gareth McGrillen production assistant bass guitar Peredur ap Gwynedd guitar Paul Kodish acoustic drumsOther contributors Simon Askew mixing John Davis mastering Paul West logo design Hugh Pescod DJ Clipz Red Light remix Excision remix Video personnel edit The music video for Showdown is credited to 9 Nick Bartleet director editor Phoebe Lloyd producer Marko Fuchs assistant director Eric Maddison director of photography Zara Phythian actor lead martial artist Helen Bailey actor martial artist John Moule video commissionerRelease history editRegion Release date Format CatalogueUnited Kingdom 5 January 2009 Download EP None 11 9 February 2009 12 inch single WEA454T 13 References edit a b Pendulum 24 December 2008 Win an In Silico gold disc Official website Retrieved on 7 February 2009 a b Showdown at APRA search engine Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Retrieved on 6 May 2009 a b Pendulum 12 May 2008 In Silico special edition liner notes Warner Music Group 2564695276 Greene Jo Ann In Silico gt Overview Allmusic Macrovision Retrieved on 3 March 2009 a b Knight David 12 January 2009 Pendulum Showdown Single altsounds com Retrieved on 9 February 2009 Moayeri Lily 1 July 2008 Pendulum on In Silico Archived 2008 12 02 at the Wayback Machine Remix Magazine Retrieved on 9 February 2009 Adair David 24 December 2008 Pendulum Showdown Warners Angry Ape Retrieved on 9 February 2009 Pendulum 12 December 2008 The Next Single Showdown Official website Retrieved on 7 February 2009 a b c d Knight David Pendulum s Showdown by Nick Bartleet Archived 2009 01 21 at the Wayback Machine Promo News 15 January 2009 Retrieved on 7 February 2009 Pendulum Versus Space Invaders Rock Sound TV 6 January 2009 Retrieved on 8 February 2009 a b c Pendulum Showdown UK iTunes Store Retrieved 4 February 2009 Note Requires iTunes software with UK iTunes Store Pure to Rock Hard IGN Music 29 August 2008 Retrieved on 14 February 2009 a b c d Pendulum 9 February 2009 Showdown liner notes Warner Music UK WEA454T External links edit Showdown at Discogs Showdown at MusicBrainz Showdown at rolldabeats Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Showdown Pendulum song amp oldid 1152970761, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
