Kustom Kompilation: War Pigs

In 1970, Black Sabbath created what I consider to be the ultimate anti-war song.  Far from a whiny, folksy, gently phrased call to resistance, "War Pigs" is an electric nightmare, heavily drenched in gloom, placing war in its deserved, real-life horror context, and re-casting our generals (and by extension, our statesmen) as "sorcerer(s) of death's construction." The song is a perennial rock anthem, and its riff-vocal-riff-vocal call/response pattern in the verses must be familiar to almost everyone in the world.

In 2003, swollen with frustration over the new Iraq war (which continues to rage on in idiocy), I was inspired to create a compilation of my favorite versions of the Sabbath classic, as well as render a deconstruction of my own (see track 5.) The compilation was purely subjective and is not intended to be comprehensive at all, hence the exclusion of versions by Rondellus, Gov't Mule, Sacred Reich and Hayseed Dixie. Since 2003, I have added a very worthy interpretation by Cake (complete with Latin brass.) Obviously, all these versions meet my standard, but I'm especially fond of the opener, by hardcore-techno-gabber freaks Doormouse.

War Pigs, by:

Doormouse | Faith No More | PIG | Slaves on Dope | Sinistre! | Cake

Download CD insert / artwork

If you have a Facebook login, you can join the Death and Hatred to Mankind FB Group—where our discourse on this great song can continue indefinitely....

Comments

[Ray Brazenbrann]

Suggested bonus track: Alice donut's version. Remeber that one? That was a pretty brassy take too...

[James]

Freakwater also did a fine version of this song.

[etherealpr]

Here's a link to the Alice Donut track, in all its blaring snazziness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxJMZQw7Gyc

[Jeffersonic]

It's hard to beat those first four Black Sabbath records. I still listen to them regular-like.

[WmMBerger]

Me too! I listen to all the Ozzy/Sabbath albums regularly. There's a great Henry Rollins bit where he suggests that El Niño should be renamed "The First Four Black Sabbath Albums."

[Mike Flugennock]

My wife is about ten years older than I, and we have a sort of intra-Baby Boom generation-gap issue regarding protest music. She's firmly in the PeterPaul&Mary-Joan Baez school of protest songs, whereas my favorite protest songs are things like The Clash's "London's Burning", The Who's version of "Summertime Blues" from Live At Leeds, and Sabbath's inimitable "War Pigs".

Still in all, you can't slam Dylan's "Masters Of War". It may be played in the folk idiom, but it's decidedly not whiny -- a rarity, a folkie protest song with some real balls to it -- and is, in fact, one of my favorite anti-war songs, right up there with "War Pigs".

[Wendy del Formaggio]

Thanks, Wm.!

Haha, I like the Henry Rollins suggestion. We should all call our congresspeople and suggest it.

[elizabeth]

You all rule. As a trombonist, I was all ready to chime in with, "What about Alice Donut?" but two of you already beat me to it.

[paul]

doormouse 4eva!!!!!!!

[jeff]

>>>I listen to all the Ozzy/Sabbath albums regularly.

backed... well, honestly, i don't much go in for technical ecstasy very much. the others are all top shelf.

[Wm.]

At the time Technical Ecstasy came out, it seemed like a low point—but now I like it a lot. C'mon, "Back Street Kids" -- "Gypsy" -- "Rock and Roll Doctor"!!!

[Ray Brazen]

Yo what about Sabotage? That's my personal favorite. Might it be anyone else's? The only track that makes it less than perfection for me is "Supertzar." The rest is golden, man.

[DBinNYC]

Back to "War Pigs", check out the Alex Skolnick Trio's jazzolicious version:
http://www.last.fm/music/Alex+Skolnick+Trio/_/War+Pigs?autostart

Sabbath rules. I even like some of the Dio days.

And a shameless plug. Here's the Crumbsuckers doing "Sweet Leaf" back in 1984:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/crumbsuckers-sweet-leaf

[Nick the Bard]

Sabotage
Dehumanizer
Black Sabbath
Never Say Die
Mob Rules
Paranoid
Vol. 4/Master of Reality
Technical Ecstsy
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

That's my order, out of what I've heard albumwise anyway. I REALLY wish the non-Ozzy-non-Dio stuff were easier to obtain...

[j]

"Sabotage" is their Sgt. Pepper's & I love the duds they're wearing on the front (& back) of the record. Don't forget 'Into the Void' off of the Master of Reality album - some fine apocalyptic sludge. They could write the ominous riffs, couldn't they?

[laura c]

The Dresden Dolls do a FANTASTIC live version of "War Pigs".

[Joe]

The South African hard rock band Suck did a good version on their Time To Suck LP.

[jonp72]

I'm pretty sure I saw the Flaming Lips do "War Pigs" on a broadcast of Austin City Limits. Or did I merely dream that?

[TageSavage]

Cake are the gayest band ever to be put into FM alt-rock rotation.

[boil]

Give it up for FNM already. There is no more furious version.

[Jaybone]

There was a band called SUCK that released an album of covers in 1970 which contained a version of War Pigs. From the beginning, others thought that Black Sabbath were classik! Hard to believe that the first Sabbath record was recorded so cheaply (like 600 pounds?) and sounds infinitely better than so much that's been released since!

[Jaybone]

Oh, and yes, the Lips DID do War Pigs on Austin City Limits with guest Cat Power (Chan Marshall...or whatever). Not bad, although treated more as a novelty than a real attempt at the song.