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Celebrate Veterans Day with a War-Themed Metal Playlist by Battlecross

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BattlecrossToday is Veterans Day in the United States — for our international readers, it’s a federal holiday that honors people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. To celebrate, the lads in Battlecross have put together a playlist of the most war-appropriate metal songs of all time. Here’s guitarist Hiran Deraniyagala:

Some of these songs immediately came to mind when thinking of war-related songs and for others I had to dig deeper into the lyrics (some songs have “war” or ‘battle” in the title but be about something different entirely).

Take “Disposable Heroes” by Metallica, one of the heaviest Metallica songs. It takes a political look at how soldiers may be perceived by the government to fight their wars. Slayer’s “War Ensemble” is another unforgettable track that takes a harsh but realistic view of going into battle: that there are no friends amongst your enemies, and your mission is to kill.

Nevertheless, war is brutal and I think metal musicians and fans can only imagine the sacrifice that’s required of serving in the military. Although these songs attempt to tell a story about war, heavy metal has helped fight wars as well. Extreme music has a distinct spot on the playlists of many soldiers and inspires them to get ready for duty every day; we’re honored that Battlecross is among them.

Happy Veterans Day and thank you for your service. Veterans — Please visit www.vettix.org to attend our upcoming tour on us. It’s not much, but the least we can do is perform for you and show you how you inspire us as a band. Thank you.

Battlecross head into a battle of their own in just two weeks, when they head out on the Winter Warriors tour with Wretched and War of Ages. Jam their playlist below, then click for tour dates to figure out where and when you can catch them on the road — trust us, you do NOT want to miss the whirlwind that is Battlecross live!

Track list:

Black Sabbath – “War Pigs”
Cannibal Corpse – “Time to Kill is Now”
Black Label Society – “Graveyard Disciples”
Metallica – “Disposable Heroes”
Metallica – “One”
Goatwhore – “When Steel and Bone Meet”
GWAR – “Battle Lust”
Iron Maiden – “Run To The Hills”
Slayer – “War Ensemble”
Testament – “Killing Season”
Megadeth – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due”
Megadeth – “Take No Prisoners”
Vader – “Forwards To Die”
Terrorizer – “After World Obliteration”
Warbringer – “Total War”
Morbid Angel – “This Means War!”
The entire Passiondale album by God Dethroned

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