Format Digital download Label Roadrunner | Length 3:40 | |
Released April 20, 2009 (2009-04-20) Genre Heavy metal
alternative metal Writer(s) Deron Miller
Chad I Ginsburg | ||
"Hellions on Parade" is a song by American heavy metal band CKY. Written by Deron Miller and Chad I Ginsburg, it was featured on the band's 2009 fourth studio album, Carver City. "Hellions on Parade" is the third song in the band's "Hellview" song trilogy, succeeding "96 Quite Bitter Beings" and "Escape from Hellview". It was released as the first single from Carver City on April 20, 2009.
Contents
Recording and music
Vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter Deron Miller has revealed that he recorded the vocals for "Hellions on Parade" alone in Santa Monica, California (at 4th Street Recording, according to the liner notes for Carver City), amid tensions between members of the band. Speaking about the musical style of the track, he noted that it contains "really cool keyboard lines ... and it turned out really heavy".
Lyrical content
"Hellions on Parade" was written as the third entry in the band's "Hellview" song trilogy, which started with "96 Quite Bitter Beings" (from 1999's Volume 1) and "Escape from Hellview" (from 2002's Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild). According to Miller, "Hellview" is a story "about a town that doesn't take kindly to outsiders", and the story of the third song in the trilogy "is about Hellview destroying its rival city".
Promotion and release
The opening track on Carver City, "Hellions on Parade" was released as a digital download single on April 20, 2009. In 2015, it was included on the reissue of the compilation album The Best of CKY.
Critical reception
In a review of the album Carver City for the website PopMatters, Lana Cooper praised "Hellions on Parade" for its "finely-tuned production and songwriting elements", highlighting the "chugging guitar riffs" and presence of keyboards, which she assured added to the song's "eerie atmosphere".