Released 23 May 2011 Recorded 2009–10 | Format Digital download Label mau5trap
Ultra
Virgin | |
Genre Progressive house
dubstep Length 3:22 (radio edit)
8:22 (album version) | ||
"Raise Your Weapon" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer deadmau5. It was released on May 23, 2011 as the fourth and final single from his fifth studio album 4×4=12. The song was written by Joel "deadmau5" Zimmerman, Cydney Sheffield, & Sonny "Skrillex" Moore and features contributing vocals from Greta Svabo Bech. Musically, "Raise Your Weapon" is a progressive house song that begins with a piano melody and Bech's vocals and ends with a dubstep breakdown done by Moore with the vocals repeated. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, with some highlighting it as a standout track from the album. It reached number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his first song to make an entry on the chart. It also reached number 117 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was nominated at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording, where he also performed the song in a sequence with David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters, with the songs being "I Can Only Imagine" and "Rope."
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Critical reception
"Raise Your Weapon" received generally positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries from Allmusic gave the song a positive review, saying, "When the one-two punch of “Raise Your Weapon” and “One Trick Pony” introduce the Mau5’s newfound love of dubstep, you’ve got just enough variety." Will Hermes of Rolling Stone also gave a positive review, "The masterstroke is "Raise Your Weapon," which breaks down into a sick dubstep beat. "How does it feel now, to watch it burn?" asks singer Greta Svabo Bech before the bass hits". Dave Simpson of The Guardian said "Raise Your Weapon – featuring Greta Svabo Bech's soulful vocal – shows he can turn his hand to thoughtful sounds". Alex Denney of BBC Music "Raise Your Weapons lurches suddenly from vocal-led, ambient house into the dentist-drill arsenal of sounds more commonly associated with Benga". Michelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club gave the song a mixed review, calling Bech's verses "half-baked" and the use of dubstep "by-the-numbers".
Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number 117 on the UK Singles Chart briefly after the single's release in mid-2011. In the United States, the song debuted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue date of March 3, 2012, as well as number 11 on the Heatseekers Songs chart. It also made an entry at 93 on the Canadian Hot 100. According to Keith Caulfield of Billboard, its latest chart entries is possibly due to a sales boost after performing at the 54th Grammy Awards along with David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters.