Reapers (song)
2016 single by Muse
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"Reapers" is a song by English rock band Muse, first released as the second promotional single off their seventh studio album Drones, and later as a 7" single, as part of Record Store Day, on 16 April 2016, the fifth and final single from the album. The song peaked at No. 75 on the French Singles Chart, No. 71 on the Swiss Hitparade singles chart, No. 37 on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs, and became Muse's highest-charting single at the time on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs at No. 2; it has since been surpassed on the latter chart by "Won't Stand Down," which reached No. 1 in May 2022.
| "Reapers" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Muse | ||||
| from the album Drones | ||||
| Released | 16 April 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2014 | |||
| Studio | The Warehouse Studio (Vancouver, British Columbia)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:59 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Matthew Bellamy | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Muse singles chronology | ||||
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Release
"Reapers" was released a promotional single for Drones on 29 May 2015. It was released as a Record Store Day 7" picture disc vinyl on 16 April 2016. The A-side consists of the song's album version, while the B-side consists of a live performance at the Gloria Theater in Köln, Germany. The release also includes a fold-your-own paper plane (marketed as a "paper drone").[4][5]
Music video
A lyric video for the song was uploaded to the band's official YouTube channel on 29 May 2015.[6] A full video followed. Rolling Stone called it "brutal and chilling ... fittingly blunt, depicting a man caught in the crosshairs of a drone and running for his life while a woman with red lipstick waits to pull the trigger."[7]
Critical reception
In an album review for The Observer, Kitty Empire commented that the pacy song "exposes the overlap between the unfeeling destruction of drone warfare and the unfeeling destruction wrought by people tearing each other apart," referring to Muse frontman Matt Bellamy's break-up from fiancée Kate Hudson. She also compared Bellamy to Yngwie Malmsteen, noting that the song contains "meaty riffs."[8]
Track listing
Digital download
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Reapers" | 5:59 |
7" vinyl
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Reapers" | 5:59 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Reapers" (Live in Köln) | 5:59 |
Personnel
Personnel adapted from single liner notes.[9]
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Charts
| Chart (2015–16) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[10] | 45 |
| Canada Rock (Billboard)[11] | 39 |
| France (SNEP)[12] | 75 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 71 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] | 127 |
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[15] | 37 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] | 2 |