Empire (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Empire" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Kasabian | ||
| from the album Empire | ||
| B-side(s) | "Black Whistler" | |
| Released | 24 July 2006 | |
| Format | CD, 10", Maxi-CD | |
| Recorded | 2005 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:53 (album version) 3:24 (single version) |
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| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Producer(s) | Jim Abbiss, Kasabian | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Kasabian singles chronology | ||
| "Club Foot (reissue)" (2005) |
"Empire" (2006) |
"Shoot the Runner" (2006) |
| 10" cover | ||
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"Empire" is a song by British rock band Kasabian, and is the lead track to their second album, Empire. It was released 24 July 2006 as the lead single from that album on CD (see 2006 in British music). On 21 August 2006, a 10" and Maxi-CD versions of the single were released. The song was available as a pre-order on the band's website which also included a free download of their cover of David Bowie's "Heroes," which was used for ITV's coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
[edit] Track listings
[edit] CD
- "Empire" – 3:24
- "Black Whistler" – 3:40
[edit] 10"
- "Empire" (Single Edit) – 3:24
- "Empire (Jagz Kooner Remix)" –
[edit] DVD
- "Empire" – 3:24
- "Ketang" –
- "Empire EPK" (video)
[edit] Music Video
The music video for "Empire" was directed by W.I.Z. with casting by Sorin Tarau, and featured on the DVD single. It portrays the members of Kasabian as soldiers during the Crimean War. The video was shot on location outside Bucharest.
Matching the strong anti-war message of the song, the "Empire" video presents a look of fiery death and destruction caused by the war, opening with a boy messenger getting shot in the back while delivering the band a message (as a reference to their song 'Shoot the Runner'), and concluding with the band themselves killed by their general when they refrain from entering the battlefield. The video closes with a sardonic use of the Latin phrase, "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori", well-known as part of the famous anti-war poem written by First World War soldier Wilfred Owen.
