Bat Country

"Bat Country"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album City of Evil
Released	August 9, 2005
Format	Compact Disc, 7" vinyl
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock
Length	5:13 4:11 (radio edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	M. Shadows and The Rev
Producer(s)	Andrew Murdock Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Burn It Down" (2005) "Bat Country" (2005) "Beast and the Harlot" (2006)
Audio sample file info · help

"Bat Country" is a song by Avenged Sevenfold. The song was released in August 2005 as the second single from their third album, City of Evil. Avenged Sevenfold won 'Best New Artist Video' at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards for "Bat Country" and on October 1, 2009, the single was certified gold by the RIAA.

Background and content

The song's main influence comes from Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and the title itself also comes from a line from the book in which Raoul Duke, the alter-ego pseudonym of Thompson himself, is on his way to Las Vegas while being affected by various drugs, and thus hallucinates, seeing huge bats and manta rays in the sky. With this, he gasps to his companion and attorney, Dr. Gonzo, "We can't stop here. This is bat country."

The following quote, also included at the beginning of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is referred to twice throughout the song (at the beginning and the bridge before the last chorus) and is shown at the beginning of the music video.

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." - Dr. Johnson

Also referenced in the song is a lyric derived from the final words spoken about Dr. Gonzo at the end of the film adaptation. The lyric is used at the end of the second breakdown of the song, as the final lyric of the song.

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." - Raoul Duke

In popular culture

The song has been used in several video games including EA Sports' NHL 06, Madden NFL 06,^[1] SSX on Tour, Saints Row 2, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as downloadable content for Rock Band and Rock Band 2, the iPhone application Tap Tap Revenge 3 and on the newer version Tap Tap Revenge 4. The song is featured on the soundtrack to the extreme mountain bike film New World Disorder 7: Flying High Again. The song is featured in the rhythm game Rocksmith 2014. The song appeared on an episode of the FOX TV series Bones entitled "The Superhero in the Alley". It is also appeared briefly in the film comedy Big Momma's House 2.

Track listings

CD

1. "Bat Country" - 5:13
2. "Beast and the Harlot" (Live from the Warped Tour) - 6:08
3. "Bat Country" (Music video)

Charts and sales

Personnel

Avenged Sevenfold

• M. Shadows - lead vocals
• Zacky Vengeance - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• The Rev - drums, backing vocals
• Synyster Gates - lead guitar, backing vocals
• Johnny Christ - bass

Production

• Produced by Andrew Murdock
• Music video directed by Marc Klasfeld
• Artwork by Cam Rackam

References

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics