A Reason to Fight

"A Reason to Fight" is a song by American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was released as the second single off of their seventh studio album Evolution. It topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for three weeks[1] and became the band's record-breaking sixth consecutive number one on the chart.[2]

"A Reason to Fight"
Single by Disturbed
from the album Evolution
ReleasedSeptember 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)
Recorded2018
GenreRock
Length4:44
Label
Songwriter(s)Disturbed and Kevin Churko
Producer(s)Kevin Churko
Disturbed singles chronology
"Are You Ready"
(2018)		 "A Reason to Fight"
(2018)		 "No More"
(2019)

Background

In July 2018, upon the completion of recording the band's seventh studio album Evolution, frontman David Draiman polled fans as to whether they preferred the first single to be a heavy rock song, more akin to most of their back catalogue, or a more mellow ballad song, more comparable to their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence".[3][4] Out of 80,000 respondents, over 83% chose "heavy" over "ballad".[4] As a result, "Are You Ready" was released as the first single from the album on August 16, 2018.[5]

The album's second single, the ballad "A Reason to Fight", was later released on September 21, 2018.[6][7] The song was chosen as a single to help represent the band's change in sound for the Evolution album, comparing it to what Metallica's "Black Album" was to the rest of their career up until that point.[8] A music video was also released at the time of the single's release, and was directed by Matt Mahurin, who had previously directed their "The Sound of Silence" music video.[9]

Themes and composition

Lyrically, the song is about battling addiction and depression; the song is meant to provide a positive and hopeful message for those struggling with it.[9] The rough song idea was initially proposed by guitarist Dan Donegan, and supported by frontman and lyricist David Draiman, who felt a personal connection to its message, having seen a number of people close to him struggle with addiction and depression.[9] The song is most commonly referred to as a ballad[10][11][12] prominently featuring acoustic guitar.[13] The song's musical direction was inspired by the band's success with their cover of "The Sound of Silence".[11]

Reception

Vince Neilstein of MetalSucks was critical of the song, summing it up as "Draiman whining over top acoustic guitars", but conceded that it was poised to do well at rock radio.[13]

Personnel

Disturbed

Charts
gollark: I think the most I've ever seen was a 3x setup, and that was compacted into a bunch of rows of machines.
gollark: Mekanism does 5x, and people never bother with *that*.
gollark: This excludes 50% of modded minecraft players.
gollark: It's a thinky mod which is powerful if you have any idea how to do maths and can read a manual.
gollark: Have you tried the newer thermal whatevers?

References
  1. https://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/2019/hot-mainstream-rock-tracks
  2. "Disturbed Scores Record-Breaking Sixth Straight Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  3. "Disturbed finish new album, ask fans to pick the first single". 31 July 2018.
  4. "Disturbed fans vote "heavy" over "ballad" for first single from new album - Music News - ABC News Radio". ABC News Radio.
  5. "Disturbed announce album release date, drop first single "Are You Ready"". 16 August 2018.
  6. "DISTURBED: 'A Reason To Fight' Single To Arrive This Friday". 19 September 2018.
  7. "Disturbed to Release 'A Reason to Fight' Single This Friday".
  8. "Disturbed tease new single A Reason To Fight".
  9. "Disturbed release acoustic ballad, "A Reason to Fight": Stream". 21 September 2018.
  10. Goronja, Ariel (20 September 2018). "Disturbed to Release 'A Reason to Fight' Single Friday".
  11. "Listen to a New Disturbed Song, 'A Reason to Fight'".
  12. "DISTURBED's New Power Ballad Gives Us "A Reason To Fight"". 21 September 2018.
  13. "Disturbed Give Us "A Reason to Fight" Their Earhole Abuse - MetalSucks". 21 September 2018.
  14. "Disturbed Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  15. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
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