Electric Eye (song)
Encyclopedia
"Electric Eye" is a song by British
heavy metal
band
Judas Priest
, from their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance
, and released as a single later that year. It has become a staple at concerts, usually played as the first song.
Benediction
, Helloween
, amongst many other bands, have covered this song.
Musically, the song is in the key of E minor
, and its guitar solo
is played by Glenn Tipton
.
"Electric Eye" is featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
for PSP
and PlayStation 2
. It is also a playable track in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
as a master track, including "The Hellion", and it also appears on Guitar Hero Smash Hits. Additionally, it is available for download on Rock Band
, as of April 22, 2009, as part of the entire Screaming for Vengeance album download, or as a single song. It was also featured in the second trailer for the video game Brütal Legend
.
This song is referenced in the movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, in the song "Break in-City (Storm the Gate!)".
"Electric Eye" is an allusion to the book Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
, in the use of the name of the pseudo-omnniscient satellite that watches over the community at all times. In this dystopia
, the form of government, Ingsoc
(Newspeak
for English Socialism
), is utterly totalitarian, and if citizens are caught rebelling in any manner, they "disappear". The song has been called "prescient" for its depiction of a modern surveillance state
.
The song is usually played right after the album's intro "The Hellion" during live concerts. An exception is during the tour for the album Demolition
, in which the band went straight into "Electric Eye" with no intro, which can be heard on their live album Live in London
. "The Hellion" was recently used for a commercial for the 2011 Honda Odyssey.
The song was played live at the 2011 Revolver Magazine
Golden God Awards show by Duff McKagan
's Loaded
, with vocals by Slipknot
's Corey Taylor
and guitar by The Sex Pistols' Steve Jones
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, from their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance
Screaming for Vengeance
Screaming for Vengeance is the eighth studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain and mixed at Beejay Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Florida. It was first released on 17 July 1982...
, and released as a single later that year. It has become a staple at concerts, usually played as the first song.
Benediction
Benediction (band)
Benediction is a British death metal band from Birmingham, England. They were formed in February 1989.-Biography:The Birmingham-based death metal band Benediction were formed in February 1989 by Paul Adams , Peter Rew , Darren Brookes , and Mark "Barney" Greenway...
, Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
, amongst many other bands, have covered this song.
Musically, the song is in the key of E minor
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
, and its guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
is played by Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton is one of the Grammy Award-winning guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest...
.
"Electric Eye" is featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
for PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. It is also a playable track in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s is a music video game and the third installment in the popular Guitar Hero series...
as a master track, including "The Hellion", and it also appears on Guitar Hero Smash Hits. Additionally, it is available for download on Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, as of April 22, 2009, as part of the entire Screaming for Vengeance album download, or as a single song. It was also featured in the second trailer for the video game Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
.
This song is referenced in the movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, in the song "Break in-City (Storm the Gate!)".
"Electric Eye" is an allusion to the book Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
by George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
, in the use of the name of the pseudo-omnniscient satellite that watches over the community at all times. In this dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
, the form of government, Ingsoc
Ingsoc
Ingsoc is the political ideology of the totalitarian government of Oceania in George Orwell's dystopian science fiction novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.-Fictionalised origin of Ingsoc:...
(Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it refers to the deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state. Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an appendix in which the basic principles of the language are explained...
for English Socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
), is utterly totalitarian, and if citizens are caught rebelling in any manner, they "disappear". The song has been called "prescient" for its depiction of a modern surveillance state
Surveillance state
The surveillance state is a government's surveillance of large numbers of citizens and visitors. Such widespread surveillance is most usually justified as being necessary to prevent crime or terrorism....
.
The song is usually played right after the album's intro "The Hellion" during live concerts. An exception is during the tour for the album Demolition
Demolition (Judas Priest album)
Demolition is British heavy metal band Judas Priest's fourteenth studio album, and the first in the decade of the 2000s. It is the second and final studio album to feature Tim 'Ripper' Owens on vocals and one of the few albums to feature a Parental Advisory label...
, in which the band went straight into "Electric Eye" with no intro, which can be heard on their live album Live in London
Live in London (Judas Priest album)
Live in London is a concert album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was recorded at Brixton Academy on December 19, 2001, and is the last album the band released with Tim "Ripper" Owens before they reunited with Rob Halford. A live DVD was also filmed in the same concert.-Track...
. "The Hellion" was recently used for a commercial for the 2011 Honda Odyssey.
The song was played live at the 2011 Revolver Magazine
Revolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
Golden God Awards show by Duff McKagan
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician and writer. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bassist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
's Loaded
Loaded (band)
Loaded is an American hard rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1999. Since 2001, the band's line-up has included vocalist and rhythm guitarist Duff McKagan , lead guitarist Mike Squires and bassist Jeff Rouse Loaded (also known as Duff McKagan's Loaded) is an American hard rock band...
, with vocals by Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
's Corey Taylor
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...
and guitar by The Sex Pistols' Steve Jones
Steve Jones
- Music :* Steve Jones , English rock and roll guitarist and singer, member of the Sex Pistols* Steve Jones, musician and television producer- Sports :* Steve Jones , Welsh athlete...
.
Personnel
- Rob HalfordRob HalfordRobert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
- vocals - Glenn TiptonGlenn TiptonGlenn Tipton is one of the Grammy Award-winning guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - K. K. DowningK. K. DowningKenneth "K.K." Downing, Jr. is a Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter and a founding member of the British heavy metal band Judas Priest...
- rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Ian HillIan HillIan Hill is a founding member and bassist for the Birmingham-based Grammy award winning heavy metal band, Judas Priest....
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dave HollandDave Holland (drummer)Dave Holland is an English rock drummer, best remembered from his stint with Judas Priest between 1979 and 1989. He served time in prison for attempted rape of a 17-year-old boy...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
See also
- Mass surveillanceMass surveillanceMass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
- New World Order (conspiracy theory)