Raise Your Fist and Yell
Encyclopedia
Raise Your Fist and Yell is the 17th studio album
by rock
musician Alice Cooper
released on September 5th 1987. It features the track "Prince of Darkness", which is featured very briefly in the John Carpenter
film of the same name
, in which Cooper has a cameo as a murderous vagrant. The song can be heard on the Walkman of one of his victims. A music video was made for the song "Freedom
" which also became the album's hit single.
The album continues the slasher film
trend created by Cooper's previous album Constrictor
. The track "Lock Me Up" features a guest appearance from Robert Englund
, who portrayed Freddy Krueger
in the A Nightmare On Elm Street
series.
The album also seems to loosely have a story. The story is about an unnamed serial killer that has an obsession with horror movies, he then proceeds to ride around at night picking up prostitutes and murdering them. He also sees a young woman named Mary as "Gail" one of his previous victims whom he stabbed in the chest with a knife and buried (possibly a coincidence, but Alice's wife Sheryl Cooper's middle name is Gail). In the final song "Roses on White Lace" it is revealed that the killer breaks into the room of a bride-to-be and brutally kills her; after which he proceeds to hide away pieces of her body. The story has a few similarities to Cooper's 2008 concept album Along Came a Spider.
The album cover for "Raise Your Fist and Yell" was painted by artist Jim Warren.
, but offered new theatrics such as impaling a person with a bike (This was also seen in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
, which Cooper himself had a cameo role in, playing a vagrant who kills one of the characters). Most of the tour's more violent acts were heavily inspired by the horror movies of the time, by including graphic onstage deaths and larger amounts of stage blood. Cooper has been said to be a big fan of these movies.
The show was seen to so be violent that the German government forced Cooper to remove some of the more graphic parts of the show. A Member of Parliament in the UK, David Blunkett
, appealed to have the show banned altogether from the country, but his attempt was unsuccessful.
and Kane Roberts
except where noted.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
released on September 5th 1987. It features the track "Prince of Darkness", which is featured very briefly in the John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
film of the same name
Prince of Darkness (film)
Prince of Darkness is a 1987 horror film directed, written, and scored by John Carpenter. The film is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy", which began with The Thing and concludes with In the Mouth of Madness .-Plot:The movie opens with a dying priest clutching...
, in which Cooper has a cameo as a murderous vagrant. The song can be heard on the Walkman of one of his victims. A music video was made for the song "Freedom
Freedom (Alice Cooper song)
"Freedom" is a 1987 single by rock singer Alice Cooper, taken from his 10th solo studio album, Raise Your Fist and Yell. It was written by Alice Cooper and Kane Roberts....
" which also became the album's hit single.
The album continues the slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
trend created by Cooper's previous album Constrictor
Constrictor (album)
Constrictor is the 16th studio album by rock musician Alice Cooper released on September 22 1986. After retiring from the music industry after the release of DaDa, Cooper remained in seclusion for three years. He starred in Monster Dog, a horror film for which he wrote two songs. He also guest...
. The track "Lock Me Up" features a guest appearance from Robert Englund
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
, who portrayed Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
in the A Nightmare On Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
series.
The album also seems to loosely have a story. The story is about an unnamed serial killer that has an obsession with horror movies, he then proceeds to ride around at night picking up prostitutes and murdering them. He also sees a young woman named Mary as "Gail" one of his previous victims whom he stabbed in the chest with a knife and buried (possibly a coincidence, but Alice's wife Sheryl Cooper's middle name is Gail). In the final song "Roses on White Lace" it is revealed that the killer breaks into the room of a bride-to-be and brutally kills her; after which he proceeds to hide away pieces of her body. The story has a few similarities to Cooper's 2008 concept album Along Came a Spider.
The album cover for "Raise Your Fist and Yell" was painted by artist Jim Warren.
Tour
The tour for this album, dubbed "Live in the Flesh," was notorious in Europe for its graphic violence and theatricality. The show included many of Cooper's old favourites, such as the gallowsGallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
, but offered new theatrics such as impaling a person with a bike (This was also seen in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
Prince of Darkness (film)
Prince of Darkness is a 1987 horror film directed, written, and scored by John Carpenter. The film is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy", which began with The Thing and concludes with In the Mouth of Madness .-Plot:The movie opens with a dying priest clutching...
, which Cooper himself had a cameo role in, playing a vagrant who kills one of the characters). Most of the tour's more violent acts were heavily inspired by the horror movies of the time, by including graphic onstage deaths and larger amounts of stage blood. Cooper has been said to be a big fan of these movies.
The show was seen to so be violent that the German government forced Cooper to remove some of the more graphic parts of the show. A Member of Parliament in the UK, David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
, appealed to have the show banned altogether from the country, but his attempt was unsuccessful.
Track listing
All songs written by Alice CooperAlice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
and Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts,born Robert William Athas is a heavy metal guitarist best known for his tenure in Alice Cooper's band during the late 1980s...
except where noted.
- "FreedomFreedom (Alice Cooper song)"Freedom" is a 1987 single by rock singer Alice Cooper, taken from his 10th solo studio album, Raise Your Fist and Yell. It was written by Alice Cooper and Kane Roberts....
" – 4:09 - "Lock Me Up" – 3:24
- "Give the Radio Back" – 3:34
- "Step on You" – 3:39
- "Not That Kind of Love" – 3:15
- "Prince of Darkness" – 5:10
- "Time to Kill" – 3:39
- "Chop, Chop, Chop" – 3:06
- "Gail" (Cooper, Roberts, Kip WingerKip WingerCharles Frederick Kip Winger is an American rock musician, both a member of the hard rock band, Winger, and a solo artist.-Early days:Winger was born in Denver, Colorado to parents who were both jazz musicians....
) – 2:30 - "Roses on White Lace" – 4:27
Personnel
- Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
- Vocals - Kane RobertsKane RobertsKane Roberts,born Robert William Athas is a heavy metal guitarist best known for his tenure in Alice Cooper's band during the late 1980s...
- Guitar - Kip WingerKip WingerCharles Frederick Kip Winger is an American rock musician, both a member of the hard rock band, Winger, and a solo artist.-Early days:Winger was born in Denver, Colorado to parents who were both jazz musicians....
- Bass - Paul Horowitz (Paul TaylorPaul Taylor (Winger)Paul Taylor , formerly credited as Paul Howorwitz, is an American musician, who is best known as the guitarist/keyboardist with the 1980s and early 90s glam metal band, Winger...
) - Keyboards - Ken K. MaryKen MaryKen Mary is a heavy metal drummer known for having played in many groups such as Accept, Fifth Angel, Chastain, TKO, Impellitteri, House of Lords, Bonfire and Alice Cooper...
- Drums
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Billboard 200 | 73 |
| 1987 | UK Albums Chart | 48 |
| 1987 | Swedish Albums Chart | 15 |