Military Rock Songs For A Rockin’ West Michigan Veterans Day
It is Veterans Day today (November 11) and I never heard of a list of rock songs for your Veterans Day event so I put a list of songs you can rock out to.
I will put out a disclaimer on this list of songs I found, no we don't play all of them regularly and some are not directly about Veterans Day but all have a military theme and they rock.
Drowning Pool has had its share of lead singers that is for sure. Their song Soldiers is from their third album Full Circle. This was the first of two albums to feature their third singer Ryan McCombs. This video was shot from a visit the band made to Iraq to play for the soldiers.
Drowning Pool - Soldiers
Another great song that speaks about our Veterans is from former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar from his solo days before joining the band. This particular Hagar track came from his Three Lock Box album from 1983. Unfortunately, Remember the Heroes was put out before everyone was making videos for every song they released. A fan put this together to celebrate our troops.
Sammy Hagar - Remember The Heroes
Credence Clearwater Revival put a great song out call Fortunate Son on their fourth album Willy And The Poor Boys. The Vietnam War had been going on since 1967 with nearly half a million troops that had been deployed. Fortunate Son came out 2 years later in 1969 that hit home with those coming home from the war. This is another song that was before the era of making videos but someone did put together a version from stock video from the Vietnam War.
Credence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son
Avenged Sevenfold made their fifth album which was called Hail To The King. This was their first album for their original drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan who passed away did not play on. Avenged Sevenfold enlisted The Rev's favorite drummer Mike Portney who at the time was the drummer for Dream Theater. This song This Means War was released in 2014 and reached number 4 on the U.S charts. The video has a military setting that shows what war can be like from a soldier's perspective.
Avenged Sevenfold - This Means War
Metallica has many songs that soldiers identify with but I chose Don't Tread on Me because it exemplifies what being a flag-waving American is all about. The song is from the band's biggest album dubbed the Black Album. Don't Tread on Me wasn't an official single so there is no official video but a YouTube user put something together to fit the occasion.
Metallica - Don't Tread On Me
The legendary War Pigs from Black Sabbath may not be the traditional military anthem since it is less about soldiers and more about the politicians and warmongers. Remember a soldier only does what they are told by their commanders to represent their country. Soldiers don't decide why, they just serve their country and we thank them for it. Someone put together a great cinematic video to accompany the song.
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
The White Stripes created their album Elephant that contained their biggest release in the history of the band, Seven Nation Army. This is a song often heard between plays in stadiums of sporting events. Seven Nation Army has a way of bringing big audiences together.
White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Slayer released War Ensemble in 1990. It came from their album Seasons of the Abyss. War Ensemble is like Sabbath's War Pigs in the sense that it's not about the soldiers who battle at war but the world leaders who desire conflict. That being said, I have met countless soldiers that said when they went to battle or even workout to prepare for war, Slayer was their soundtrack.
Slayer - War Ensemble
Alice Chains Rooster is very personal for guitarist Jerry Cantrell wrote about his father who served as a sniper. Cantrell's dad never spoke much about his time in service but if you watch the video, Jerry himself gives you a little look inside that relationship with is father on the intro of the Rooster video.
Alice In Chains - Rooster
Disturbed is a band that comes up a lot when chatting with soldiers. The band has been a huge supporter of our troops from day one. The song Indestructible happens to be the title track for Disturbed's fourth studio album. The song was meant to be an anthem for soldiers. Disturbed singer David Draiman said, "It's meant to be something that would make them feel invincible, take away their fear, make them strong."
Disturbed - Indestructible
Guns N' Roses have a song we all know titled Civil War. This particular song is more of a protest song but si in no way to be taken negatively if you are a soldier. The song refers to all war being Civil War and simply states that war only feeds the rich while it buries the poor, which refers to our soldiers.
Guns N' Roses - Civil War
Iron Maiden has a song that is right in the strike zone for a soldier, The Trooper. The song was written about the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. Iron Maiden bassist and founder Steve Harris wrote the track.
Iron Maiden - The Trooper
Hopefully, you enjoy this list of songs, and maybe you can find as much joy listening to them as I had to find them.
If you are a Veteran or the family member of a Veteran, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!