Curated by Monk
On 1 July 1916, one of the bloodiest and most horrific single battlefield engagements in the bloody and horrific history of mankind began. By the end of the day, on the British side alone, more than 57,000 men had been killed or injured. When the battle finally finished, four-and-a-half months later, it is estimated that more than a million men had lost their lives. It has been argued that they died in vain, as the Battle Of The Somme failed to meet the objectives of the British and French commanders, and the war raged on for another two years, costing millions of more lives…
Today, as the world marks the 110th anniversary of that fateful day, so do we, as we share a selection of songs which recall, and retell, the sacrifice made by so many who laid down their lives on the bloodied, muddy fields of northern France (and elsewhere across Europe) more than a century ago.
Decaying ‘Battle Of The Somme’
This deep cut from the Finnish melodic death metallers was one of a number WW1-focussed tracks on their 2012 debut full-length album, which also featured their commentary on the Battle Of Verdun, which was raging at the same time as the one on the Somme and which we will revisit later in our playlist:
Hellhoundz ‘The Battle Of The Somme’
Another deep cut, this time the title track of the third album from the Brazilian NWoBHM-influenced thrashers, which emphasizes the global impact that cathartic historic events can possess:
Iron Maiden ‘Paschendale’
Although obviously not about the Somme, we couldn’t really omit this epic re-interpretation of the events that made up another of the bloody episodes (and the timeline of which almost exactly mirrors that of the Somme, except a year later) that make up the story of the First World War:
Motorhead ‘1916’
Lemmy was always fascinated by military history, but rarely touched upon it in his songwriting, with one of the rare exceptions being this, the title track of the ‘Head’s ninth studio album (later covered by those other history obsessives, Sabaton):
Ricky Warwick ‘Schwaben Redoubt’
One of the ironic subtexts of the “Great War” is that it brought together young men from the otherwise polarly opposite sides of the political and religious divides on the island of Ireland, and at a time when the then united country itself was undergoing a series of turbulent and history-changing events, as evinced in this evocative ballad from the Belfast troubadour and featuring guest vocals from Stiff Little Fingers frontman Jake Burns:
Sabaton ‘Fields Of Verdun’
Another band we clearly could not omit, due to their fascination with military history, as evinced on this retelling of the battle that raged simultaneously to that on the Somme, having been sparked a few months earlier by what proved to be an ultimately fruitless German assault on one of France’s most heavily fortified bastions:
Saxon ‘Call To Arms’
While not specifically about any particular aspect of the conflict, this title track of the NWoBHM legends’ 2011 album is a tribute to the millions of men who unquestioningly answered that fateful telegram that sent them off to fields and fates unknown:
The Men They Couldn’t Hang ‘The Green Fields Of France (No Man’s Land)’
Perhaps the singular most recognized tribute to the thousands of young men who laid down their lives not only at the Somme but across all the battlefields, here interpreted by the Celtic folk punks on the lead single from their 1985 ‘Night Of A Thousand Candles’ debut:
Will the guns ever fall silent, or their echo disappear? Perhaps not. But, at the dawn of each new day, and at the going down of the sun each evening, we will remember the fallen with pride and humility.