http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=5284

My showtime tune was "Woke Up This Morning" (theme song for The Sopranos) by Alabama 3

I'll try anyway... If I recall this was on the walkman plugged into the comm system in 1991...

In the early morning hours there's a din in the air;
mayhem's on the loose.
Stormtroopers comin', and you better be prepared.
Got no time to choose.
Get ready. Stormtroopers comin'.

Stormtroopin' - Ted Nugent

Sadly I suspect that both me and Ted have gotten old.

but "don't tread on me" and a few rip its always got the blood flowing. "dio" by tenacious d was a big hit also.

One Shot at Glory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhvUpykF7OM

Bring the Noise
Public Enemy & Anthrax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEwKCu0P89c

Killing in the Name
Rage Against the Machine
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7k6pv_rage-against-the-machine-killing-in_music

For something I expect is going to go kinetic nothing beats "Let the Bodies hit the floor". For a standard patrol or KLE anything by Linkin Park.

Being an old 7th Cav guy, I always preferred GarryOwen. Barring that though, Ride of the Valkyries was always a good one. Seeing a DivCav squadron tearing across the desert with Kiowas overhead, nothing beat that particular tune.

"Don't Tread on Me" by Metallica was popular for us too. "Bodies" by Drowning Pool. "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden.

Sitting in an LAV-25 in Kuwait. A CD player is hotwired into the intercom system. Only one song is on the entire crews and for that matter the Platoon's mind when we cross the berm and invade Iraq. Only one song gets us that pumped up and energized for the comming action that we all have volunteered for in one way or another. And we all expected as soon as we crossed into Iraq.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY_I6doz6Qk

Of course it was three days after we crossed the border before we even saw any action and that was rather uneventful. I say uneventful because our Battalion of LAV's (about 125 LAV's and various other support vehicles) was ambushed by about 6 Iraqi armored vehicles at the max range of the enemies weapons. We were well within ours.

I really never had a song to listen to, as we rode fromHQ to the gate to leave the wire, my Soldiers would sometimes play differnet music, ususally metallica...Enter Sandman, and Don't Trea on Me were always popular.

BTW, this leads into the discussion, that if you were a proffessional wrestler, what would your entrance song be? I would go with Enter Sandman.

"A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran. Scout/Sniper - one shot, from an unknown spot; one kill, because of the skill - it's a personal thing! : |

Metallica, "Enter Sandman"
AC/DC, "Thunderstruck"
Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger"
Misfits, "One Last Caress"

Or, if I were down about the whole thing:
Deep Purple, "Soldier of Fortune"

One that was banned from Armed Forces Radio in Saudi during Desert Storm:
The Clash, "Rock the Casbah"

In Africa, I had an Irishman who loved American country music of the 60s and 70s. We'd listen to Chuck Berry's Promise Land while heading out on patrol and Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline while out and about. We'd also listen to Britpop like Oasis and Robby Williams. My contribution to the vehicle was Meatloaf, in particular Bat Out of Hell, which pretty much described our driving style.

I would refer readers to Mr. Rick's "The Gamble", where he relays the story of the turret gunner found dead after an IED strike, his iPod headphones still in his ears. As an air assault infantryman and patrol RTO (2003-2004), the only thing I ever had in my ear was the handset of a RT-1532E ASIP radio. Even then, having the handset jammed into the right side of my helmet chinstrap messed with my hearing and that upset me enough. Thou Shalt Be Quiet in hide sites, and having one's hearing obstructed on patrol was A Bad Thing. Later on in gun trucks (2005-2006), the noise from the truck was bad enough.

That professional disclaimer to the side, best war music.

"Hail and Kill", "Hands of Doom", "Black Wind, Fire, and Steel", "Blood of the Kings", and so on, Manowar

"How I Could Just Kill A Man", either the Cypress Hill original or the Rage Against the Machine remake

"Disposable Heroes", Metallica

A rare new, GOOD song by Metallica is "All Nightmare Long". Highly recommended for kinetic operations.

"When Everything Falls", Haste The Day

"Through the Fire and Flames", DragonForce

For quieter evenings on the FOB:

"Citadel", the Cruxshadows
"Master of the Wind", Manowar
"Epitaph", from "In Search of the Trojan War", Terry Oldfield
"God Moving over the Face of the Waters", Moby
"Extreme Ways", Moby

And of course the 101st being the 101st and since we all saw "Band of Brothers" one time too many, a group singalong of "Blood Upon The Risers" is always a good time.

Not necessarily songs to listen to IN a fight, but definitely ones to listen to over there.

"Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner", Warren Zevon
"Veteran of the Psychic Wars", Blue Oyster Cult
"Heaven and Hell", Black Sabbath
"Stargazer", Rainbow
"Sahara", "Planet Hell", and "Dark Chest of Wonders", Nightwish. Then again I'm a huge Nightwish fan anyway.

Interestingly enough, I had the same mindset as TR - I wanted to listen to something that was calming before going out on a mission.

(A few years ago) This was the last thing I'd listen to before heading outside for manifest and getting on the birds to be dropped off in Indian country:

"Everyday" by Carly Comando
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCObXuAwCIA&feature=related

You may recognize it from the "Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 6 years" video. For some reason, it worked for me - and it'll always remind me of those last few minutes I had to myself.

The Hold Steady: "Stevie Nix" (best song for a helicopter ride)and "Knuckles"

Rage Against the Machine: "Down Rodeo"

Die Motherf*cker Die- by Dope

The Mob Rules- by DIO

A Call for Blood- By Hatebreed

All great for when you have to bust wire.

It is amazing to me that even though traditional military bands largely are now rather anachronistic, music still stirs the martial spirit like nothing else. No different from the Greek paeans of antiquity. When I was down range, Toby Kieth's "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" and Kid Rock's "American Badass" were very popular for pre-mission psych-ups. And of course the entire AC/DC catelog. Slightly off topic, but before we deployed in 2003, the rock station in Killeen, TX just outside Ft. Hood played a version of AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" that was overdubbed with excerpts from George C. Scott's famous portrayal Patton's Speech to the Third Army. Oh man! If that didn't make you want to go fight a war, nothing would.

I would pretty much know if I was going into a particularly hairy area. I used to get in a pretty dark mood and while some people liked to get amped to songs by Metallica or AC/DC, I liked to listen to Nine Inch Nails' Downward Spiral.

For official songs, its sure tough to beat the 3 ID's "Dogface Soldier."

My playlist before a patrol always, always included "Gimme Shelter" (Rolling Stones).

is perfect while suiting up for a night CAS sortie.

1. Orgasmatron - Motorhead
2. Jawbreaker - Judas Priest
3. Holy War - Thin Lizzy

Read the lyrics of 1 and 3. That's war.

I found hard beats and multiple crescendos appropriate to get me into the right frame of mind for getting my game face on, but lyrics were too distracting. They still are. My favorites are all soundtracks:

Hans Zimmer
- Gladiator
- Batman Begins
- The Dark Knight
- Blackhawk Down

Bear McCreary
- Battlestar Galactica

Martin O'Donnell
- Halo 3 (again with the games!)

Jerry Goldsmith
- The Ghost and the Darkness

These lists always get a great response. I would like to suggest movie war speeches (be they based on fact or not) that motivate! E.g. to start off

1. Patton's speech (real, though censored and compiled from many speeches)
2. Braveheart Wallace's speech at Sterling ("Sons of scotland I AM William Wallace").
3. Gladiator Maximus' speech(es)
4. ....

After reading the above posts, I am sensing a huge generational gap in "combat listenting" music. Although the Iron Madien/ACDC crowd gets my support.

Does a military that is fighting a counterinsurgency war have to change its taste in music? Isn't part of the goal to not "let the bodies hit the floor"?

Everyone knows that the only music to listen to before battle is anything made by Rage Against The Machine.

Don't have to agree with their politics, but damn are they angry.

I don't even need to play RATM. All I have to do is mention it and you get all hyped up.

Thanks for proving my point.

Someone mentioned "Thunderstruck" before, which I listened to crossing the border in 1991, driving along MSR Texas, which coincedentally matches a lyric in the song.

Another choice by someone in my group was Public Enemy's "Yo, Bum Rush the Show," which also has lyrics and tone that fit.

In 2007, a team of medics worked on a gunshot victim to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin,'" which sort of fit the mood.

My most recent get-up-and-go song was the "opening titles" to HBO's John Adams miniseries.

""After reading the above posts, I am sensing a huge generational gap in "combat listenting" music"""

Seriously. Nothing turns me into a focused killing-machine more than Captain and Tenille.

Nothing like a little Musckrat Love.

--Andrew W.K.'s "It's Time to Party" (a friend once pointed out that my party playlist, counterintuitively, had his "Ready to Die")
--Metallica (of course!), pretty much everything, but esp. "Creeping Death", which is about divine retribution
--Dwarves' "River City" (really about raping more than killing)
--Filter's "Hey Man, Nice Shot" seems apropos
--Offspring's "Hammerhead" may be the only Iraq war song to get radio play. For pre-sparring, I prefer "The Meaning of Life"
--Nashville Pussy, Flogging Molly, RATM, SOAD -- you can pretty much put those on random
--And finally, Ministry's album "Rio Grande Blood", featured in "The Hurt Locker". Who can forget the ending where he steps back into Iraq to the wails and riffs of "Khyber Pass"?

This, uh, cool dude I know was flying along over an endless expanse of desert. There's no way to avoid flying over endless expanses of desert, especially when you're doing nothing but FOB-hopping all day (according to this cool dude).

That's when the crew chief of this particular UH-60 was able to rig his iPod to play--quietly so the rest of the crew could still hear the occasional radio call over this vast expanse of nothingness in Iraq--over the intercom system of the aircraft.

I, erm, this cool dude, will never forget the iPod loading up and beginning with the killer riffs of Nirvana's "Smells Like Team Spirit" while flying low over the desert just south of Kirkuk. Wonderful memory.

The Casualties "We Are All We Have" pretty much does it for me.

"Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix
"For Those About to Rock" - AC/DC
"Electric Eye" - Judas Priest
"Run to the Hills" - Iron Maiden
"Nights of Cydonia" - Muse
"Highway Star" - Deep Purple
"Ride the Lightning" - Metallica
"Ice Cold Ice" - Husker Du
"Ticks and Leeches" - Tool

should be entitled "Thomas Ricks is a moron". Is this really the most important thing that you have to say? And FP will post this drivel?

I have a feeling I might be more like Tom Ricks than most of the posters here. Before doing anything that involves a lot of moving parts, I'd want to avoid doing anything that might degrade my concentration or make it more likely that I'd forget something.

If I listen to music at all, especially loud music, it's more likely to be after whatever it was I was doing is done. Of course, I'm a lifelong civilian. There are certainly aspects of combat that I don't understand, and this may be one of them. On the other hand, we're not actually winning the wars we're fighting. Maybe if everyone listened to Mozart before going outside the wire, we'd be doing better.

I'm a little surprised that Gustav Holst hasn't come up on this thread yet, only because I associate "Mars" with things blowing up.