This song was originally written in 2015, but Robb Flynn was disappointed with it and shelved it. It wasn't until the Dimebash controversy of 2016, which happened shortly before the song's release, that the song was rewritten and released. Regarding the lyrics, Robb said that the song "is about love, loneliness, racism, and not getting what is going on in the world/America. It's very much about current events, but applies to a bigger picture." The name of the track and the lyric, Is Anybody Out There, is a call for anybody out there who feels scared about the change happening in the world.
The controversy brought topics of racism and discrimination to the forefront of discussions within the metal community. Robb decided to incorporate his feelings about this incident into the song to reflect a broader cultural shift towards accountability and the rejection of hate in music and society. "I wasn't feeling it, and so I wrote a whole new second verse about how f--king appalled I was that he [Philip Anselmo] did that," Robb Flynn stated when talking about the rewrites. It helps that it came out during a time of heightened awareness around social issues, such as racism and discrimination. Flynn added, "I haven't felt connected to the metal community for some time now. I don't get where things are going. And part of this song is about that: that I don't get where it's going. And him doing that shit again - and this is again; this has been happening for twenty fucking years now, but I never had to stand on stage with the dude. But, you know, I sang some pretty pissed-off lyrics for that second verse.
This song was originally written in 2015, but Robb Flynn was disappointed with it and shelved it. It wasn't until the Dimebash controversy of 2016, which happened shortly before the song's release, that the song was rewritten and released. Regarding the lyrics, Robb said that the song "is about love, loneliness, racism, and not getting what is going on in the world/America. It's very much about current events, but applies to a bigger picture." The name of the track and the lyric, Is Anybody Out There, is a call for anybody out there who feels scared about the change happening in the world.
The controversy brought topics of racism and discrimination to the forefront of discussions within the metal community. Robb decided to incorporate his feelings about this incident into the song to reflect a broader cultural shift towards accountability and the rejection of hate in music and society. "I wasn't feeling it, and so I wrote a whole new second verse about how f--king appalled I was that he [Philip Anselmo] did that," Robb Flynn stated when talking about the rewrites. It helps that it came out during a time of heightened awareness around social issues, such as racism and discrimination. Flynn added, "I haven't felt connected to the metal community for some time now. I don't get where things are going. And part of this song is about that: that I don't get where it's going. And him doing that shit again - and this is again; this has been happening for twenty fucking years now, but I never had to stand on stage with the dude. But, you know, I sang some pretty pissed-off lyrics for that second verse.
@Kingofstilport
@Kingofstilport
It's decent for a Pink Floyd song.
It's decent for a Pink Floyd song.
This comment is not "out there" at all... It's inside the box.
This comment is not "out there" at all... It's inside the box.
My head is boxing. "I am a robot," programmed by programs on a box screen. I am a machine head, living tissue over metal endoskeleton.
My head is boxing. "I am a robot," programmed by programs on a box screen. I am a machine head, living tissue over metal endoskeleton.
Domo!
Domo!