SYSTEM OF A DOWN, KORN, STAIND Don't Mind Their Music Being Used In Iraq Soldiers' Viral Videos

July 20, 2006

Members of KORN, STAIND and SYSTEM OF A DOWN recently spoke to MTV.com about their music being used as part of the viral-video campaign that centers on American soldiers in the Middle East.

Essentially, troops are using affordable cameras and laptops to shoot and edit videos that chronicle their experience in and out of combat. And since most are set to modern rock music and feature the sort of quick cuts and stylistic shots often associated with MTV, the effect is like watching a music video.

"Wow this is cool — it's better than the real video," STAIND singer Aaron Lewis said as he screened a video of "So Far Away" that juxtaposes frightening explosions with scenes of soldiers jokingly Saran-wrapping another troop to his bunk. "It's just crazy to see the footage of them right there in the middle of it, doing it all."

"I have seen ones where you can see people blowing up and all that kind of stuff," said KORN singer Jonathan Davis, whose music has been used by the video-makers. "But even the tame ones serve a purpose. They put faces on the people out there doing it, they're in the barracks and stuff, which is good."

"It is truly an indie media, from soldiers who are the ones who really know what's going on," said Tom Morello after screening a video that uses RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's "Killing in the Name Of". "It's not being filtered through some corporate-owned news service or whatever. So I think that their insights to what's happening there are important ones, being set to music that they like."

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).