Back in July, Derision Cult released one of his most popular songs, “Warning Signs.” The song, and its accompanying music video, are celebration of everything heavy metal, fueled by the power of high adrenaline and pure rock energy. Given the song’s relative popularity, it’s natural that another metal artist might want to add their own flair to the single. In this case, that artist just happened to be Justin Broadrick, the leading man behind the extreme metal staples Godflesh and Jesu.
If the original “Warning Signs” is a fast-paced race down a vast highway, Broadrick’s interpolation⸺a.k.a. the “JKFleshmix,” possibly titled as such as an allusion to his time in Godflesh⸺is a foreboding journey leading to an unknown fate. The verses in the song’s first half are marked with a continuous beating of what sounds to be a hammer hitting a piece of metal, with the choruses picking up the pace to an overpowering degree. Later in the song, the harsh clanging is met in harmony with a searing electric guitar riff that pulsates through the soul of its listeners.
Broadrick’s work on the song utterly transforms its sound, the sentiment at the heart of its lyrics remains the same. According to Terra Relitica, the song was inspired by the brother of Derision Cult’s Dave McAnally, who fought as a Naval EOD officer in the US military. In that sense, the harsh sounds of Broadrick’s remix serve the song’s narrative in a uniquely poignant way, for the creeping dread that culminates in an impassioned shriek of noise hits all the more when you view it through that lens.
You can listen to the song for yourself below:
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