Empty Souls

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox song "Empty Souls" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in January 2005 by record label Epic as the second and final single taken from their seventh studio album, Lifeblood. The song debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and reached number 18 in Ireland.

Content

"Empty Souls" is said to be the political response from the band in relation to the September 11 attacks.<ref name="Power">Template:Cite book</ref>

The single edit features a lyric that was changed from the album version. The chorus line on the album version runs "collapsing like the Twin Towers", but for the single it was changed to "collapsing like dying flowers". The backing vocals can still be heard to sing the original line, although this may have been kept in by mistake.<ref name="clarke">Martin Clarke, Manic Street Preachers: Sweet Venom (Plexus, 2009).</ref>

Music video

The music video for the song sees the band separated throughout, only to meet up at the end after treks through various parts of Berlin, Germany.<ref name="Power"/>

Release

"Empty Souls" was released on 10 January 2005 by record label Epic as the second and final single from the band's seventh studio album, Lifeblood.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart,<ref name="UK chart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> missing out on becoming the 1,000th number one in UK chart history to the latest in a series of Elvis number-one single re-issues making the top of the charts at the time.<ref name="clarke"/>

The DVD version of the single features two new songs which are both sung entirely by the band's bassist, Nicky Wire. The music for "Dying Breeds" is also entirely written by him, and the music for "Failure Bound" is the track "No Jubilees" played backwards. The video for "Dying Breeds" was directed by Wire's brother Patrick Jones, who made similar short videos for album tracks such as "1985".<ref name="clarke"/>

Track listings

UK CD1<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

1. "Empty Souls"
2. "All Alone Here"

UK CD2<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

1. "Empty Souls"
2. "No Jubilees"
3. "Litany"
4. "Empty Souls" (video)

UK DVD single<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

1. "Empty Souls" (video)
2. Dying Breeds (short film)
3. "Failure Bound"

Charts

Template:SinglechartTemplate:SinglechartTemplate:Singlechart

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	4

External links

• Drowned in Sound review of the single Template:Webarchive