This Means War (Marianas Trench song)

"This Means War"
Single by Marianas Trench
from the album Astoria
ReleasedFebruary 16, 2016 (2016-02-16)
Genre
Length3:24
Label604
Songwriter(s)Josh Ramsay
Producer(s)Josh Ramsay
Marianas Trench singles chronology
"One Love"
(2015) 		"This Means War"
(2016) 		"Who Do You Love"
(2016)
Music video
"This Means War" on YouTube

"This Means War" is a song by Canadian pop rock group Marianas Trench. It was serviced to Canadian radio on February 16, 2016, as the second official single from their fourth studio album, Astoria (2015).[1] The song was written and produced by the band's lead singer, Josh Ramsay.[2]

"This Means War" was the first single of the group's career to not enter the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.[3]

Composition and lyrics

"This Means War" is about the absence of emotion that follows a break up, and how sometimes people would rather fight than feeling nothing; as Ramsay sings in the opening verse, "So nice to see you here, impolite would almost be beneath us."[4] The song explores the thin line between love and hate with respect to passion.[5] Musically, the song has been compared to Bananarama's "Cruel Summer", particularly in its use of the xylophone.[6][7] The song's melody also shares similarities with Tom Cochrane's 1991 hit, "Life is a Highway".[7]

Promotion

The band released a lyric video for the song through their Vevo account on March 10, 2016.[8] "This Means War" was included in the setlist for their Hey! You Guys and Never Say Die tours in support of Astoria.[9]

Music video

An accompanying music video was filmed in Los Angeles, California in the spring of 2016 and was directed by Anthony Chirco.[10] It premiered May 20, 2016.[11] Inspired by the musical West Side Story, the video depicts the band competing in a territorial "dance battle" with a rival gang.[5][12] Ramsay explained the video's premise in the following statement: "Put on your leather, stretch your hamstrings and grab your can of paint! We're invading each other's turf but there can be only one. This means war!"[10]

Charts

Chart performance for "This Means War"
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Canada AC (Billboard)[13] 38
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[14] 37
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[15] 38

References

  1. ^ @mtrench (February 16, 2016). "@1045CHUMFM thank you for playing our new single This Means War!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Astoria (Booklet). Marianas Trench. 604. 2015. 25396 06932.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ "Marianas Trench Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  4. ^ Victoria Goodwin (October 23, 2015). "Album Review: Marianas Trench // Astoria". Melodic. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Goldfield Rodrigues, Brittany (May 26, 2016). "WATCH: Go Behind The Scenes With Marianas Trench For Their "This Means War" Music Video". ANDPOP. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Astoria - Marianas Trench | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Album Review of Astoria by Marianas Trench". Alternative Addiction. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  8. ^ MarianasTrenchVEVO (March 10, 2016). "Marianas Trench - This Means War (Lyric Video)" (video). YouTube. Google. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  9. ^ Ireland, Nicole (March 26, 2016). "Marianas Trench – Air Canada Centre, Toronto – March 22, 2016". Lithium Magazine. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Heisel, Scott (May 26, 2016). "PREMIERE: Marianas Trench takes you behind the scenes of "This Means War" video". Substream Magazine. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "Watch Marianas Trench's new video for 'This Means War'". Alternative Press. May 20, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  12. ^ Hather, Amanda (May 24, 2016). "New video released for "This Means War" by Marianas Trench". Canadian Beats. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  13. ^ "Marianas Trench Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  14. ^ "Marianas Trench Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  15. ^ "Marianas Trench Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
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