First impression: Eminem’s new ‘Survival,’ from Call of Duty

Detroit rapper Eminem released the first glimpse of his forthcoming, as-yet-untitled new album via a “Call of Duty: Ghost� trailer on Wednesday, and it shows a man focused on a return to greatness as voluminous, venom-filled and explosive as the visuals that the song soundtracks.

Called “Survival,� the track shows the man born Marshall Mathers at an aggressive peak, delivering cuss-filled lines about his return: “I’m … back again with another anthem/Why stop when it doesn’t have to end?� He continues, answering his own question while the bombast of distorted electric guitar and a jumbo beat offer foundation.

“It ain’t over til it’s over – enough when I say enough/Throw me to them wolves and close that gate up,� he demands. Em salivates at the thought of wrestling with alligators, commands an enemy to hold their hands up until “you dislocate a rotator cuff.�

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The song first appeared Wednesday morning in teaser for a new installment of the wildly popular “Call of Duty� franchise. Whether you like it or not, the fall will be soundtracked by “Survival.� It’ll be featured in the game but will land in many more ears during the multimedia marketing campaign leading to the game’s Nov. 5 release.

That’s a concern, because “Survival� isn’t very good. Produced by DJ Khalil, it’s a steroid-sounding workout anthem whose chorus will no doubt score NFL highlight reels for the entire season. Sung by Liz Rodrigues of the band the New Royales, it’s a cliché-ridden couplet that sounds like it took as much time to imagine as it did to scribble on a scrap of paper. “This is survival of the fittest/This is do or die/This is winner takes it all/So take it all.�

“Survival� will be on Eminem’s forthcoming album but won’t be its first single. According to a press released issued by Interscope Records, “an announcement regarding the new album and its first single is expected soon.�

[For the record, Aug. 16, 2013: The original version of this post wrongly identified the vocalist singing the hook of “Survival.� It is Liz Rodrigues, not, as originally written, Skylar Grey. The post has been updated.]

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Follow Randall Roberts on Twitter: @liledit