The Killers’ Brandon Flowers: “Slavery has been over for a long time, but systematic racism has been in place ever since”

The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers has opened up about the current social and political landscape of America, addressing that the country “need to make changes” to stamp out “systematic racism.”

The Trump administration has seen The Killers — once entirely apolitical — use their platform as mirror to reflect to political turmoil in America.

In 2019, the band released their distinctly political song ‘Land of the Free’, a track that drew rage from the mass shootings, police brutality, and racial injustices across the US. They released a re-worked version of the track earlier this year in response to the murder of George Floyd, and the international Black Lives Matter protests.

In a new cover feature with NME, Flowers delved into how the band have allowed politics to seep into their music.

“There were a few brave radio stations in America that played it,” Flowers said of ‘Land of the Free’. “I just kept waiting for someone to write it… Kanye West, somebody, write this song!

“Everyone talked about this artistic revolution that was going to happen when Trump was elected and all the great art that was going to happen, then there was silence. I just don’t hear it. I don’t hear a lot of reflection on it or an answer to it. I finally just recorded it.”

He continued: “Maybe there are some ultra-conservative fans who didn’t want to hear it or don’t think that politics should make its way into music, but not enough that it’s going to hurt the shows or hurt the band.”

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“How many killings must one man watch in his home? Eight measured minutes and 46 seconds, another boy in the bag / Another stain on the flag,” the band sing in their tribute to George Floyd.

Flowers described the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer as “evil.”

“If you have a heart then this has to be changing people,” he continued. “It has to be making people more empathetic. We need the understanding of what is still happening in America. Yes, slavery has been over for a long time, but systematic racism has been in place ever since. We need to make changes.”