Jacobin more prominent in leading France, the period when war was declared on Austria and Prussia, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic created. In May 1793, the leaders of the Mountain faction led by Maximilien Robespierre succeeded in sidelining the Girondin faction and controlled the government until July 1794. Their time in government was characterized by high levels of political violence and for this reason the period of the Jacobin/Mountain government is also commonly referred to as the Reign of Terror. In October 1793, 21 prominent Girondins were guillotined. The Mountain-dominated government executed 17,000 opponents nationwide, purportedly to suppress the
Reign of Terror (Sleigh Bells album) in a very, very short period of time." The remaining images in the album's liner notes are all related to Miller's family history—namely, a number of war relics from his grandparents. Most of the imagery is also a reflection of Miller's difficult year preceding the album. ""Reign of Terror" is mainly about internal conflict and—this is kind of corny—I was definitely at war with myself," Miller said. The image of the Purple Heart, also used as the cover art for the promotional single "Born to Lose", was awarded to Miller's grandfather for being wounded in World War II. The medal