Holy War (Thy Art Is Murder album)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

For other uses, see Holy War (disambiguation).
Holy War
Photography by Thomas Savage
Studio album by Thy Art Is Murder
Released 26 June 2015 (2015-06-26)
Recorded 2014
Genre Deathcore
Length 41:01
Label UNFD, Nuclear Blast
Producer Will Putney
Thy Art Is Murder chronology
Hate
(2012)Hate2012		 Holy War
(2015)
Uncensored cover
Uncensored cover

Holy War is the third studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. It was released on June 26 through UNFD and Nuclear Blast. The album was produced and mixed by Will Putney, recorded in late 2014.[1] Music videos were released for the tracks "Light Bearer" on May 29, and for "Holy War" on June 29.[2] Holy War had a successful first week of sales, charting at #7 in Australia and #82 in the U.S. as well as several other U.S. Charts.

This is the last album to feature former vocalist CJ McMahon.

Lyrical content

As opposed to their previous albums, this will show their stance on child abuse, animal rights, religion, and war.[1]

Cover art

It was revealed on April 24, that the band had originally chosen a different cover artwork showing a child suicide bomber. After the original album cover was presented to distributors and retailers, the band had either to cover the artwork or chose a different one. The original artwork will be within the packaging and printed on the vinyl cover.

<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Here it is [..], a child for every religion that has indoctrinated the young and disadvantaged, and sent them off to war and bloody death without cause or reason.

— Andy Marsh, explaining the meaning of the uncensored cover artwork[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com 2.5/5 stars[4]
Exclaim! 7/10[5]
Metal Hammer 4/5[6]
Rolling Stone Australia 4/5 stars[7]
Ultimate Guitar 7.2/10[8]

Holy War received mostly positive reviews from critics. Writing for Rolling Stone Australia, Sally McNullen gave the album four of five stars and described the album as "their darkest and most technically complex release yet," while noting that the band "don't stray too far from their sonic roots."[7] Writing for Metal Hammer, Jason Hicks gave the album the same score. He wrote that in comparison to previous releases the band are "noticeably more focused and ferocious in their attack," concluding that "The end result is unquestionably Thy Art Is Murder's best release to date – one that undoubtedly cements their name among the best death metal bands out there today."

Bradly Zorgdrager's review for Exclaim! was similarly positive, awarding the album 7/10. He wrote that "Holy War carves finds a happy medium between the soul-sucking breakdowns of their last release and the eccentric pyrotechnics of their first. There are more emotions than merely the titular Hate of their last, and the soaring solos sound positively triumphant." However he criticised some aspects of the band's sound, finishing his review by noting that "Though the album could do without the all-too-clichéd ominous riffs over chugs — let's call them chugly passages — it's a small price to pay for this victory."

The album was included at number 18 on Rock Sound's top 50 releases of 2015 list.[9]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Thy Art Is Murder, all music composed by Thy Art Is Murder.

No. Title Length
1. "Absolute Genocide"   4:25
2. "Light Bearer"   3:55
3. "Holy War"   4:00
4. "Coffin Dragger" (feat. Winston McCall) 2:55
5. "Fur and Claw"   4:16
6. "Deliver Us to Evil"   3:06
7. "Emptiness"   4:03
8. "Violent Reckoning"   2:55
9. "Child of Sorrow"   3:33
10. "Naked and Cold"   5:30
Total length:
 38:38
Initial CD pressing/Vinyl bonus track[10]
No. Title Length
11. "Vengeance"   2:23
Total length:
 41:01

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[11]

Personnel

Thy Art Is Murder

  • Chris "CJ" McMahon – vocals
  • Andy Marsh – guitar
  • Sean Delander – bass, guitar
  • Lee Stanton – drums

Guest musicians

Production

Design and artwork

Studios

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 70
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[14] 22
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[15] 10
US Billboard 200[16] 82
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[18] 14
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[19] 17

Release history

Date Region Label
26 June 2015 (2015-06-26) Australia, New Zealand[20] UNFD
Europe[1] Nuclear Blast
29 June 2015 (2015-06-29)[21] UK
30 June 2015 (2015-06-30)[21] North America

References

Citations
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Bird, ed. 2016, p. 26
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War". Hung Medien.
  13. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  14. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  15. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  16. ↑ "Thy Art Is Murder – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Thy Art Is Murder.
  17. ↑ "Thy Art Is Murder – Chart history" Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums for Thy Art Is Murder.
  18. ↑ "Thy Art Is Murder – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Thy Art Is Murder.
  19. ↑ "Thy Art Is Murder – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Thy Art Is Murder.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Sources
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Holy_War_(Thy_Art_Is_Murder_album)&oldid=721504907"