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Holy War (Thy Art Is Murder album)

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Holy War
Photography by Thomas Savage
Studio album by
Thy Art Is Murder
Released26 June 2015 (2015-06-26)
Recorded2014
GenreDeathcore
Length38:38
Label
ProducerWill Putney
Thy Art Is Murder chronology
Hate
(2012) 		Holy War
(2015) 		Dear Desolation
(2017)
Uncensored cover
Photography by Thomas Savage

Holy War is the third studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. It was released on 26 June 2015 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 29 May, and for "Holy War" on 29 June.[2] Holy War had a successful first week of sales, charting at No. 7 in Australia and No. 82 in the U.S. as well as several other U.S. Charts.

Lyrical content

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As opposed to previous albums, Holy War focuses on the subjects of child abuse, animal rights, religion, politics, and war.[1]

Cover art

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It was revealed on 24 April, Thy Art 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 was requested to either cover the artwork or choose a different design. The original artwork is within the packaging and printed on the vinyl cover.

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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[4]
Exclaim!7/10[5]
Metal Hammer4/5[6]
Rolling Stone Australia[7]
Ultimate Guitar7.2/10[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

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All tracks are written by Thy Art Is Murder

No.TitleLength
1."Absolute Genocide"4:25
2."Light Bearer"3:55
3."Holy War"4:00
4."Coffin Dragger" (featuring Winston McCall of Parkway Drive)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.TitleLength
11."Vengeance"2:23
Total length:41:01

Credits

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

Personnel

Thy Art Is Murder

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

Guest musicians

Production

Design and artwork

  • Andy Marsh – art direction
  • Thomas Savage – photography
  • Sebastian Lux – design, layout
  • Musician known as R%

Studios

  • Graphic Nature Audio, Belleville, NJ, U.S. – recording, mixing
  • Sterling Sound, New York City, NY, U.S. – mastering

Charts

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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[permanent dead link]
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 3[permanent dead link]
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[18] 14[permanent dead link]
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[19] 17[permanent dead link]

Release history

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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

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Citations
  1. ^ a b c Staff writer(s) (31 March 2015). "THY ART IS MURDER – album update!". nuclearblast.de. Nuclear Blast. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Thy Art Is Murder's "Holy War" Music Video Is Determined To Offend". 29 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  3. ^ Staff writer(s) (24 April 2015). "THY ART IS MURDER - uncensored artwork". nuclearblast.de. Nuclear Blast. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. ^ Lyons, Todd. "Music". heavymetal.about.com. About.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  5. ^ Zorgdrager, Bradley (26 June 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder Holy War". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  6. ^ Hicks, Jason (23 June 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder: Holy War". metalhammer.teamrock.com. Team Rock. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b McMullen, Sally (29 June 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder - Holy War". rollingstoneaus.com. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Ultimate Guitar Thy Art Is Murder Holy War review". 20 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  9. ^ Bird, ed. 2016, p. 26
  10. ^ Staff writer(s) (10 April 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder: Holy War Cover Artwork, Track Listing Revealed". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  11. ^ Holy War (booklet). Thy Art Is Murder. Nuclear Blast. 2015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War". Hung Medien.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  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)". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  19. ^ "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
  20. ^ Staff writer(s) (17 April 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder sign to UNFD". unfdcentral.com. We Are Unified. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  21. ^ a b Staff writer(s) (31 March 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder announces new album". lambgoat.com. Lambgoat. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound (208). London: Freeway Press Inc. ISSN 1465-0185.
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