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Sonic Jihad (Snake River Conspiracy album)

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Sonic Jihad
Studio album by
Snake River Conspiracy
ReleasedJuly 11, 2000
Recorded1998–2000
Studio
Genre
Length44:48
Label
Producer
Snake River Conspiracy chronology
Vulcan
(1999) 		Sonic Jihad
(2000) 		Smells Like Teen Punk Meat
(2000)
Singles from Sonic Jihad
  1. "Vulcan"
    Released: October 5, 1999
  2. "How Soon Is Now?"
    Released: June 5, 2000[3][a]
  3. "Breed"
    Released: November 13, 2000[5][b]

Sonic Jihad is the debut studio album by American industrial rock band Snake River Conspiracy, released in the United States on July 11, 2000, by Reprise Records, and in the UK on November 13, 2000, through Morpheus Records, an imprint label of Reprise.

Besides six original songs, Sonic Jihad contains five covers; "You and Your Friend" by T-Ride, "Lovesong" by The Cure, the best of all "How Soon is Now?" by The Smiths, and "Act Your Age" and "Oh Well" by Running with Scissors.[7]

Sonic Jihad garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the album's aggressive and inventive production and Tobey Torres' vocal performances, although some perceived the album as uneven and stylistically unoriginal. Three singles were released from the album: "Vulcan", "How Soon is Now?" and "Breed". "How Soon is Now?" and "Breed" charted in the US.

Commercial performance

[edit]

Although the album itself was relatively unsuccessful, three singles were released, two of which charted. The first single, "Vulcan", failed to reach any chart. The next single, however, "How Soon Is Now", performed well in the United States, where it reached No. 38 on the Alternative chart and #15 on the Dance Club Songs chart;[8] the song also entered the UK Singles Chart, at number 83.[9] The third single, "Breed", reached No. 37 on the Dance Club Songs chart.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Drowned in Sound9/10[11]
The Independent[12]
Kerrang![13]
Metal Hammer10/10[14]
NME5/10[15]
Outburn(positive)[16]
PopMatters(positive)[17]
Q[18]
Rock Sound[19]

Sonic Jihad received generally positive reviews from music critics.

Eden Miller of PopMatters spoke positively of the album, stating that, "Anger has never been so much fun or so approachable," and praising the group's "strong personality".[20] Drowned in Sound's review, written by Kate Price, was similarly positive, awarding the album 9 out of 10 and stating that the album, "Is a journey, lyrically and musically, through human emotions and represents... the triumph of passion over technology."[11]

Sonic Jihad was widely praised in the British rock and heavy metal press.[21] Roberto Cannelloni of Metal Hammer praised the album's inventiveness and Tobey Torres' vocal performances, which he labelled "works of genius full of twisted keyboards and buzzsaw guitars layered underneath probably the finest voice in rock today" and awarded the album a perfect score.[14] Dave Everly of Kerrang! hailed the album as "A vitriolic blast of venomous post-techno noise rock".[13] Johnathan Long of Rock Sound stated that while Snake River Conspiracy's initiative of using 1980s music as inspiration was not exactly original, citing the bands Orgy and VAST as other contemporary examples, the band retained a "visceral edge to their music" and called the album a "surprisingly delightful debut".[19]

Other reviewers were less favourable. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann likened Snake River Conspiracy to the rock group Garbage and Nine Inch Nails, but felt that, "Their sound may be too hard for pop fans and too soft for rock fans," which lead him to giving the album 3 out of 5 stars.[10] NME writer Darren Johns was critical of the album's gothic undertones and "Dark Mood Syndrome", which he felt undermined the album's "shiny, happy chorus hooks", but also praised the songs "Somebody Hates You" and "How Soon Is Now?", which he called "the oddest, and therefore best, moments" on the album.[15]

Accolades

[edit]
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! United Kingdom Kerrang! Albums of the Year[22] 2000 7

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Breed"
4:30
2."Casualty"
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Porter
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Kahne
4:54
3."You and Your Friend" (T-Ride cover)Daniel Arlie
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Kahne
3:35
4."Lovesong" (The Cure cover)
[23]
  • Slater
  • Valentine
3:56[c]
5."Act Your Age" (Running with Scissors cover)
  • Slater
  • Porter
  • Slater
  • Kahne
4:27
6."More Than Love"
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Porter
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Kahne
3:50
7."Strangled" (featuring Greg Camp[a])
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Kahne
4:43
8."Oh Well" (Running with Scissors cover)
3:46
9."Somebody Hates You"
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Kahne
3:57
10."Vulcan"
  • Slater
  • Valentine
  • Slater
  • Valentine
3:59
11."How Soon Is Now?" (The Smiths cover)
  • Slater
  • Kahne
3:23
Total length:44:48

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an uncredited songwriter/contributor

Sample credits

Personnel

[edit]

Personnel per liner notes.[24]

Use in media

[edit]

"Breed" is used in the 2001 film Valentine during the end credits. The "Prince Quick Mix's Cracker Beat Pass Mix" of "How Soon Is Now" was included on the American Eagle Outfitters compilation Summer 9ine.[30] “Lovesong” features in an episode of HBO's The Sopranos.

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Sonic Jihad
Chart (2000) Position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[8] 36

Release history

[edit]
Country Date Format Label Catalog # Ref.
United States July 11, 2000
Reprise Records 9 47383-2 [31]
Canada CD CDW 47383
Europe 9362- 47701-2
United Kingdom November 13, 2000 Morpheus Records Morph 008 [32]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Released in the UK on July 2, 2001[4]
  2. ^ Reissued on March 13, 2001[6]
  3. ^ Although the 3:56 version of "Lovesong" is included on the album, a full-length version (4:08) also exists.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Audio Track". Billboard. August 14, 1999.
  2. ^ "Band Interview: Snake River Conspiracy | The Daily Nexus". The Daily Nexus. February 8, 2001. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  3. ^ Anon. (June 2, 2000). "Post Modern: Upcoming New Releases" (PDF). HITS. 14 (696): 42 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  4. ^ Simpson, Dave (June 22, 2001). "Who the hell are...Snake River Conspiracy". The Guardian. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Anon. (October 27, 2000). "Post Modern: Upcoming New Releases" (PDF). HITS. 15 (717): 42 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  6. ^ Anon. (March 9, 2001). "Alternative: Going For Adds" (PDF). R&R (1392): 126. ISSN 0277-4860.
  7. ^ "Truth". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. November 11, 2022 [November 6, 2022 (original version)]. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Billboard website: "Snake River Conspiracy". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023. As print: "Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. July 29, 2000. p. 21. ISSN 0006-2510.
  9. ^ "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY (overview)". Official Charts. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Snake River Conspiracy - Sonic Jihad Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved January 2, 2023
  11. ^ a b Price, Kate. "Snake River Conspiracy Sonic Jihad review". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  12. ^ Perry, Tim (November 18, 2000). "POP: ALBUM REVIEWS: [FOREIGN Edition]". The Independent. London: 37. ProQuest 311854868 – via ProQuest.
  13. ^ a b Everly, Dave (November 11, 2000). "Pretty Hate Machine | Albums". Kerrang! (827). EMAP: 48.
  14. ^ a b Cannelloni, Roberto (November 2000). "Under The Hammer | Snake River Conspiracy: Sonic Jihad". Metal Hammer (80): 80.
  15. ^ a b Johns, Darren (November 25, 2000). "Snake River Conspiracy: Sonic Jihad | Albums". NME. UK: IPC: 33. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2023. (Album score is not found in online source)
  16. ^ Octavia (May 2000). "Octavia's Alcove". Outburn (12). rodent EK & Octavia: 77.
  17. ^ Miller, Eden. "Snake River Conspiracy: Sonic Jihad | PopMatters". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  18. ^ Scott, Danny (November 2000). "New Albums". Q (170). UK: EMAP: 114.
  19. ^ a b Long, Johnathan (November 2000). "Reviews: Rock". Rock Sound (18). Freeway Press: 89.
  20. ^ Miller, Eden. "Snake River Conspiracy: Sonic Jihad | PopMatters". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Jelbert, Steve (December 1, 2000). "Pop: When Will I Be Famous? the Independent's guide to tomorrow's bands". The Independent: 15. ProQuest 311789484 – via ProQuest.
  22. ^ "Kerrang! Albums of the Year 2000". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
    Original print: Everly, Dave (December 23, 2000). "The Hot List | Kerrang! Critics' Albums of 2000". Kerrang!. EMAP. pp. 62–63.
  23. ^ "ASCAP Repertory Search | "Love Song"". ascap.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  24. ^ Sonic Jihad (booklet). Snake River Conspiracy. UK: Morpheus Records. 2000. Morph 008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Young, Simon (December 23, 2000). "My Year: Tobey Torres | Snake River Conspiracy". Kerrang!. No. 833. UK: EMAP. pp. 26–27.
  26. ^ "Heavy Metal Resource Interviews-Geoff Tyson". www.heavymetalresource.com. January 20, 2003. Archived from the original on February 3, 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  27. ^ Slater, Jason. "The SRC Story". Archived from the original on September 3, 2014.
  28. ^ Heller, Greg (July 9, 2000). "Conspiracy Theorist / On his new CD, Snake River's Jason Slater hasn't exactly turned a blind eye to his past". SFGATE. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Audio Track". Billboard. March 25, 2000.
  30. ^ "Summer 9ine: American Eagle Outfitters Sampler CD, Compilation, Limited Edition". Amazon. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  31. ^ CMJ New Music Monthly. August 2000.
  32. ^ Winwood, Ian (November 25, 2000). "Celebrity Skin". Kerrang!. No. 829. UK: EMAP. pp. 26–28.
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