''Beautiful Machine'' is the seventh studio album by
Shihad
Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar ...
and was released on 21 April 2008 in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and 17 May 2008 in
Australia.
The album is much softer than previous Shihad releases, including many electronica elements and '80s backing rhythms - to the point where lead singer
Jon Toogood
Jonathan Charles Toogood (born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 9 August 1971) is the frontman (lead vocals and guitar) of the New Zealand rock band Shihad. He formed the band in 1988 with fellow Wellingtonian Tom Larkin. Toogood and Larkin met a ...
has called some tracks "dance songs".
The lead single "One Will Hear the Other" was released early January 2008, where it peaked as the second most played Kiwi song. "Vampires" was the album's second single and surpassed "One Will Hear the Other" in airplay, peaking as the number one most played Kiwi song shortly after its release.
''Beautiful Machine'' entered the
New Zealand Music Chart at number 1, going
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
on its first day of release (7,500+ sales). Despite this achievement it failed to go Platinum, Shihad's first album to not do so in 12 years.
Like Shihad's previous album ''Love Is the New Hate'', ''Beautiful Machine''s top position on the
Australian ARIA Albums Chart was 11.
Track listing
#"One Will Hear The Other" - 4:01
#"Rule The World" - 4:22
#"Hard To Please" - 3:59
#"Beautiful Machine" - 4:14
#"Vampires" - 4:04
#"Count It Up" - 2:22
#"Waiting Around For God" - 5:13
#"Chameleon" - 3:37
#"Eliza" - 4:39
#"The Bible And The Gun" - 4:22
#"When You Coming Home?" - 3:44
#"The Prophet" - 5:14
2 CD Bonus Disk Tracks:
#"Lowlife" - 3:15
#"Won't Let You Down" 4:09
#"Skank" (Played live 2007) - 3:50
#"It's a Crime" - 4:39
#"Lightbulb" - 2:49
#"Name Your Price" - 4:22
iTunes Only Bonus Tracks:
#"Violence+Bloodshed"
#"Easy Life Romance"
#"No Religion (Getting Nowhere Fast)"
Unreleased B-Sides:
#"Settle Down"
#"Michaelangelo"
#"Alazama"
#"Outta Here" (Played live 2006)
#"Whatever" (Played live 2006)
Beautiful Machine listing - JB Hifi
/ref>
References
2008 albums
ARIA Award-winning albums
Shihad albums
{{2008-rock-album-stub