''Disintegration Effect'' is the third studio album by American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band
Lo-Pro
Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
. It was released on May 14, 2013. The album was a departure from the prior two Lo-Pro albums, while half of the album retained the band's usual melodic
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
Neil Godfrey
Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
's prior band,
Ultraspank
Ultraspank was an American nu metal band from Santa Barbara, California. They released two albums, a self-titled album in 1998, and a follow-up, ''Progress'', in 2000. The band disbanded shortly after the release of ''Progress'' in 2001 due to ...
.
Background
After releasing two
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
albums as members of
Ultraspank
Ultraspank was an American nu metal band from Santa Barbara, California. They released two albums, a self-titled album in 1998, and a follow-up, ''Progress'', in 2000. The band disbanded shortly after the release of ''Progress'' in 2001 due to ...
Neil Godfrey
Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
formed a new band,
Lo-Pro
Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
, in 2002. The band released their debut album, which featured a more mainstream,
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
sound, ''
Lo-Pro
Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
'', on
Geffen Records
Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
, but were dropped from their contract due to poor album sales. The band would spend seven years writing, recording, and re-recording a follow-up, ''
The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge
''The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge'' is the second full-album by Lo-Pro, originally scheduled to be released was May 25, 2010, but was delayed to June 8, 2010, and focused on a more raw sound, with Murray feeling the original release was overproduced due to record label pressure.Fredrickson, Mark: Pete Murray of LO-PRO " ''Ink19.com.'' February 2008. After its release, the band changed directions and decided to release an acoustic album, although, as recording progressed, the music took more of an
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic c ...
sound as well, resulting in a sound so different from past albums that the band opted to release it under a pseudonym,
Life On Planet 9
Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
, on their album '' Bittersweet'' in 2011. By 2012, Murray announced that the band would be returning to work under the "Lo-Pro" name again on a third studio album. However, unlike prior albums, where many songs were premiered months and even years before the album's release, Murray stated that the new album would be another shift in directions, and as such, they would not be releasing music much beforehand".
Writing and recording
Writing sessions first began upon the band being asked if they would hypothetically be open to the prospect of writing a soundtrack for a "
post apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomi ...
cyborg type movie". The band, unfamiliar with working under the confine of a soundtrack or
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
mentality, decided to write a few songs and see how they felt about it. While the band would ultimately not do the soundtrack, the band would continue to use tracks from the session, "Soulless", "Wasteland", "Obedience", and "We Are The Ones" for ''Disintegration Effect'', and similar themes throughout the rest of the album's recording process.
The band continued to record throughout 2012, although Murray later admitted that progress was slowed due to band members working on other projects, including concurrently working on a second Life On Planet 9 album, and contributing a few tracks to the ''Battlefield of the Mind'' soundtrack, the latter being a collaborative music project featuring band members of
Staind
Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...
,
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
, and
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American Rock music, rock band founded in 1994 by singer and keyboardist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody in Little Rock, Arkansas. After releasing independent extended play, EPs and a Origin (Evanescence demo album), demo ...
. While initially aiming for an early 2013 release, the album would be pushed back as Murray wrapped up contributing vocals to a few tracks for the ''Battlefield of the Mind'' soundtrack, including the tracks "No Words", "Tear It Down", and "Not Like You". Additionally, Murray and Godfrey would help perform some of the soundtrack live on April 24, 2013.
The album was entirely self-produced, with Murray even handling the album's production and mixing.
Themes and composition
Spurring from the initial writing sessions where the band was contemplating the idea of providing a soundtrack for a post apocalyptic film, much of the album's lyrical content centers around the dependence of technology in the modern world. Murray had been influenced by his surroundings, stated he felt "...fascinated and horrified by our addiction to technology...Next time you're in a restaurant, look around at how many husband and wives, boyfriends/girlfriends or friends are on their phones looking at Facebook instead of enjoying each other's company. That's just the tip of the iceberg." The sentiment lead to more negative overtones, with fears that current trends could actually lead to that fictional "apocalyptic" scenario. Murray stated that the album could be epitomized by the lyrics "Freedom is dead" from the track "Obedience", which he stated"...is about defeat. The humans have lost the war and are now slaves to the machines."
Sonically, Murray stated that the band hadn't especially intended on making "their heaviest album yet", but that it just happened naturally with the subject matter. The album featured heavy, downtuned distorted guitars, electronic noises, and screamed vocals, more reminiscent of Ultraspank's sound, especially ''
Progress
Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...
'', than past Lo-Pro releases. Murray eventually felt that longtime fans of his and Godfrey would enjoy the prospect of a throwback to their Ultraspank days.
Release
Just before the concert Murray announced that the album's title would be ''Disintegration Effect'', and that it would be released on May 14, 2013. The announcement was coupled with a brief, 20-second preview of the album, containing clips from the tracks "Give Me Life" and "Obedience". The opening track, "Give Me Life", was made available on the ''Battlefield of the Mind'' soundtrack a month prior to the release of ''Disintegration Effect''. The band streamed the track "Soulless" a day prior to the album's release.
Track listing
Reception and sales
''AmpKicker'' gave the album a 9.5 of 10 album, praising the album's concept and sound, stating "It comes with a message and the power to open your eyes to how our society is destroying itself. Murray is at his peak and screams the hell out of this album. The thickness of Godfrey's guitar surrounds you and makes those speakers shake, and the drums are like a stampede through your eardrums. Belgium print magazine ''Rock Tribune'' gave the album a positive review as well, awarding it an 8.5 out of 10 rating.
Murray stated that the album charted to no. 94 on the
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
charts on its release day, and that the band had already sold out of physical copies on the album's first day alone.
Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart is an American drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is best known for his work with the band Godsmack. He has also toured and recorded with a number of other bands including Detroit based metal band Halloween, glam rock ...