''Gift'' is the third studio album and major label debut album by American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band

Taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

. It was released on June 27, 2000. "I" and " Again & Again" were minor

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

singles. The album has sold at least 250,000 copies.

Background, writing and recording

Taproot singer Stephen Richards told ''CMJ New Music Report'' that the songs on ''Gift'' were written in 1997, playing the songs for a few years. He claimed that "Dragged Down" and "Now" were the only songs written specifically for ''Gift''. Taproot spent six weeks working on ''Gift''.

Music and lyrics

Described as a

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

album, the album's lyrical themes are primarily about topics such as depression and disliking life. Taproot's vocalist Stephen Richards' vocals on the album ''Gift'' have been compared to vocalists such as

Chino Moreno Chino Moreno (born Camillo Wong Moreno, June 20, 1973) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist and contributing guitarist of the metal band Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project groups Team Sl ...

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

Jonathan Davis Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD or JDevil, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, who are considered a pioneering act of the ...

and

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...

. The album consists of vocal styles such as singing, rapping, growling and screaming.

Track listing

Notes

*Tracks 2, 6, 7, 9 and 11 are re-recordings of early songs the appeared on the demos, "...Something More Than Nothing" and "Upon Us". Both were released in 1998 and 1999. *A

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Day By Day", can be found on the

Dracula 2000 ''Dracula 2000'' (also known internationally as ''Dracula 2001'') is a 2000 American gothic film, gothic horror film co-written and directed by Patrick Lussier and produced by Joel Soisson and Wes Craven (executive producer), and starring Gerard ...

soundtrack, CD single for "Again & Again" and the Japanese release of "Gift". It would later be released as a digital single in 2020 as part of the Warner Bros. Archive series. *Other b-sides entitled "Thrift Whore", "Strive", and "Get Me" can be found through

file-sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include rem ...

networks. These recordings, along with "Day By Day", would later be officially released on the 2018 boxset ''Besides''.

Credits

*Tom Baker - Digital editing, masteringGift - Taproot - Credits
Allmusic. Retrieved March 19th, 2011 *

Frank Gryner Frank Gryner is a Canadian record producer, mix engineer, audio technician, and multi-instrumentalist. He has mixed/engineered or performed on recordings for multiplatinum artist Rob Zombie, as well as A Perfect Circle, BT, Peter Pepper, and A ...

- Assistant engineer *

Scott Humphrey Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed ...

- Mixing *Ted Reiger - Assistant engineer * Stephen Richards - Programming, vocals *Edward Smith - Photography *

Ulrich Wild Ulrich Wild is an American record producer, engineer and mixer specializing in the rock and metal genres. Born and raised in Switzerland, Ulrich is now a naturalized citizen in the United States, living in Los Angeles, California. In a career tha ...

- Engineer, mixing, producer

Charts

Album Singles - Billboard (United States)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gift (Taproot Album) 2000 debut albums Atlantic Records albums Taproot (band) albums Albums produced by Ulrich Wild