''Holy War'' is the third studio album by Australian
deathcore
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with met ...
band
Thy Art Is Murder
Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian deathcore band from Blacktown, Sydney, that formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Jesse Beahler and bassist Kevin Butler. Thy Art I ...
. It was released on 26 June 2015 through
UNFD
UNFD (pronounced as an initialism ˈjuːˈenˈefˈdiː/ is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Hellions and In Hearts Wake, and in ...
and
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
. The album was produced and mixed by Will Putney, recorded in late 2014.
Music videos were released for the tracks "Light Bearer" on 29 May, and for "Holy War" on 29 June.
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
As opposed to previous albums, Holy War focuses on the subjects of child abuse, animal rights, religion, politics, and war.
Cover art
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.
Critical reception
''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."
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
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
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.
Track listing
Credits
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
Personnel
Thy Art Is Murder
* Chris "CJ" McMahon – vocals
* Andy Marsh – lead guitar
* Sean Delander – bass, rhythm guitar
* Lee Stanton – drums
Guest musicians
* Winston McCall of
Parkway Drive
Parkway Drive is an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. As of 2018, Parkway Drive have released six studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled ''Ten Years of Parkway Drive''. The b ...
– vocals on "Coffin Dragger"
Production
* Will Putney – production,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
mixing
* Randy Leboeuf – additional engineering
* Steve Seid – editing
* Tom Smith Jr. – editing
*
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
Ted ...
–
mastering
Design and artwork
* Andy Marsh –
art direction
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...
* Thomas Savage – photography
* Sebastian Lux –
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
, layout
* Musician known as R%
Studios
* Graphic Nature Audio,
Belleville, NJ
Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 38,222, reflecting an increase of 6.4% from th ...
, U.S. – recording, mixing
* Sterling Sound, New York City,
NY, U.S. – mastering
Charts
Release history
References
; Citations
;Sources
*
External links
*
''Holy War''at
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
{{Authority control
2015 albums
Thy Art Is Murder albums
Nuclear Blast albums
UNFD albums
Albums produced by Will Putney
Songs critical of religion