''Millions Now Living Will Never Die'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

band

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

. The album was released on January 30, 1996 by

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

. The album's title is a reference to a phrase used in the

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...

faith in the 1920s. It is, for instance, the title of an essay by

Joseph Franklin Rutherford Joseph Franklin Rutherford (November 8, 1869 – January 8, 1942), also known as Judge Rutherford, was the second president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. He played a primary role in the organization ...

, who was the second president of the

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate do ...

. It was also the slogan of the evangelist

Aimee Semple McPherson Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (née Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian Pentecostalism, Pentecostal Evangelism, evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s,Ob ...

. By March 1998, the album had sold over 50,000 copies, with 80% as CDs and the remainder as LPs.

Reception

''Millions Now Living Will Never Die'' was released to positive critical reviews, and it has since been renowned as a groundbreaking album for the

genre. ''Outersound'' wrote that not long after the album's release, the group was "hailed as godfathers of the American 'post-rock' movement". ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'' named it the record of the year in its annual critics' poll and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' named it the 35th best album of 1996. In 2006 and 2008, ''Millions Now Living Will Never Die'' was performed live in its entirety as part of the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

-curated Don't Look Back concert series. The album also appears in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Millions Now Living Will Never Die'' adapted from album liner notes. Tortoise *Dan Bitney *

John Herndon John Herndon is an American musician and artist. Based in Chicago, he plays drums and percussion, and works as a producer for instrumental hip hop under the name A Grape Dope. Career John Herndon is a member of the bands Tortoise and Isotope 217, ...

* Douglas McCombs *

John McEntire John McEntire (born April 9, 1970 in Portland, Oregon) is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. McEntire started playing dr ...

David Pajo David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...

Production *John McEntire – mixing, recording *Roger Seibel – mastering Artwork and design *Dan Osborn – layout assistance, "computer magic" *Tortoise – sleeve design

Samples

The song "Dear Grandma and Grandpa" contains a sample of German band Dom's song "Silence", from their 1972 album ''Edge of Time''.

Charts

References

External links

* * A.D. Amorosi
"The Making of Tortoise's ''Millions Now Living Will Never Die''"
(magnetmagazine.com, 2016-02-23) {{Authority control Tortoise (band) albums 1996 albums Thrill Jockey albums Instrumental rock albums