''New Killer America'' is the debut album by the five-piece
nu metal/
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
music group
Skrape
Skrape was an American heavy metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997.
History
Formed in 1997 under the name "Jojo", they later renamed to "Skrape" two years later. Prior to their formation in 1997, members had been involved in notable ac ...
. The album was released on March 20, 2001 via
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
.
Background, recording and promotion
Skrape were signed to
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in October 1999, and commenced recording their debut ''New Killer America'' in 2000. The songs "Broken Knees",
"Blow Up", "Goodbye", "Kill Control", "Sunshine", "Waste" and "What You Say" were all rerecorded for the album, having previously appeared on the demo which caught the attention of RCA Records. Regarding the making of the album, guitarist/keyboardist Brian Milner stated in April 2001 "We had most of the songs done and then we did preproduction and met with
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 th ...
. He came to
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
where we live and spent a few weeks going over the songs and getting them ready. He was like, ‘Look, this is going to go on a recording forever. This is your first album, so make sure it’s what you want to come out.’ We did a lot of preproduction, worked it out and did what I think is a pretty kickass record." The album had already been completed by the summer of 2000, despite eventually being released in the spring of 2001.
A music video for "Waste" was filmed in 2000. It shows the band performing in a dark venue intercut with gory footage and images of a
shooting target. A much rarer video for "What You Say" was also produced in 2001, depicting a live performance intercut with
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
scenes.
When asked about the album's title, bassist Pete Sison remarked in a March 2001 interview that "It represents the new generation of kids today. Kids today are more open minded, and are much smarter than we give them credit for at the age of 13. Most parents are blind to this. You have kids hacking computers and shutting down million dollar companies nowadays. That's the new generation — that's the new killer America."
Reception and legacy
It went on to sell only approximately 100,000+ copies in the United States, a relatively low number for a major label act at the time. Despite this, the album was a success in Japan, becoming the twelfth highest selling album of 2001 in the country.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
's Jeremy Ervins praised the record's "bright and intelligent approach to
hard rock" and "mysterious aura", writing "The band's energy seems to be directed toward song craftsmanship; every song flows very nicely and has its own distinct vibe, while sticking to the overall concept of the album. The guitars tends to sound slightly dry and dull from time to time, which can relate to the lack of creative range in the heavy hard rock genre. ''New Killer America'' is obviously intended to quell this obstacle, as it does with much style and grace on most tracks -- especially "Sleep," a very melodic tune that, despite its title, really awakens the senses toward the end of the album."
In their review, ''
Guitar World'' stated the album "fuses brutal metallic riffs,
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
-inspired swirl
ndimpassioned growls that evoke
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
' most painful moments."
The song "What You Say" appeared in the videogame
Project Gotham Racing
''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Studios (Xbox and Xbox 360) and Sega (Dreamcast). The series appeared on the Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, ...
. In 2017, ''
Spin'' ranked "Waste" as the 29th greatest nu metal song of all time.
Track listing
# "What You Say" – 3:22
# "Waste" – 3:29
# "Goodbye" – 3:27
# "Isolated" – 3:55
# "Rise" – 2:57
# "Sunshine" – 3:59
# "Rake" – 3:18
# "I Know" – 3:53
# "Kill Control" – 4:15
# "Broken Knees" – 4:05
# "Sleep" – 3:22
# "Blow Up" – 4:37
*The Japanese version of the album features 2 bonus tracks, "No" and "Virgin"
References
{{Authority control
2001 debut albums
Skrape albums
RCA Records albums
Albums produced by Ulrich Wild