''Speed of Darkness'' is the fifth studio album by the Irish-American Celtic punk band

Flogging Molly Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk bandLife Is Good Out Now
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, released on May 31, 2011. The album was recorded at Echo Mountain, an old church building turned recording studio in Asheville, North Carolina. The album was produced by Ryan Hewitt, who has worked with bands

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

and

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. ''Speed of Darkness'' debuted at number nine on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and number four on the ''Billboard'' Independent Chart. It is the band's last album with drummer George Schwindt. The expression ''speed of darkness'' had appeared in a 1999 book mixing physics and fiction, named ''

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'', written by

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, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. In a 2011 interview on

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, frontman Dave King explained that the title track and album title was taken from a quote of Dino Misetić, the artist who designed the album cover, which appeared in the book ''Sarajevo Marlboro''. Dino, who grew up in the

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during the Balkan Wars, is quoted in the book, saying: "They taught us what the speed of light is, but nobody can teach you what the speed of darkness is."

Track listing

Reception

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics.

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have the album a mostly positive review, commenting that "while Flogging Molly hasn’t done much to innovate on their sound over the past decade or so, it doesn’t feel like they have to." Spin's reception was more mixed, as they wrote that while "rabble-rousing frontman Dave King champions defiant hope amid crushing desperation" the "overly smooth production undercuts his righteous fury, suggesting the group harbors dreams of a Green Day-style commercial breakthrough."

Personnel

Flogging Molly * Dave King – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, classical guitar, bodhran *Bridget Regan – violin, tin whistle, vocals (lead vocals on "A Prayer for Me in Silence") *Dennis Casey – electric guitar, six string acoustic guitar, twelve string acoustic guitar, vocals *Matt Hensley – piano accordion, button accordion, concertina, vocals *Nathen Maxwell – bass, vocals *Bob Schmidt – tenor banjo, five string banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, vocals *George Schwindt – drums, percussion Additional musicians *Joe Kwon (

) – cello on tracks 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 *Rich Wiley – trumpet on track 2 *Ed Roth – piano on track 9 *Evan Hill – gang vocals on track 10

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2011 albums Flogging Molly albums Albums recorded at Sonic Ranch