''The War of Art'' is the second studio album by industrial metal band

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, released on August 28, 2001 through American Recordings. It was produced by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

. Several songs on the album were re-recorded from the band's self-released debut album ''Trepanation'' (1999). ''The War of Art'' received positive reviews from critics and debuted at number 118 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number one on the

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chart. The album also charted at number 90 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. By 2015, the album had sold 250,000 copies worldwide. In 2022, ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' ranked the album as the 20th greatest nu metal album of all time.

Album information

The album was recorded at Rick Rubin's allegedly

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recording studio. The title is a

play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

of the Chinese book ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'' by

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...

. This is the band's only album with Aaron Zilch on samplers, and David Rogers and Wayne Kile together on guitar. After the departure of Zilch, Fowler remained the band's sole keyboardist/sampler. The album landed American Head Charge a spot at

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

2001. Their concerts featured some controversy due to the band firing shotguns and burning American flags on stage. A live version of the song "Reach and Touch" appears on the album '' Ozzfest 2001: The Second Millennium''. A live version of "Seamless" appears on the album '' Pledge of Allegiance Tour: Live Concert Recording''. Music videos were released for "Just So You Know" and "All Wrapped Up".

Commercial performance

''The War of Art'' debuted at number 118 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 12,000 copies, with 4,000 copies of those copies being sold in the album's first day of release. The album's sales surpassed the expectations of the band and American Recordings, who believed it would only manage to sell 7,000 copies in its first week. By 2015, ''The War of Art'' had sold over 250,000 copies worldwide.

Reception

''The War of Art'' received positive reviews from critics.

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 ...

called the album "brutal, loud, and insanely intense" and that "the band is one of the most intelligent, interesting, and compelling metal bands to surface." ''

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'' said, "aiming its cannons, grenades and shotguns at point-blank range... its spliced with programming and aggro geetars." ''

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 ...

'' called it an "outstanding slab of modern heavy metal." Katherine Turman said that "sirens, industrial noise, and ultra-intense vocals kick off The War of Art's aptly titled opening cut 'A Violent Reaction'", and that the band have "deftly produced, well-conceived, and fully realized songs and approach." ''Metal Observer'' called it "an album that forms a unity for itself and wins in power and intensity with each repeated listen." ''AntiMusic'' said that "from start to finish ''The War of Art'' is an uncompromising heavy album filled with righteous screams, in your face bass and drums and searing guitars." ''Rough Edge'' said that the album "is one hour plus of blistering, mind blowing, molten metal" and that "song after song after song is nothing less than a pure metal experience." Star Tribune music critic Chris Riemenschneider named the album No. 10 in his top 10 Minnesota records of 2001, saying, "From start to finish, this major-label debut doesn't let up on its Ministry-inspired rhythmic pounding and crunchy guitar wattage.". Matt Peiken of the St. Paul Pioneer Press called the album "one of the unheralded surprises of 2001."

Accolades

Track listing

* Track 9 is titled "Title of Song Removed for Your Safety" on the rear cover.

Music videography

Credits

Personnel per liner notes.

American Head Charge

*Cameron Heacock – vocals *Chad Hanks – bass, guitar, programming *Justin Fowler – keyboards, samples *David Rogers – guitar *Wayne Kile – guitar *Aaron Zilch – keyboards, electronics *Chris Emery – drums

Other personnel

– producer *Billy Bowers – editing *Lindsay Chase – project coordinator *Rich Costey – remixing, mixing *

Greg Fidelman Greg Fidelman (born September 4, 1965) is an American record mixer, engineer and record producer. He is a frequent collaborator of producer Rick Rubin, and has worked with many bands in various genres, including Metallica, Slayer, High on Fire, B ...

– engineer *Dean Karr – photography *Steve Mixdorf – engineer *Marc Moreau – editing *Jeremy Parker – assistant engineer *Gary Richards – manager *Eddy Schreyer – mastering *Justin Smith – mixing, remix assistant

Chart positions

Release history

References

External links

Music videos of "Just So You Know" and "All Wrapped Up"
{{DEFAULTSORT:War of Art 2001 albums American Head Charge albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin American Recordings (record label) albums Albums recorded at The Mansion (recording studio)