The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is the third full length album by the alternative rock band Brand New, and their major label debut on Interscope Records. It was released on November 20, 2006 in the United Kingdom, on November 21, 2006 in the United States and Canada, November 25, 2006 in Australia and on January 12, 2007 in mainland Europe. The album debuted at number 31 on the Billboard 200.[1] Two singles from the album were released — "Sowing Season" on November 21, 2006, and "Jesus" on April 30, 2007.
Production
History and leaked demos
In late 2005, Brand New started recording their third studio album in Oxford, Mississippi with producer Dennis Herring, but later dropped him in favor of Mike Sapone with whom they had worked on their first album.[2]
On January 24, 2006, nine untitled demos for the album leaked onto the Internet. The band was disappointed to hear of the leak, however they performed the demos at live shows. In an interview with the band the question was asked, "Did the Internet leak of your demos affect the progress of the new album?" The responses were as follows:[3]
If it affected anything, I would say it did it in a good way 'cause so many people were curious to hear what we have been doing--and for the most part, the record tracks don't sound anything like the leaked demos.
— Garrett Tierney
For me it was different. It had me pretty down for a while. No one likes to show their creation in mid-process, and those songs weren't done. They were like blueprints. Just the plan, right? It put me in a state where I was under the impression that those songs had been wasted or something--that we had to go and write new things because those had been heard. Now, in retrospect, I want those songs to be on the album and many of them aren't, and I'm probably more to blame for that than anyone. This record already feels incomplete to me without those tracks and probably will forever.
— Jesse Lacey
I can relate to both of those sentiments. In one way it was kind of refreshing and motivating to know that people were still so interested and curious as to what we were up to in that period where we sort of disappeared. But I was also worried that it would derail the process because the four of us had created a pretty safe place where the only critics were ourselves. As much as we tried to shield ourselves from letting the leak affect us, it definitely did. There was a feeling of being robbed, after keeping everything so close to ourselves and then having it heard before it was completed. As Jesse said, I wish some of those songs were on the record. But they do exist on a certain plane, so people do know that we were working and creating.
— Vincent "Vin" Accardi
Four of the demos went on to be officially released and/or re-recorded. "Untitled 8" was reworked into the album's opening track "Sowing Season" and "Untitled 6 (also known as "Mamas") later became "Luca". The original version of "Luca" was also released as the album's bonus track in the UK as "Luca (Reprisal Version)".
"Untitled 3" was later released as "Brothers", the b-side to "Jesus". Additionally, an alternate version of "Brothers" was released as "aloC-acoC", the b-side to "Sowing Season" ("Coca-Cola" backwards, most likely spelled as such to avoid copyright infringement). "Untitled 7" was re-recorded and released as the single "(Fork and Knife)".
It is also worth noting that "Untitled 9" bears a resemblance to "Archers" during the chorus, specifically the beginning of the vocal melody.
Music and lyrical content
In contrast to the rest of the tracks on the album, where one band member would bring an almost completed song to the rest of the band, "Degausser" and "Sowing Season" were composed spontaneously as a band. Additionally, the music and lyrics for "Handcuffs" and "Welcome to Bangkok" were written by lead guitarist Vincent Accardi.[3] The lyrics to the rest of the tracks from the album were written by Jesse Lacey.
The album's lyrics contains several references to popular culture and literature. The title of the song "Luca" refers to the character Luca Brasi of The Godfather.
The second verse to "Sowing Season" is inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem If—. The song "Limousine" is about the death of 7-year old Katie Flynn from various perspectives including Martin Heidgen, the driver who killed her. Mike Sapone can be heard at the end of the track. The title of "Sowing Season" is a reference from Stephen King's novel Secret Window, Secret Garden, where the main character had written a short story of the same title.
Album title and artwork
The name of the album came from a conversation Jesse Lacey had with a friend regarding Daniel Johnston, a musician who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.[4]
The album cover is a picture titled "Untitled #44" from Nicholas Prior's "Age of Man" collection which the band saw at an art show and later used. The outside of the cardboard case contains no song listings, and doesn't contain the name of the album or the band name anywhere but on the spine. The record company instead placed stickers on the plastic wrapping to indicate the name of the album and band, and on the UK version to indicate that it had the bonus track.
Vinyl release
 | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. (August 2010) |
On January 11, 2010, Brand New announced via their Twitter account that The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me would be released as a double vinyl LP set through Procrastinate! Music Traitors and Triple Crown Records.[5] This version included a lyric sheet that was not included with the original CD. The vinyl set was made available in stores on March 23, 2010.[6] Another pressing of the album was done by Academy Fight Song, which went up for pre-order on their website on May 17, 2010. This pressing was released on September 17, 2010.[7]
| Record Label | Color(s) | Pressed | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Crown Records | Solid White | 3000 | † Released online & in retail stores. | |
| Translucent Red | 500 | † ‡ | ||
| Black/White Marble | 500 | † ‡ | ||
| Gold | 500 | † Sold on tour only, 25 sold per show, later shows 1 per person. [8] | ||
| Academy Fight Song | Black | 200 | 180 Gram Vinyl. | ‡ Label's webstore exclusive. |
| Blue/Black Swirl | 500 | |||
| Orange/Black Swirl | 1000 | |||
| Solid White | 1500 | |||
| Solid Purple | 500 | Release on label's webstore 10-13-2010 | ||
| Blue/White Swirl | 500 | Available through Interpunk.com | ||
| Orange/White Swirl | 500 |
†First Pressing.
‡Sold out during May 17th, 2010 online pre-order.
Note: A red/black swirl version by Academy Fight Song was planned to be released at Hot Topic, but was canceled.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk.net | (90%) link |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Alternative Press | link |
| Blender |  link |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10) link |
| The Guardian | link |
| PopMatters | (8/10) link |
| Rolling Stone | link |
| Spin | link |
| Sputnikmusic | link |
The album received generally favorable reviews, and debuted at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 60,000 copies in its first week.[1] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 78, based on 17 reviews.[9]
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was rated the best album of 2006 by Punknews.org.[10]
In NME's 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was rated as the 74th best album of 2000s.[11] It also ranked at #20 in Sputnikmusic's Top 100 Albums of the Decade list as voted by staff members.[12]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Jesse Lacey except where noted; all music is composed by Jesse Lacey except where noted[13]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sowing Season" | Vin Accardi, Lacey | 4:31 | |
| 2. | "Millstone" | 4:16 | ||
| 3. | "Jesus" | 5:18 | ||
| 4. | "Degausser" | Accardi, Lacey, Brian Lane, Garrett Tierney | 5:32 | |
| 5. | "Limousine (MS Rebridge)" | 7:42 | ||
| 6. | "You Won't Know" | 5:42 | ||
| 7. | "Welcome to Bangkok" | Accardi | 3:05 | |
| 8. | "Not the Sun" | Accardi, Lacey | 3:09 | |
| 9. | "Luca" | 5:08 | ||
| 10. | "--" | 2:04 | ||
| 11. | "The Archers Bows Have Broken" | 4:14 | ||
| 12. | "Handcuffs" | Accardi | Accardi | 4:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Luca" (Reprisal Version) | Lacey | 4:02 |
Personnel
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me personnel according to vinyl edition liner notes.[13]
|
Brand New
Production and recording
|
Additional musicians
Art and design
|
Cover
After a July 30, 2008 solo show, Lacey stated that the long wait for the vinyl release of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was due primarily to the band's failure to secure the rights of Nicholas Prior's photograph, which is on the cover for the CD. Lacey continued on saying that after the band either secured the rights, or picked an alternate cover, the album would be released on vinyl format. The band managed to secure the rights to the image by 2010, and released the album on vinyl. Reportedly, Your Favorite Weapon and Deja Entendu will also be re-released on vinyl, as Lacey hopes this will help fans gather "a real collection."[14]
In popular culture
- "The Archers' Bows Have Broken" is featured on the soundtrack to Burnout Paradise and Burnout Dominator.
- "Sowing Season" is a playable song in the video game Guitar Hero 5.[15]
- "You Won't Know" is the introduction to the Stargate Universe episode "Divided".
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | November 20, 2006 | Interscope/Tiny Evil | CD (with bonus track) | 602517174528 |
| United States | November 21, 2006 | CD | B0008034-02 | |
| March 23, 2010 | Procrastinate! Music Traitors/ Triple Crown/Interscope/Tiny Evil |
Double LP | 3099-1 | |
| September 17, 2010 | Academy Fight Song | Double LP | B0013946-01 |
References
- ^ a b Katie Hasty, "Jay-Z Reclaims His 'Kingdom' With No. 1 Debut", Billboard.com, November 29, 2006.
- ^ "Brand New Biography". Official Brand New website. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-02-17. Retrieved 2006-02-18.
- ^ a b Tate, Jason (2006-09-19). "Brand New Street Team Exclusive Interview". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "BBC - Radio 1 - Zane Lowe".
- ^ "Brand New Tweet". 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ "Amazon.com: The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me: Brand New: Music". Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ^ "Academy Fight Song: Blog". Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ "Devil and God Vinyl - Brand New's MySpace Blog". 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ^ The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me reviews at Metacritic.com
- ^ "Best of 2006 - Punknews".
- ^ "The Top 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade - #74 Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me". November 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ^ http://sputnikmusic.com/blog/?p=1993
- ^ a b The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (Media notes). New York: Triple Crown Records. 2006.
{{cite AV media notes}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|artist=ignored (|others=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|publisherid=ignored (help) - ^ Fans Report In: Brand New, additional text.
- ^ Sowing Season Songfacts