Beautiful Oblivion

Beautiful Oblivion is the third studio album by American metal band Issues, released on October 4, 2019, on Rise Records. It serves as a follow-up to their second studio album, Headspace (2016) and was produced by Howard Benson. It is also the first album to not feature original member and unclean vocalist Michael Bohn since his departure in 2018. The album showcases the group's progression of experimenting with other musical styles and influences, using elements of nu metal, progressive metal and djent, and influences of neo-soul, R&B, funk, electronica and pop.

Beautiful Oblivion
Studio album by
Issues
ReleasedOctober 4, 2019
Recorded2017–2019
StudioHome recording studio
Calabasas, California
Genre
Length46:21
LabelRise
ProducerHoward Benson
Issues chronology
Headspace
(2016)		 Beautiful Oblivion
(2019)
Singles from Beautiful Oblivion
  1. "Tapping Out"
    Released: May 3, 2019
  2. "Drink About It"
    Released: August 12, 2019
  3. "Flexin'"
    Released: September 27, 2019

The album was supported by three singles; "Tapping Out", "Drink About It" and "Flexin'". To promote the album, the band toured as support on American rock band I Prevail's Trauma North American tour and embarked on a headlining 2019 world tour in the US and UK.

Background

While touring extensively in support of their second full-length studio album, Headspace (2016), Issues began writing sessions for their third studio album. On January 4, 2018, it was revealed that the group had parted ways with original member and unclean vocalist Michael Bohn, thus making the band a four-piece moving forward.[5] Guitarist AJ Rebollo and bass guitarist Skyler Acord subsequently took over screaming vocal duties for future tours, with Rebollo recording unclean vocals on studio performances. In between tours and recording sessions, lead singer Tyler Carter released his debut solo studio album, Moonshine, in February 2019, and embarked on a solo headlining tour.[6] Tyler Acord, the band's former keyboardist and disc jockey, joined the band's studio sessions once more to program and perform synthesizers.[7]

Promotion

On May 3, 2019, the band released the album's lead single, "Tapping Out". The music video for the song premiered June 26, 2019.[8] The album's announcement was on August 11, 2019, and the second single, "Drink About It", was released accompanied with its music video the following day.[9] A third single, "Flexin'", a 2 minute and 26 second disco-inspired pop and funk metal song, was released on September 27, along with its music video.[10] On October 3, Rise Records hosted a live stream album listening party with members of the band giving commentary on the album's tracks.[11]

The band toured as support on American rock band I Prevail's Trauma North American tour, from April 24 to August 9, 2019.[12] The Beautiful Oblivion Tour is set to begin in the United Kingdom from October 7 to 17, with support from Lotus Eater, and will continue in North America from November 7 to December 15, 2019, with support from Polyphia, Sleep Token, and Lil Aaron.[13]

On December 12, 2019, it was revealed that Issues would embark on Dance Gavin Dance's headlining 2020 spring tour with Animals As Leaders, Veil of Maya and Royal Coda in March and April.[14] This tour was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Composition

Beautiful Oblivion is a nu metal album with elements of progressive metal and djent, and influences of neo-soul, R&B, funk, electronica and pop. The album is the band's first release to not feature original member and unclean vocalist Michael Bohn, which led to significantly less screaming vocals being featured on the record, with the exception of guitarist AJ Rebollo's unclean vocals on a few tracks. Writing sessions for songs on the album began as early as 2014, when the band began reviving old demo recordings, while recording sessions took place between 2017 and 2019, in Calabasas, California with producer Howard Benson. Kris Crummett stepped down as producer and served as an engineer on the record. Ty "Lophiile" Acord, a former member of the band, helped compose and perform synthesizers and programming for the album. The band's recording sessions were heavily disrupted due to the 2018 California wildfires, which lead to the members having to evacuate on various occasions.

Lyrics and music

The opening track, "Here's To You"–a moody R&B-laden metal song–opens with a sample of Ty "Lophiile" Acord toying with a yo-yo.[15][16] One of the first tracks composed for the album, it was co-written with Jamaican-American singer-songwriter Jesse Boykins III and features a vocal appearance from the band's bassist Skyler Acord on the bridge.[17] The second track, "Drink About It", a groove metal and R&B song, was written by singer Tyler Carter with the lyrical subject matter dealing with "[a] cheater being found out by their unfortunate partner."[18] "Find Forever", the album's third track, has been described by the group as "a wedding song", with the melody and top-line written by Skyler Acord.[19] It also features famed saxophone player Antonio "Saxl Rose" Hancock and a choir.[20] The fourth song, "Tapping Out", a nu metalcore track featuring blast beats, was released as the lead single and features guitarist AJ Rebello performing unclean vocals on the bridge; Rebollo and Carter wrote the song about Rebollo's suicide attempt during recording sessions for the album.[21] The fifth track, "Without You", a rap rock-pop metal song, was composed during the recording sessions for Headspace, in 2015, but was revisited for Beautiful Oblivion.[22] "Rain", the sixth track, was musically inspired by pop punk, specifically Mayday Parade, with its lyricism dealing with "people who always drag the fucking mood down."[23]

The seventh song, "Downfall", has been labeled as one of the heavier tracks on the record, featuring double drop C tuned guitars.[24] It also features drum and bass inspired production from Enter Shikari keyboardist Rou Reynolds on the second verse.[25] "Second Best", the eighth track, features both melancholic lyrics and upbeat nu metal elements, and was co-written by Carter with Bad Seed Rising singer and guitarist Francheska Pastor.[26] The ninth song, "Get It Right", has been described as a stand-out on the record, with elements of neo-soul, R&B and 90s-inspired pop; lyrically, the track deals with sex. "Flexin'", the tenth song, began as a joke which later was decided by the band to be a track on the record featuring satirical lyrics about rebelling and elements of funk, electro-pop and disco. It was described as a freestyle exercise for Carter after growing tired of writing.[27] "No Problem (Keep It Alive)", the eleventh song, was the first track written for the album, and features Nigerian-American singer Ivana Nwokike of VanJess.[28] The twelfth track, "Your Sake", is a piano ballad featuring no other instrumentation, becoming the first song by Issues to only feature piano and vocals.[24] The thirteenth and final track, the title-track, features more electronica production with elements of nu metal and jazz.[29]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Here's to You"4:40
2."Drink About It"3:29
3."Find Forever"3:39
4."Tapping Out"3:38
5."Without You"3:02
6."Rain"2:50
7."Downfall"3:53
8."Second Best"3:56
9."Get It Right"2:59
10."Flexin'"2:26
11."No Problem (Keep It Alive)"4:01
12."Your Sake"4:12
13."Beautiful Oblivion"3:36
Total length:46:21

Personnel

Issues

  • Tyler Carter – lead vocals
  • Adrian Rebollo – lead guitar, unclean vocals
  • Skyler Acord – bass guitar, vocals on track 1
  • Joshua Manuel – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

Production

  • Digital editor – Paul DeCarli, Joe Rickard
  • Engineer – Howard Benson, Michael Closson, Kris Crummett, Trevor Dietrich, Hatsukazu Inagaki, Ricky Orozco, Mike Plotnikoff
  • Guitar technician - Marc VanGool
  • Producer – Howard Benson

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[30] 31
US Billboard 200[31] 181
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References
  1. "UNDER REVIEW: ISSUES – BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION". discoveredmagazine.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. "The Noise Presents: Issues | Beautiful Oblivion Tour". VisitDetroit.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  3. "riserecords Live Stream". Retrieved October 5, 2019 – via YouTube.
  4. "ALBUM REVIEW: 'Beautiful Oblivion' by Issues". October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  5. Hill, John. "Issues Part Ways With Unclean Singer Michael Bohn". Loudwire. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  6. "Tyler Carter Has Announced His Solo Album". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  7. NOW, Issues, Beautiful Oblivion out (August 11, 2019). "By the way! About half of the album was a collaborative effort with @lophiile, this is one of them". Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  8. "Issues - Tapping Out (Official Music Video)". Retrieved October 5, 2019 – via YouTube.
  9. Shoemaker, Whitney (August 12, 2019). "Issues drop 'Drink About It' video, album announcement, tour dates". Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  10. "Issues' New Song 'Flexin' Is Pretty Damn Funky (But Don't Expect Heavy)". Wall Of Sound. September 27, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  11. Sound, Rock (October 3, 2019). "ISSUES are about to host a livestream of their new album, and answer questions about it". Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  12. "I Prevail Announce Spring and Summer 2019 Tour Plans with ISSUES". February 28, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  13. "Issues Release New Single, Announce Album And UK/U.S. Tour Dates". Kerrang!. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  14. "Mystery band revealed! Stoked to have @issues coming out with us next spring! Been a fan for a while now.pic.twitter.com/iLgqtXoSN8". December 12, 2019.
  15. "ALBUM REVIEW: Issues – Beautiful Oblivion | DEAD PRESS! | It's more than "just music" to us". deadpress.co.uk.
  16. NOW!), ISSUES (Beautiful Oblivion out (October 11, 2019). "Fun fact, the first thing you hear when you turn on our new album is the sound of @lophiile yo-yoing".
  17. account #6, Chris Miller fan (October 3, 2019). "#HerestoYou was one of the first songs we wrote for this cycle and I collaborated with the insanely creative @JesseBoykins3rd on the initial demo! That's me singing on the bridge btw".
  18. "Issues Release New Single, Announce Album And UK/U.S. Tour Dates". Kerrang!.
  19. account #6, Chris Miller fan (October 3, 2019). "#FindForever I wrote the vocals for this one!!! The first time one of my songs made it!!!!".
  20. NOW!), ISSUES (Beautiful Oblivion out (October 3, 2019). "LOVE SONGS IN THE AIR!!!! SHOUTOUT @Saxl_Rose on the sex appeal moments!!!! #FindForever @the1975 take us on tour!!!!".
  21. "AJ Rebollo on Instagram: "A piece of material I worked on during the darkest years of my life is finally out. I checked myself into a psych ward during the recording…"". Instagram.
  22. account, chris miller fan (October 3, 2019). "#WithoutYou This was the best song off Headspace that didn't make it and we almost cut it from this record".
  23. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 4, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. Shoemaker, Whitney (October 4, 2019). "Issues remain as inclusive as ever on 'Beautiful Oblivion'—review".
  25. account, chris miller fan (October 3, 2019). "#Downfall This song is gonna go off live shoutout @RouReynolds for the production on the 2nd verse".
  26. "Issues' Singer Talks Genre-Busting New Album, Fight Against "Toxic Masculinity"". Revolver. October 4, 2019.
  27. "Issues – Flexin" – via genius.com.
  28. account #6, Chris Miller fan (October 3, 2019). "#NoProblem this was the first song truly written for Beautiful Oblivion. I wrote this with the incredible Ivana from @vanjess".
  29. "One Word Album Review: Issues - Beautiful Oblivion / the NOISE". the NOISE.
  30. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  31. "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (3/3)". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
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