Holy War (Thy Art Is Murder album)

Holy War is the third studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. It was released on June 26 through UNFD and Nuclear Blast. The album was produced and mixed by Will Putney, recorded in late 2014.[1] Music videos were released for the tracks "Light Bearer" on May 29, and for "Holy War" on June 29.[2] Holy War had a successful first week of sales, charting at No. 7 in Australia and No. 82 in the U.S. as well as several other U.S. Charts.

Holy War
Studio album by
Thy Art Is Murder
Released26 June 2015 (2015-06-26)
Recorded2014
GenreDeathcore
Length41:01
LabelUNFD, Nuclear Blast
ProducerWill Putney
Thy Art Is Murder chronology
Hate
(2012)		 Holy War
(2015)		 Dear Desolation
(2017)
Uncensored cover

Lyrical content

As opposed to previous albums, Holy War focuses on the subjects of child abuse, animal rights, religion, politics, and war.[1]

Cover art

It was revealed on April 24, Thy Art had originally chosen a different cover artwork showing a child suicide bomber. After the original album cover was presented to distributors and retailers, the band was requested to either cover the artwork or choose a different design. The original artwork is within the packaging and printed on the vinyl cover.

Here it is [..], a child for every religion that has indoctrinated the young and disadvantaged, and sent them off to war and bloody death without cause or reason.

— Andy Marsh, explaining the meaning of the uncensored cover artwork[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[4]
Exclaim!7/10[5]
Metal Hammer4/5[6]
Rolling Stone Australia[7]
Ultimate Guitar7.2/10[8]

Holy War received mostly positive reviews from critics. Writing for Rolling Stone Australia, Sally McNullen gave the album four of five stars and described the album as "their darkest and most technically complex release yet," while noting that the band "don't stray too far from their sonic roots."[7] Writing for Metal Hammer, Jason Hicks gave the album the same score. He wrote that in comparison to previous releases the band are "noticeably more focused and ferocious in their attack," concluding that "The end result is unquestionably Thy Art Is Murder's best release to date – one that undoubtedly cements their name among the best death metal bands out there today."

Bradly Zorgdrager's review for Exclaim! was similarly positive, awarding the album 7/10. He wrote that "Holy War carves finds a happy medium between the soul-sucking breakdowns of their last release and the eccentric pyrotechnics of their first. There are more emotions than merely the titular Hate of their last, and the soaring solos sound positively triumphant." However he criticised some aspects of the band's sound, finishing his review by noting that "Though the album could do without the all-too-clichéd ominous riffs over chugs – let's call them chugly passages – it's a small price to pay for this victory."

The album was included at number 18 on Rock Sound's top 50 releases of 2015 list.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Thy Art Is Murder.

No.TitleLength
1."Absolute Genocide"4:25
2."Light Bearer"3:55
3."Holy War"4:00
4."Coffin Dragger" (feat. Winston McCall of Parkway Drive)2:55
5."Fur and Claw"4:16
6."Deliver Us to Evil"3:06
7."Emptiness"4:03
8."Violent Reckoning"2:55
9."Child of Sorrow"3:33
10."Naked and Cold"5:30
Total length:38:38
Initial CD pressing/Vinyl bonus track[10]
No.TitleLength
11."Vengeance"2:23
Total length:41:01

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[11]

Personnel

Thy Art Is Murder

  • Chris "CJ" McMahon – vocals
  • Andy Marsh – lead guitar
  • Sean Delander – bass, rhythm guitar
  • Lee Stanton – drums

Guest musicians

  • Winston McCall – vocals on "Coffin Dragger"

Production

  • Will Putney – production, engineering, mixing
  • Randy Leboeuf – additional engineering
  • Steve Seid – editing
  • Tom Smith Jr. – editing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering

Design and artwork

  • Andy Marsh – art direction
  • Thomas Savage – photography
  • Sebastian Lux – design, layout
  • Musician known as R%

Studios

  • Graphic Nature Audio, Belleville, NJ, U.S. – recording, mixing
  • Sterling Sound, New York City, NY, U.S. – mastering

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 70
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[14] 22
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[15] 10
US Billboard 200[16] 82
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[18] 14
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[19] 17

Release history
Date Region Label
26 June 2015 (2015-06-26) Australia, New Zealand[20] UNFD
Europe[1] Nuclear Blast
29 June 2015 (2015-06-29)[21] UK
30 June 2015 (2015-06-30)[21] North America
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References
Citations
  1. Staff writer(s); no by-line. (March 31, 2015). "THY ART IS MURDER – album update!". nuclearblast.de. Nuclear Blast. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  2. "Thy Art Is Murder's "Holy War" Music Video Is Determined To Offend". June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  3. Staff writer(s); no by-line. (April 24, 2015). "THY ART IS MURDER - uncensored artwork". nuclearblast.de. Nuclear Blast. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  4. Lyons, Todd. "http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fl/Thy-Art-Is-Murder-Holy-War-Review.htm". heavymetal.about.com. About.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015. External link in |title= (help)
  5. Zorgdrager, Bradley (June 26, 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder Holy War". exclaim.ca. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  6. Hicks, Jason (June 23, 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder: Holy War". metalhammer.teamrock.com. Team Rock. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  7. McMullen, Sally (June 29, 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder - Holy War". rollingstoneaus.com. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  8. "Ultimate Guitar Thy Art Is Murder Holy War review". July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  9. Bird, ed. 2016, p. 26
  10. Staff writer(s); no by-line. (April 10, 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder: Holy War Cover Artwork, Track Listing Revealed". blabbermouth.net. Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  11. Holy War (booklet). Thy Art Is Murder. Nuclear Blast. 2015.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. "Australiancharts.com – Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War". Hung Medien.
  13. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  14. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  16. "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  17. "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  18. "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  19. "Thy Art Is Murder Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
  20. Staff writer(s); no by-line. (April 17, 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder sign to UNFD". unfdcentral.com. We Are Unified. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  21. Staff writer(s); no by-line. (March 31, 2015). "Thy Art Is Murder announces new album". lambgoat.com. Lambgoat. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (208). ISSN 1465-0185.
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