Going to Hell (album)

Going to Hell
Studio album by The Pretty Reckless
Released March 12, 2014
Recorded 2012–13
Studio Water Music Recording Studios (Hoboken, New Jersey)
Genre
Length 45:16
Label Razor & Tie
Producer Kato Khandwala
The Pretty Reckless chronology

  • Going to Hell
  • (2014)
Singles from Going to Hell
  1. "Going to Hell"
    Released: September 24, 2013
  2. "Heaven Knows"
    Released: November 19, 2013
  3. "Messed Up World (F'd Up World)"
    Released: April 22, 2014
  4. "House on a Hill"
    Released: September 28, 2014
  5. "Follow Me Down"
    Released: November 18, 2014

Going to Hell is the second studio album by American rock band The Pretty Reckless, released in March 2014 by Razor & Tie. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 with 35,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming the band's first top ten album on the chart. Going to Hell has spawned five singles, including "Heaven Knows", "Messed Up World (F'd Up World)" and "Follow Me Down", all of which reached number one on Billboard‍ '​s Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

Background and recording

The band had been recording at Water Music Recording Studios in Hoboken, New Jersey when the studio was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. After losing a lot of equipment and recordings of songs meant for Going to Hell, they had to re-record a lot of songs they had been working on at the time.[2]

It was confirmed in September 2013 that The Pretty Reckless had parted ways with Interscope Records,[3] followed by the announcement that the band had signed with the Razor & Tie label.[4] In October 2013, it was announced that the band had signed with Cooking Vinyl in Australia.[5]

Release and promotion

On May 30, 2013, the band released a teaser trailer for their second studio album, and premiered a lyric video for the track "Follow Me Down" on June 17, 2013,[6] while the song "Burn" premiered on July 1.[7] The title track "Going to Hell" premiered on Revolver magazine's website on September 19, 2013,[8] and was officially released as the album's first single on September 24.[9] In support of the album, the band embarked on the Going to Hell Tour on September 20, 2013, featuring Heaven's Basement and Louna as opening acts.[10][11]

The music video for "Going to Hell" premiered on October 16, 2013.[12] while "Heaven Knows" was released on November 19 as the second single from Going to Hell, after premiering on Sirius XM's Octane.[13] The music video for "Heaven Knows" debuted on February 13, 2014.[14] The song peaked at number one on Billboard‍ '​s Mainstream Rock Songs chart, making The Pretty Reckless the second act with a female vocalist to top the chart since 1990, when Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet" reached number two for two weeks.[15]

The track listing, album cover, and release date were announced on January 21, 2014, and a number of limited pre-order bundles were made available on the band's website.[16] The cover art depicts lead singer Taylor Momsen naked from behind, her back decorated with a black cross and arrow pointing to her rear end.[17] Momsen stated the cover image was inspired by Pink Floyd. "You know that photograph of the women sitting by a pool, nude, with all the record covers painted on their backs? That's one of my favorite posters, so I stole the idea", she told Rolling Stone.[18]

"Fucked Up World" was released on April 22, 2014 as the album's third single, under the title "Messed Up World (F'd Up World)".[19] The music video was filmed in Miami on April 30,[20][21] and premiered on June 17 on the band's VEVO page.[22] When the single topped the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, The Pretty Reckless became the second female-fronted band to achieve two number-one hits in a row on the chart, following The Pretenders.[15] "House on a Hill" was released on September 28, 2014 as the fourth single from the album.[23] The album's fifth single, "Follow Me Down", impacted US rock radio on November 18, 2014.[24]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 58/100[25]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [26]
Alternative Press [27]
Blabbermouth.net 8/10[28]
Kerrang! KKKK[29]
Q [30]
Rolling Stone [1]
Sputnikmusic 3.2/5[31]

Going to Hell received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 58, based on six reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[25] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine found Going to Hell to be "way better" than the band's debut album, Light Me Up, while noticing "a twitchy teen rebellion that fuels the whole enterprise, and that's why Going to Hell works: the group may be following a blueprint, but they believe they're following their own course, and that conviction is convincing."[26] George Garner of Kerrang! opined that "[t]he title track's a good indication of the album as a whole—it's a bit rawer, significantly darker and a lot more Momsenier", concluding, "If Taylor is indeed going to Hell, at least she's released a truly great album on the way down."[29] Jon Wiederhorn of Revolver stated, "She may still be a dirty girl, but Momsen leaves most chick rockers in her rearview mirror thanks to her greatest assets—her daring arrangements and well-crafted tunes."[32] Rolling Stone‍ '​s Chuck Eddy wrote, "This New York band's brash second album rages with the upbeat, beat-wise humor that hard rock has suppressed ever since grunge."[1]

Ray Van Horn, Jr. of Blabbermouth.net described the album as "a fierce and entertaining record" and "a shell-shocked, stripped-down form of modern rock 'n roll that sounds at times like Heart in their early years and even their most recent few albums."[28] Davey Boy of Sputnikmusic noted that "'Absolution', 'Fucked Up World' and 'House on a Hill' best showcase [Momsen's] dynamic vocal range, but while concentrating a little too much on her Lolita-like image doesn't blunt the strength of Momsen's voice per se, a by-product is that the tunes rarely capitalize on her understated vulnerability." Boy further commented that "The Pretty Reckless don't do a great deal to prove the cynics wrong here. More frustratingly, they are undoubtedly capable of much better."[31] In a mixed assessment of the album, Q expressed that "[b]latant Queen rip-off 'Heaven Knows' is fun, but it all goes wrong when she breaks out ballads."[30] Bree Davies of Alternative Press panned the album, stating that the band "seems to have tried too hard to come across as outrageous. It's got every contrived reference possible along with clips of brainwashing television sermons and sound bites recreated from cheap porn."[27]

The album was placed at number twelve on Revolver‍ '​s list of The 20 Best Albums of 2014.[33]

Commercial performance

Going to Hell debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 35,000 copies, earning the band their first top ten album and biggest sales week yet.[34] As of September 2014, the album had sold nearly 110,000 copies in the United States.[35] The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight, selling 9,693 copies in its first week.[36] In Japan, it debuted at number fifty on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart with 1,795 copies sold.[37]

Track listing

Standard edition[38]
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Follow Me Down"  Taylor Momsen 4:40
2. "Going to Hell"  
  • Momsen
  • Ben Phillips
 4:36
3. "Heaven Knows"  
  • Momsen
  • Phillips
 3:44
4. "House on a Hill"  
  • Momsen
  • Phillips
 4:39
5. "Sweet Things"  
  • Momsen
  • Phillips
 5:04
6. "Dear Sister"  Momsen 0:56
7. "Absolution"  
  • Momsen
  • Phillips
 4:34
8. "Blame Me"  Momsen 4:27
9. "Burn"  Momsen 1:48
10. "Why’d You Bring a Shotgun to the Party"  
  • Momsen
  • Phillips
 3:20
11. "Fucked Up World"  
  • Momsen
  • Phillips
 4:16
12. "Waiting for a Friend"  Momsen 3:12
Total length:
 45:16

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Going to Hell.[46]

The Pretty Reckless
Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[47] 20
Austrian Albums Chart[48] 28
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[49] 57
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[50] 28
Canadian Albums Chart[51] 5
Danish Albums Chart[52] 33
Dutch Albums Chart[53] 58
French Albums Chart[54] 46
German Albums Chart[55] 35
Irish Albums Chart[56] 45
Irish Independent Albums Chart[57] 10
Japanese Albums Chart[58] 50
New Zealand Albums Chart[59] 19
Scottish Albums Chart[60] 7
Spanish Albums Chart[61] 68
Swiss Albums Chart[62] 35
UK Albums Chart[63] 8
UK Indie Albums Chart[64] 1
UK Rock Albums Chart[65] 1
US Billboard 200[66] 5
US Alternative Albums[67] 2
US Hard Rock Albums[68] 1
US Top Rock Albums[69] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Billboard 200[70] 181
US Alternative Albums[71] 32
US Hard Rock Albums[72] 10
US Top Rock Albums[73] 43

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Edition(s) Label Ref.
Japan March 12, 2014
Standard Victor Entertainment [44][74]
Germany March 14, 2014
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 Cooking Vinyl [42][75][76][77]
LP Standard [78]
United Kingdom March 16, 2014 Digital download
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 [43][79]
France March 17, 2014 CD Standard [80]
Digital download
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 [81][82]
United Kingdom CD [39][83]
LP Standard [84]
Canada March 18, 2014 CD Limited Universal [85]
LP Standard [85]
Digital download Deluxe [40]
United States CD Limited Razor & Tie [86]
LP Standard [87]
Digital download Deluxe [41]
Australia March 21, 2014
  • CD
  • digital download
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 Cooking Vinyl [88][89][90][91]
Japan November 19, 2014 CD + DVD Deluxe Victor Entertainment [45]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Eddy, Chuck (March 18, 2014). "The Pretty Reckless 'Going to Hell' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ Hyman, Dan (September 23, 2013). "The Pretty Reckless Confront Tragedy on 'Going to Hell'". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Artisan News Service (September 26, 2013). "Pretty Reckless Taylor Momsen Breaks Up With Interscope, Puts On Tie". YouTube. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless Join Razor & Tie's U.S. Label Roster". Razor & Tie. September 24, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless Sign With Cooking Vinyl Australia". theMusic.com.au. October 10, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless Premiere New Lyric Video, "Follow Me Down"". Revolver. NewBay Media. June 17, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  7. ↑ Ableson, Jon (June 24, 2013). "The Pretty Reckless Releasing New Song "Burn" Teaser Next Week". Alter the Press!. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Exclusive: The Pretty Reckless Premiere New Song, "Going to Hell"". Revolver. NewBay Media. September 19, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Going to Hell – Single by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ Ableson, Jon (July 8, 2013). "The Pretty Reckless Announce "Going To Hell" North American Tour". Alter the Press!. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Louna Announce First-Ever U.S. Tour, with The Pretty Reckless". Revolver. NewBay Media. September 10, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ Geist, Brandon (October 16, 2013). "The Pretty Reckless Premiere New Video, "Going to Hell"". Revolver. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  13. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless Releases Digital Single "Heaven Knows" November 19". Razor & Tie. November 19, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  14. ↑ Corner, Lewis (February 13, 2014). "The Pretty Reckless premiere 'Heaven Knows' music video – watch". Digital Spy. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 White, Emily (September 4, 2014). "Pretty Reckless Only Female-Fronted Band to Top Mainstream Rock With First 2 Hits". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ Ableson, Jon (January 21, 2014). "The Pretty Reckless Unveil New Album 'Going To Hell' Details". Alter the Press!. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  17. ↑ Gicas, Peter (January 22, 2014). "Taylor Momsen Gets Naked for The Pretty Reckless' Going to Hell Album Cover—See the Pic!". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  18. ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (March 28, 2014). "Taylor Momsen Discusses Her Naked Album Cover". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Messed Up World (F'd Up World) – Single by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  20. ↑ Momsen, Taylor (April 30, 2014). "Filming the video today in ...". Twitter. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  21. ↑ Stanisci, Grace (May 13, 2014). "Taylor Momsen dishes about The Pretty Reckless' new 'F—ed Up World' music video". Yahoo! Music Canada. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  22. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless Premiere New Music Video for "Messed Up World (F'd Up World)"". Razor & Tie. June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  23. ↑ "House On a Hill – Single by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Rock Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Going to Hell – Pretty Reckless". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Going to Hell – The Pretty Reckless". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Davies, Bree (April 2014). "The Pretty Reckless: Going to Hell". Alternative Press (309): 93.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Horn, Ray Van, Jr. (March 3, 2014). "CD Reviews – Going To Hell The Pretty Reckless". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Garner, George (March 15, 2014). "The Pretty Reckless: Going to Hell". Kerrang! (1508): 53.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "The Pretty Reckless: Going to Hell". Q (333): 116. April 2014.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Boy, Davey (March 17, 2014). "The Pretty Reckless – Going to Hell (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  32. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (March 12, 2014). "Review: The Pretty Reckless — Going to Hell". Revolver. NewBay Media. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  33. ↑ "The 20 Best Albums of 2014". Revolver. NewBay Media. November 24, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  34. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (March 26, 2014). "'Frozen' Earns Its Biggest Sales Week Yet, Tops Billboard 200 a Seventh Time". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  35. ↑ Brown, Matt (September 11, 2014). "Metal By Numbers 9/11: The charts are freakin' Swede this week". Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  36. ↑ Jones, Alan (March 24, 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: George Michael sells 50k to hit No.1". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved March 24, 2014. (subscription required)
  37. ↑ "2014年03月10日～2014年03月16日のCDアルバム週間ランキング" [Weekly CD Albums Chart: 2014.03.10~2014.03.16] (in Japanese). Oricon. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "The Pretty Reckless to Release New Album 'Going to Hell' March 18, 2014 on Razor & Tie". Razor & Tie. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "Going To Hell (Deluxe Version) by The Pretty Reckless". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Going To Hell by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "Going to Hell by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 "Going to Hell (Deluxe Version) by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (DE). Apple. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Going to Hell (Deluxe Version) by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 ゴーイング・トゥ・ヘル [Going to Hell] (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 ゴーイング・トゥ・ヘル ～デラックス・エディション [Going to Hell – Deluxe Edition] (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  46. ↑ Going to Hell (CD liner notes). The Pretty Reckless. Razor & Tie. 2014. 79301-83539-2.
  47. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  48. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  49. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
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  57. ↑ "Top 10 Independent Artist Albums, Week Ending 20 March 2014". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
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  62. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  63. ↑ "2014 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  64. ↑ "2014 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  65. ↑ "2014 Top 40 Rock & Metal Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  66. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  67. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Chart history: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  68. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Chart history: Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  69. ↑ "The Pretty Reckless – Chart history: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  70. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums: Year End 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  71. ↑ "Alternative Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 19, 2015. (subscription required)
  72. ↑ "Hard Rock Albums: Year End 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  73. ↑ "Top Rock Albums: Year End 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
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  75. ↑ "Going to Hell" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  76. ↑ "Going to Hell (Ltd Deluxe Edition incl. 2 Bonustracks)" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  77. ↑ "Going To Hell by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (DE). Apple. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  78. ↑ "Going to Hell [Vinyl LP]" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  79. ↑ "Going To Hell by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  80. ↑ "Going to hell – Pretty Reckless" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  81. ↑ "Going To Hell by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (FR). Apple. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  82. ↑ "Going to Hell (Deluxe Version) by The Pretty Reckless". iTunes Store (FR). Apple. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
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  84. ↑ "Going To Hell [VINYL] by The Pretty Reckless". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  85. ↑ 85.0 85.1 "The Pretty Reckless Announce New Album 'Going to Hell' for March 18 Release". Universal Music Canada. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
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