Blackened Sky
Blackened Sky is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Largely produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 10 March 2002. The album reached number 78 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned four singles. A deluxe remastered edition was released in 2012, which featured, in addition to the original 12 album tracks, two songs from the band's debut extended play (EP) thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow and a number of B-sides from the album's singles.[1]
Reception
Critical reception to Biffy Clyro's debut album was generally mixed. John Murphy of independent music website musicOMH, writing at the time of its release in 2002, claimed that Blackened Sky was evidence of Biffy's status as "the most exciting new band in Britain", drawing comparisons to influencing band Nirvana and praising elements such as the consistency in the vocal performances.[2] His review was not entirely positive though, as he pointed out that "with this album ... the band sometimes lose the balance between light and shade", claiming that "There’s no sign of any kind of breakthrough song here, ... but if you take the time to explore this Blackened Sky you’ll find a few shining stars worth exploring".[2] Jason MacNeil of PopMatters was similarly indecisive, concluding that Blackened Sky was "Generally a credible first step despite some lapses in judgement".[3]
Allmusic critic Dean Carlson was less generous, awarding the album a low rating of 1.5 out of five stars; the review proposed that on the album "the band came across as all of the least interesting aspects of American grunge released a decade too late", with the website claiming that Biffy did not live up to the hype they had received prior to the album's release.[4]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Simon Neil; all music composed by Biffy Clyro.
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| 1. | "Joy.Discovery.Invention" | 3:38 |
| 2. | "27" | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Justboy" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Kill the Old, Torture Their Young" | 6:12 |
| 5. | "The Go-Slow" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Christopher's River" | 4:09 |
| 7. | "Convex, Concave" | 4:28 |
| 8. | "57" | 3:21 |
| 9. | "Hero Management" | 4:46 |
| 10. | "Solution Devices" | 3:18 |
| 11. | "Stress on the Sky" | 4:14 |
| 12. | "Scary Mary" (lyrics co-written by Martin Scott) | 3:06 |
| Total length: | 49:00 |
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| 13. | "Hope for an Angel" | 4:06 |
| 14. | "Less the Product" | 6:05 |
| 15. | "Instructio4" | 5:53 |
| 16. | "Breatheher" | 3:55 |
| 17. | "Unsubtle" | 2:27 |
| 18. | "Being Gabriel" | 6:20 |
| 19. | "Time as an Imploding Unit/Waiting for Green" | 9:25 |
| 20. | "All the Way Down Chapter 2" | 3:49 |
| 21. | "The Houses of Roofs" | 5:13 |
| Total length: | 96:13 |
Personnel
- Biffy Clyro
- Additional musicians
- Lyndsey Joss – additional instrument (track 15)
- Martin Scott – drums (track 15)
- Additional personnel
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- Production personnel
- Chris Sheldon – production, recording and engineering (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6 and 9–12), mixing
- Paul Corkett – production, recording and engineering (tracks 5, 7 and 8)
- DP Johnson – production, recording and engineering (tracks 2 and 15–20)
- S.A.G. – production, recording and engineering (tracks 2 and 15–20)
- Mike Walker – production, recording and engineering (track 13)
- Jamie Hart – production assistance (track 13)
- Dan Swift – engineering (track 21)
- Dan Austin – engineering assistance
- Graham Dominy – engineering assistance
- Kevin Gallagher – engineering assistance
- Sam Miller – engineering assistance
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Release history
References
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| Studio albums | |
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| Live albums | |
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| Extended plays | |
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| Compilations | |
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| Singles | |
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| Tours | |
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| Related articles | |
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