| Animal Mother | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 21, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
| Studio | AERM, Orland, Maine | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:08 | |||
| Label | Southern Lord | |||
| Producer | Steve Austin | |||
| Today Is the Day chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Echoes and Dust | Favorable [2] |
| Exclaim! |   [3] |
| Punk News |  [4] |
| The Sleeping Shaman | Favorable [5] |
| Sputnik Music | [6] |
| Terrorizer | [7] |
Animal Mother is the tenth album by Today Is the Day, released on October 21, 2014 by Southern Lord Records.
Most of the album's material was written in response to the deteriorating mental and physical health, and the death of, Steve Austin's mother. [8] Austin has described the album as being about human relationships between family and friends. [9] The title Animal Mother was chosen for the record because Austin considered the two words to be polar opposites of each other, which he felt matched the overall theme of the album. [10]
The album was first announced in November 2013 on the band's facebook page, in that announcement he also mentioned that the album's lineup will include bassist Sean Conkling and drummer Jeff Lohrber. [11] The band was signed to Southern Lord Records in June 2014, and the album was released on October 21 of that same year on CD and LP formats. [12] The LP edition of the album removed "Bloodwood" from the track list, in its place is a cover of The Melvins' "Zodiac", from their 1991 album Bullhead . The band's bandcamp page included a version of the album, on digital formats, with both "Bloodwood" and "Zodiac" in the track list. An edition of 100 hand numbered vinyl copies of the album were sold through the band's bandcamp page, all copies were signed by the band. An edition of 400 orange copies were made exclusive for European retailers. There's also an unknown amount of oxblood-orange colored copies made available.
To promote the album, music videos were produced for the tracks "Masada", "Heathen", and "Animal Mother". The band also toured twice, with their intended third tour being cancelled due to a van accident that broke Austin's ribs in his back and his left side. However, he recovered from his injuries five months after the accident and a third tour was set in motion. Before the accident, Today Is the Day were touring with Eyehategod, Iron Reagan, and Power Trip.
Inside the liner notes for the album is a quote that reads "the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep", which is a direct reference to the 1977 film Telefon . [8]
All tracks are written by Steve Austin, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Animal Mother" | 4:57 |
| 2. | "Discipline" | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Sick of Your Mouth" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Imperfection" | 1:25 |
| 5. | "Law of the Universe" | 2:19 |
| 6. | "Outlaw" (acoustic) | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Godcrutch" | 2:29 |
| 8. | "Divine Reward" | 0:57 |
| 9. | "Masada" | 3:45 |
| 10. | "Heathen" | 2:18 |
| 11. | "Mystic" | 3:15 |
| 12. | "The Last Strand" | 2:35 |
| 13. | "Outlaw" | 3:49 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Bloodwood" (Also on CD) | 7:08 | |
| 15. | "Zodiac" (Also on LP) | Buzz Osborne, The Melvins | 4:10 |
Adapted from the Animal Mother liner notes. [13]
Today Is the Day
Production and design
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2014 | Southern Lord | CD, LP | LORD202 |
The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is So Long, Astoria (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting single is their cover of Don Henley’s "The Boys of Summer" from So Long, Astoria. The only constant member throughout their history has been singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher “Kris” Roe.
Today Is the Day is an American noise rock and experimental metal band that originally formed in Nashville, Tennessee. The band's diverse sound combines influences from areas such as noise music, avant-garde metal, grindcore, post-hardcore, and alternative rock among other genres. Most of the band's recordings make extensive use of dissonance and sampling, as well as unusual production techniques and psychedelic overtones. Lyrical themes include depression, warfare, violence, altered states of consciousness, and mental disorders.
Knut were a mathcore/sludge metal band from Geneva, Switzerland, formed in 1994. They started by playing in the local underground squat scene, publishing a couple of seven-inch releases as well as their first CD in 1997, titled Leftovers. This early material was put out on Snuff Records, which was run by Roderic Mounir and Didier Séverin. In 1998, Knut released their first full-length, Bastardiser, which showcased a sharper and more focused aggression, combining heavily distorted guitars, odd-time signatures, use of discordance and repetition, and harsh vocals.
Willpower is the second studio album by the American band Today Is the Day, released on September 1994 by Amphetamine Reptile Records. The album was recorded just a few months after Steve Austin's father, whom he had not seen for months at the time, died in a violent car crash. A remastered edition of the album was issued in 2007 through the then-newly formed SuperNova Records, which included the track "Execution Style", a rare extra from the Willpower sessions that was previously released on the compilation Dope-Guns-'N-Fucking In The Streets Volume Ten.
Temple of the Morning Star is the fourth studio album by the American noisecore band Today Is the Day, released on September 23, 1997, by Relapse Records. Since its release in 1997, the album has garnered much praise from critics and is considered to be one of the band's best albums. The album was reissued twice, first in 2006 on CD formats, and again in 2017 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In 2017, the album was included in Decibel magazine's "Hall of Fame" list.
In the Eyes of God is the fifth studio album by the American noisegrind band Today Is the Day, released on July 20, 1999, by Relapse Records. It is the only album by the group to feature Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher, who would both move on to form Mastodon. First issued in 1999 on CD and vinyl formats, the LP was a limited edition of 1,000 total: 900 black copies sold to the public, and 100 clear copies that were given away as gifts to the staff of Relapse.
Converge / Napalm Death is a split EP by American metalcore band Converge and English grindcore band Napalm Death. The album was self-released on August 1, 2012, and features artwork by Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon. It is available on 7" vinyl and as a digital download.
Sadness Will Prevail is a double album and the sixth studio album by Today Is the Day, released on September 3, 2002 through Relapse Records. At over two hours and twenty-five minutes in length, it is currently the longest album of the band's career as well as their most polarizing in terms of critical reception.
Pain Is a Warning is the ninth album by Today Is the Day, released on August 16, 2011, by Black Market Activities.
PUP is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 2010, originally under the name Topanga. PUP's self-titled debut album was released on October 8, 2013, on Royal Mountain Records. In December 2013, PUP signed with SideOneDummy Records and re-released their debut album in the United States on April 8, 2014. The group was in the studio in late 2015 recording their second album The Dream Is Over which was released on May 27, 2016, through SideOneDummy. The band's third album, titled Morbid Stuff, was released on April 5, 2019. This Place Sucks Ass, a six-track EP, was released on October 27, 2020. Their fourth album, The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, was released on April 1, 2022.
A World Lit Only by Fire is the seventh studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 7 October 2014 through frontman Justin Broadrick's own label, Avalanche Recordings, and was the band's first full-length album since 2001's Hymns. It was preceded by the digital singles "New Dark Ages" in August 2014 and "Imperator" in September 2014, and it was followed by several international tours.
Single Mothers is a Canadian punk rock band based in London, Ontario that formed in 2008. The band released its debut studio album Negative Qualities in 2014.
Full of Hell is an American grindcore band from Ocean City, Maryland, and Central Pennsylvania, formed in 2009. They are currently signed to Relapse Records and have released five studio albums – Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home (2011), Rudiments of Mutilation (2013), Trumpeting Ecstasy (2017), Weeping Choir (2019), and Garden of Burning Apparitions (2021) – as well as several EPs and splits. In addition to studio albums, they've released three collaboration albums – Full of Hell & Merzbow (2014) with Japanese noise artist Merzbow, and One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache (2016) and Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (2017) with sludge metal band The Body – with a fourth, Suffocating Hallucination with doom metal band Primitive Man, released in March 2023.
"Year of the Hare" is a single by the Canadian rock band Fucked Up and marks the seventh entry in their Zodiac Series of releases, each named after a different Chinese zodiac sign of the Chinese calendar. The single was released on June 16, 2015 though Jacob Bannon of Converge's label Deathwish Inc., who also contributed to the album's artwork and packaging. The lyrical content, the song's composition and interactive music video all make allusions to time, loops and rabbits.
Useless Animal is an extended play by the American rock band Cult Leader. Released through Deathwish Inc. on June 16, 2015, the EP features two exclusive tracks and one original composition titled "Gutter Gods" that would later be released on the band's 2015 debut album, Lightless Walk. Useless Animal was recorded in late 2014 by Andy Patterson, who previously recorded Gaza's 2009 album, He Is Never Coming Back—the now-defunct band that featured three members and gave birth to Cult Leader.
Rudiments of Mutilation is the second studio album by American grindcore band Full of Hell. It was released on June 11, 2013 through A389 Records.
Atonement is the tenth studio album by American death metal band Immolation. It was released on February 24, 2017, through Nuclear Blast Records.
Oblation is the third studio album by Florida sludge metal band Floor released on April 25, 2014 on the Season of Mist label. The first original material since their previous self-titled album 12 years before, Oblation followed the band's reunion in 2013 after disbanding in 2003. Some critics noted similarities between the album and songs recorded by guitarist Steve Brooks' other band Torche.
Trumpeting Ecstasy is the third studio album by the American grindcore band Full of Hell. The Kurt Ballou (Converge) produced album was released on May 5, 2017 through Profound Lore Records.
No Good to Anyone is the eleventh studio album by American band Today Is the Day, released on February 28, 2020 through BMG and The End Records, the first recording by the group to be issued through a major label. The album went through a lengthy production process as a result of health complications frontman Steve Austin faced, and was released five years after the band's 2014 album Animal Mother, marking the longest gap between albums for the band. Jef Whitehead of black metal band Leviathan painted the cover artwork for the album.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)