| Dear Desolation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 August 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:17 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Will Putney | |||
| Thy Art Is Murder chronology | ||||
| ||||
Dear Desolation is the fourth studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. The album was released on 18 August 2017 by Nuclear Blast. [3] The record is the band's last album with founding drummer Lee Stanton, as well as the first to feature Kevin Butler on bass. [4]
Following the release of their third full-length album Holy War in 2015, vocalist CJ McMahon briefly left the band. In January 2017, the band announced McMahon's return and released the stand-alone single "No Absolution" (a B-side from the Holy War recording sessions) as part of the announcement. [5]
According to Eliran Kantor, the artist behind the album's cover, the image of the wolf feeding a baby lamb serves to convey the album's primary themes of greed, oppression, cynicism, preying on and misleading the weak, and the connection of fear & hope; the wolf feeding the baby lamb outwardly portrays kindness, while in reality, the wolf is helping the lamb to grow in order to prepare a bigger meal for herself. [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! | 9/10 [7] |
| Metal Hammer |    [8] |
| Metal Injection | 7/10 [9] |
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Exclaim! called it "the band's strongest album to date", [7] noting the band's stylistic shift from deathcore towards conventional death metal inspired by bands like Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse. [7] It has been described as continuing their prior deathcore sound by Metal Hammer . [8] Metal Hammer praised McMahon's vocal performance, and wrote that though the album is "short on the penetrative hooks that Holy War possessed in abundance, Into Chaos We Climb and The Final Curtain's seismic jolts and haunting leads leave an indelible mark for deathcore disciples to latch onto." [8]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slaves Beyond Death" | 3:44 |
| 2. | "The Son of Misery" | 4:18 |
| 3. | "Puppet Master" | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Dear Desolation" | 3:21 |
| 5. | "Death Dealer" | 4:08 |
| 6. | "Man Is the Enemy" | 3:28 |
| 7. | "The Skin of the Serpent" | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Fire in the Sky" | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Into Chaos We Climb" | 4:05 |
| 10. | "The Final Curtain" | 3:50 |
| Total length: | 38:17 | |
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [10] | 5 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] | 28 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12] | 97 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [13] | 106 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [14] | 29 |
| New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ) [15] | 7 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [16] | 90 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] | 42 |
| US Billboard 200 [18] | 95 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) [19] | 3 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [20] | 15 |
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with metalcore/hardcore elements seen in the 1990s, deathcore itself emerged in the early 2000s and gained prominence beginning in the mid-2000s within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.
Blackened death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal.
Eliran Kantor is a Berlin-based artist and illustrator known mostly for creating album covers for metal bands such as Testament, Soulfly, Helloween and My Dying Bride.
Carnifex is an American deathcore band from San Diego County, California. Formed in 2005, they are currently signed to Nuclear Blast after having been signed to Victory Records. They have released nine studio albums and three EPs. Since 2022, the band has consisted of founding members, lead vocalist Scott Ian Lewis and drummer Shawn Cameron, along with rhythm guitarist Cory Arford, bassist Fred Calderon and lead guitarist Neal Tiemann.
Wrath is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. It was internationally released on February 23, 2009 via Roadrunner Records in Europe, Japan and Australia, and on February 24, 2009 via Epic Records in the U.S and Canada. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, becoming the band's most successful album on the chart, and sold 68,000 units in the U.S. during its first week of release. As of 2010, it has sold over 202,000 copies in the United States.
Blood of the Nations is the twelfth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept. It is the band's first studio recording since 1996's Predator and the first album to feature vocalist Mark Tornillo and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann. It is the first Accept album without Udo Dirkschneider on vocals since Eat the Heat (1989), and the band's first album to feature guitarist Herman Frank since Balls to the Wall (1983).
Dark Roots of Earth is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012, in Europe, and four days later in North America by independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album is available in three configurations, CD, CD/DVD and vinyl, with the latter two versions including four bonus tracks. The album was produced by Andy Sneap, who mixed and engineered the band's previous three studio releases, The Gathering (1999), First Strike Still Deadly (2001), and The Formation of Damnation (2008). The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor. A music video was made for the track "Native Blood". Dark Roots of Earth entered the Billboard 200 at number 12, Testament's highest position ever.
Resolution is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. It is available on a single disc CD or a two-disc deluxe edition.
Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian deathcore band from Blacktown, Sydney, that formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Tyler Miller, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, bassist Kevin Butler and drummer Jesse Beahler. Thy Art Is Murder has released six studio albums since formation.
Hate is the second studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. The album was released on 19 October 2012, through Halfcut Records, but was reissued on 5 April 2013, through Nuclear Blast after the band signed to the label. The album debuted at no. 35 on the ARIA Charts, making Thy Art Is Murder the first extreme metal band ever to break the top 40. The album also reached no. 1 on AIR and peaked at 31 on the Top Heatseekers chart. On 31 March 2013, Metal Hammer began streaming the album in full, in anticipation of the Nuclear Blast re-release. It is the band's only album with guitarist Tom Brown, as well as the first album on which current guitarist Sean Delander plays bass.
The Adversary is the debut studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. The album was released on 16 July 2010 through Skull and Bone Records. It is the first release to feature vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon and last release to feature guitarist Gary Markowski and bassist Mick Low. Guitarist Sean Delander replaced Mick Low on bass and Andy Marsh and Tom Brown joined as the new guitarists on the album Hate.
Fit for an Autopsy is an American deathcore band from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 2008. The band consists of guitarists Pat Sheridan, Will Putney and Tim Howley, drummer Josean Orta, vocalist Joe Badolato, and bassist Peter "Blue" Spinazola. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast and have released six studio albums since formation.
Holy War is the third studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. It was released on 26 June 2015 through UNFD and Nuclear Blast. The album was produced and mixed by Will Putney, recorded in late 2014. Music videos were released for the tracks "Light Bearer" on 29 May, and for "Holy War" on 29 June. 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.
Ire is the fifth studio album by Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive. It was released on 25 September 2015 through Resist and Epitaph Records, and was streamed online on 20 September. The album was produced by George Hadji-Christou. The band sought to change their established style with Ire, and reviewers have noted the inclusion of new influences.
The Rise of Chaos is the 15th studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released on 4 August 2017. This is the first Accept album with guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively. It is also their final studio album to feature bassist Peter Baltes, who left Accept in November 2018. Like their previous three studio albums, The Rise of Chaos was produced by Andy Sneap, making it the band's fourth collaboration with him. Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann has stated that the album's title refers to the human-caused chaos in the world.
Profane Nexus is the tenth full-length studio album by the American death metal band Incantation. The album was released on August 11, 2017 through Relapse Records, and is their first release on the label since their 2000 album The Infernal Storm. The album was recorded in the band's own Incantation Studios in Johnstown, PA and was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and reached no. 18 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart and no. 32 on the Independent Chart.
Infant Annihilator are an English-American deathcore band formed in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire in 2012 by drummer Aaron Kitcher and guitarist Eddie Pickard. The band are known for their technical, eclectic and extreme musical style; parodistic and satirically graphic lyrical content and shock humour; and music videos that feature ribald themes.
Human Target is the fifth studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. The album was released on 26 July 2019 through Nuclear Blast and the band's independent label Human Warfare. It is the band's first album with drummer Jesse Beahler following the departure of Lee Stanton, and the last album with vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, who was fired by the band in September 2023.
Lamb of God is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. The album was initially set for release on May 8, 2020, through Epic and Nuclear Blast, but was later pushed back to June 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lamb of God marks the first studio album of all-new material by the band since 2015's VII: Sturm und Drang, making it the longest gap between their albums, and the first to feature Art Cruz as the replacement for original drummer Chris Adler, who left the band in July 2019. Lamb of God was once again produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur, who has worked with the band since 2006's Sacrament.
Godlike is the sixth studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. Originally scheduled for release on 15 September 2023, the album was released on 22 September 2023 through the band's independent label Human Warfare and was produced by Will Putney. This is the band's first album without longtime vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, who was fired by the band one day before the album release. It is also the band's first album with new vocalist Tyler Miller.
