Head Down (Rival Sons album)

Last updated
Head Down
Rivalsons headdown.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 17, 2012
Recorded2011–2012
Genre Blues rock, hard rock
Length56:19
Label Earache
Producer Dave Cobb
Rival Sons chronology
Pressure & Time
(2011)
Head Down
(2012)
Great Western Valkyrie
(2014)
Singles from Head Down
  1. "Until the Sun Comes"
    Released: September 17, 2012
  2. "Keep On Swinging"
    Released: December 6, 2012
  3. "Manifest Destiny Pt. 1"
    Released: April 20, 2013
  4. "You Want To"
    Released: August 26, 2013
  5. "Wild Animal"
    Released: 2013

Head Down is the third studio album by the blues rock band Rival Sons. The album was released on September 17, 2012 in the UK and was released in the rest of Europe on September 14, 2012. [1] It is the last Rival Sons album recorded by the original line-up, prior to bass player Robin Everhart's departure in August 2013. On May 24, 2024, a remaster of the album was released. [2]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Metal-TempleStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Head Down has been met with mostly positive reviews. William Clark of Guitar International wrote, "Rival Sons have rocketed back on to our radar with their new album, Head Down, and despite the title it shows the band heading nowhere but up." [6] Greg Moffitt of BBC praised the band for their craftsmanship of 60s and 70s blues and hard rock music reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and The Doors, saying that the album "honours half a century of classic rock with reverence, respect and the realisation that this music’s still happening, right now." [7] AllMusic's Jon O'Brien admired the collaboration between the band and Dave Cobb for bringing "a sense of adventure" to their recreation of the Zeppelin sound, saying that "there's much to enjoy on this typically ballsy and no-nonsense follow-up to 2011 breakthrough Pressure & Time ." [3]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Jay Buchanan; all music is composed by Jay Buchanan, Scott Holiday, Robin Everhart and Michael Miley, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Keep On Swinging" 4:00
2."Wild Animal" 3:27
3."You Want To"Buchanan, Holiday, Everhart, Miley, Dave Cobb4:15
4."Until the Sun Comes"Buchanan, Holiday, Everhart, Miley, Cobb2:59
5."Run from Revelation" 4:14
6."Jordan"Buchanan6:18
7."All the Way"Buchanan5:10
8."The Heist" 3:13
9."Three Fingers" 3:17
10."Nava"Holiday2:01
11."Manifest Destiny Pt. 1"Buchanan, Holiday, Everhart, Miley, Cobb8:20
12."Manifest Destiny Pt. 2" 4:24
13."True"Buchanan, Holiday4:43
Total length:56:19

Personnel

Rival Sons

Charts

Chart (2012)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [8] 68
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [9] 60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [10] 59
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [11] 79
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [12] 13
French Albums (SNEP) [13] 107
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [14] 38
Italian Albums (FIMI) [15] 88
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [16] 14
Scottish Albums (OCC) [17] 29
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [18] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [19] 30
UK Albums (OCC) [20] 31
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [21] 5
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [22] 1
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [23] 32

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  2. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
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  5. Stein, Lior. "Rival Sons – Head Down review". Metal-Temple. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
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