Outside the Box (Hacktivist album)

Last updated

Outside the Box
Hacktivist 'Outside the Box' artwork.jpg
Studio album by
Released4 March 2016 (2016-03-04)
Recorded2013–2016
Genre
Length40:19
Label UNFD, Rise Records
Hacktivist chronology
Hacktivist
(2012)
Outside the Box
(2016)
Over-Throne EP
(2016)
Singles from Outside the Box
  1. "Elevate"
    Released: 2 April 2013 [1]
  2. "False Idols"
    Released: 4 August 2014 [2]
  3. "Deceive and Defy"
    Released: 12 November 2014 [3]
  4. "Buszy"
    Released: 18 January 2016 [4]
  5. "Taken"
    Released: 28 February 2016 [5]

Outside the Box is the debut studio album by British rap metal band Hacktivist. It was released on 4 March 2016 [6] through UNFD and Rise Records. [7]

Contents

Music videos for the songs "Elevate", "False Idols", "Deceive and Defy", "Buszy" and "Taken" were released in support of the album. The album version of "Deceive and Defy" contains new vocals by Josh Graham of Heart of a Coward, after accusations of sexual misconduct were raised against Charlie Holmes, who had previously contributed vocals to the song on the single release.

On 1 March 2016, a playlist of the full album was uploaded to YouTube through Hacktivist's label UNFD. [8]

Reception

The album generally received positive reviews, one of which described the album as "their best work yet". [9] [10]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The MonolithUnfavourable [11]
New Noise MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Backseat Mafia8/10 [13]
Ramzine.co.ukStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
All Things Loud8/10 [15]
Distorted Sound Magazine6/10 [16]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Our Time" (featuring Marlon Hurley)2:04
2."Hate"3:16
3."Deceive and Defy" (featuring Jamie Graham of Heart of a Coward)3:18
4."Taken" (featuring Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari)3:31
5."The Storm"2:12
6."No Way Back"3:40
7."False Idols"3:23
8."Rotten" (featuring Astroid Boys & Jot Maxi)4:05
9."Elevate"3:40
10."Outside the Box"4:18
11."Buszy"3:49
12."The Storm II"2:59
Total length:40:19

Personnel

Trivia

The song "Buszy" is a reference to the world famous skate plaza The Buszy in Milton Keynes where J would skateboard and perform at jams and events, often by freestyle rapping. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onyx (hip hop group)</span> American hip hop group

Onyx is an American hardcore hip hop group from South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, formed in 1988 by Fredro Starr, Suavé and the late Big DS. Sticky Fingaz joined the group in 1991.

"Make Love" is a song performed by American recording artist and songwriter Keri Hilson. It was written by Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones, Ester Dean and Jason Perry, and produced by Polow da Don and Perry for Hilson's debut studio album, In a Perfect World... (2009). The song was sent for urban adult contemporary airplay on June 23, 2009 as the fifth single from the album. Musically, "Make Love" is a downtempo R&B ballad. The song received mixed reviews from music critics; some of them criticized its long length and Hilson's vocals, while others named it one of the album's standouts.

<i>Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes</i> 2008 live album / video album by Linkin Park

Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes is the second live CD/DVD/BD compilation by American rock band Linkin Park. It was recorded during the band's annual Projekt Revolution festival tour at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes on June 29, 2008. It was originally planned to be released on November 25, 2008, but was changed to November 24. The concert featured material from all three of the band's albums, as well as songs from their EP, Collision Course with Jay-Z, and elements from "Reanimation" and Fort Minor's The Rising Tied.

<i>Never Better</i> (album) 2009 studio album by P.O.S

Never Better is the third solo studio album by American rapper P.O.S. It was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment in the year 2009. It peaked at number 106 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Alonzo Mario Stevenson, professionally known as Novel, is an American hip-hop/soul artist based in Los Angeles, California. He is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, singer, rapper and producer with also 5 Grammy nominations. He is the son of Motown's William "Mickey" Stevenson and the grandson of soul pioneer Solomon Burke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slam (Onyx song)</span> 1993 single by Onyx

"Slam" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on May 11, 1993 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's debut album, Bacdafucup. The song introduced slamdancing into hip-hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buses in Milton Keynes</span> Bus services in and around Milton Keynes, England

Buses in Milton Keynes are run by a mixture of operators on a network of urban and rural routes in and around the Milton Keynes urban area. These services have a varied history involving five different companies. At the foundation of the 'New City' in 1967 and for some years afterwards, Milton Keynes was served by a rural bus service between and to the pre-existing towns. Apart from a small-scale experimental service, urban buses arrived on the scene with deregulation in 1986. Since April 2010 the core local services have been provided by Arriva Shires & Essex. Long-distance coach services also serve MK, often via the Milton Keynes Coachway located near junction 14 of the M1 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YG (rapper)</span> American rapper (born 1990)

Keenon Dequan Ray Jackson, known professionally as YG, is an American rapper from Compton, California. In 2010, he released his debut single, "Toot It and Boot It", which peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single's success resulted in his signing to Def Jam Recordings. In the following years, YG released mixtapes such as The Real 4Fingaz, Just Re'd Up,Just Re'd Up 2, 4 Hunnid Degreez, among others.

Djent is a subgenre of progressive metal characterized by its use of complex and heavily syncopated rhythm patterns. Its distinctive sound is that of high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, down-tuned strings. The name "djent" is an onomatopoeia of this sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNFD</span> Australian music label

UNFD is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Hellions and In Hearts Wake, and international artists ERRA, Stray From the Path, Silverstein, Invent Animate, and more. The label has offices in London and Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unleash the Archers</span> Canadian heavy metal band

Unleash the Archers is a Canadian power metal band from Victoria, British Columbia, currently signed with Napalm Records. The band plays a fusion of traditional heavy metal with power metal and melodic death metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hacktivist (band)</span> British rap metal band

Hacktivist is a British rap metal band formed in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England in 2011. They released a self-titled EP in 2012 followed by their debut studio album, Outside the Box, in 2016. The band's second studio album, Hyperdialect, was released in 2021.

<i>Hacktivist</i> (EP) 2012 EP by Hacktivist

Hacktivist is the first extended play album by the British rap metal band Hacktivist. It was released independently on 12 November 2012. Music videos for the songs "Cold Shoulders", "Unlike Us" and "Hacktivist" were released in support of the album.

<i>Skydancer</i> (In Hearts Wake album) 2015 album by In Hearts Wake

Skydancer is the third studio album by Australian metalcore band In Hearts Wake. It was released on 1 May 2015 through UNFD and Rise Records. It was produced by Josh Schroeder, Dan Brown and Troy Brady. It is the continuation of their second studio album Earthwalker. The album peaked at No. 2 at official ARIA Charts. It's the last album to feature Caleb Burton as a writer, with his departure following the release of Skydancer. Nic Pettersen of Northlane played drums on the album, with Caleb being unable to secure a US Visa in time to record the album; producer Josh Schroeder revealed on Reddit that he was originally going to track drums for both Earthwalker and Skydancer, going as far as writing the drum tracks for both records and practicing as a touring member for the upcoming shows close to his studio.

<i>Subliminal Criminals</i> 2015 studio album by Stray from the Path

Subliminal Criminals is the seventh studio album by the American rap metal band Stray from the Path. The album was released on August 14, 2015, by Sumerian Records and distributed by UNFD in Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Mastermind</i> (Rick Ross album) 2014 studio album by Rick Ross

Mastermind is the sixth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on March 3, 2014, by Maybach Music Group and Slip-n-Slide Records, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Jay-Z, Jeezy, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Big Sean, Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, French Montana, Diddy, Sizzla, Mavado, Z-Ro and Scarface. The album was supported with the official singles "The Devil Is a Lie", "War Ready" and "Thug Cry", in addition to the promotional singles "Box Chevy", "No Games" and "Nobody".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lushlife</span> American rapper

Raj Haldar, better known by his stage name Lushlife, is an American rapper and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever. He is one half of The Skull Eclipses.

The One Hundred is an English crossover band from London, combining elements of metalcore, punk, grime, rap and electronics. The band released their debut EP Subculture in 2014 via Australian independent label UNFD and have toured extensively across the United Kingdom and Europe as well as performing at major festivals such as Sonisphere, Download Festival and Reading and Leeds. In September 2016 the band announced via their social media that they had signed to Spinefarm Records, a division of Universal Music Group.

<i>Epoch</i> (The Brave album) 2016 album by The Brave

Epoch is the debut studio album by Australian metalcore band The Brave, released on 5 August 2016 by UNFD. It was produced, engineered, and mixed by Sonny Truelove at his recording studio, STL Studios in Sydney.

"The Buszy", built in 2005, is a skatepark plaza in Milton Keynes, England. The skate area is covered almost entirely by the roof of the former Milton Keynes Central bus station.

References

  1. "HACKTIVIST: "ELEVATE"". No Clean Singing. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  2. Emily Carter (4 August 2014). "HACKTIVIST RELEASE NEW SINGLE, FALSE IDOLS". Kerrang!. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  3. Danny Longhorn (13 November 2014). "Hacktivist raring for Hull after supporting Limp Bizkit and Korn". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  4. Jessica Duncan (19 January 2016). "Rap Metal band Hacktivist dedicate new single to The Buszy in Milton Keynes". OneMK. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  5. Shutler, Ali (28 February 2016). "Hacktivist release 'Taken' ft. Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds". Upset Magazine. The Bunker Publishing. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  6. "Debut Album 'Outside the Box' – Preorder Now". Hacktivist. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  7. "Our debut album "Outside The Box" – out MARCH 4TH via UNFD / Rise Records". 19 January 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  8. "Hacktivist – Outside the Box". YouTube. UNFD. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  9. "Album Review: Hacktivist – Outside the Box". Trident Media. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  10. "HACKTIVIST – Outside the Box – Rocksins". Rocksins. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  11. Simon (24 February 2016). "Review: Hacktivist – Outside The Box". The Monolith. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  12. Shrum (4 March 2016). "Album Review: Hacktivist – 'Outside the Box'". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  13. Jones, Adam (6 March 2016). "ALBUM REVIEW: HACKTIVIST – OUTSIDE THE BOX". Backseat Mafia. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  14. Russell, Jay (26 February 2016). "Hacktivist – Outside The Box". Ramzine. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  15. Parker, Jack (4 March 2016). "ALBUM REVIEW: HACKTIVIST – OUTSIDE THE BOX". All Things Loud. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  16. Weaver, James (11 March 2016). "ALBUM REVIEW: Outside The Box – Hacktivist". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  17. "MK BUSZY JAM 2009". Andy King (Arkology) via youtube(alphabet). Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  18. "BUSZY JAM 2010". Andy King (Arkology) via youtube(alphabet). Retrieved 2 October 2019.