Black Metal is an album by British musician Dean Blunt, released by Rough Trade Records on 3 November 2014.[2] The album features vocals from Blunt and frequent collaborator Joanne Robertson.[3] Musically, the album is structured more conventionally than Blunt's previous work, but is diverse in instrumentation and genre.
| Black Metal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 November 2014 | |||
| Genre | Art pop[1] | |||
| Length | 52:31 | |||
| Label | Rough Trade | |||
| Producer | Dean Blunt | |||
| Dean Blunt chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and composition
editBlack Metal includes elements of post-punk, post-rock, indie pop, folk, Americana, dub, ambient, grime, and dancehall.[1][4] Critics have also noted the prose of Blunt's lyrics as being similar to present day hip hop lyrics, which often reflect dark subjects like infidelity and alcoholism.[5]
Blunt has stated that the album was inspired by what he saw as a personal artistic liberation away from the appropriation of "existing old white images" toward "something that is undefined and is new".[3][6][7]
In June 2021, Blunt released a sequel album, Black Metal 2.[8]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10[9] |
| Metacritic | 79/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Fact | 4.5/5[11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
| Mojo | [13] |
| NME | 9/10[14] |
| The Observer | [4] |
| Pitchfork | 7.3/10[1] |
| Q | [15] |
| Resident Advisor | 4.5/5[2] |
| Uncut | 8/10[16] |
Black Metal currently has a score of 79 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] Critics praised Blunt's emotional range and directness on the album.[2][3] In a review for The Observer, Killian Fox wrote that Blunt had created "some of the most achingly beautiful music recorded this year."[4] Writing for Pitchfork, Colin Joyce called the album "disjointed" but praised the album for its sound and for Blunt's clearer, more pop-oriented style compared to his previous work.[1] However, AllMusic's Andy Kellman criticised the album for being "quantity-over-quality" and for what Kellman saw as a derivative sound.[5] Michael Hann characterised the album in The Guardian as a needlessly difficult listen that was sometimes repetitive, but nonetheless praised it as "extraordinary."[12]
Accolades
editBlack Metal placed first on Tiny Mix Tapes' and Crack Magazine's lists of best albums from 2014.[17][18] The latter also named it the best album of the 2010s.[19][20]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Dean Blunt, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Blunt
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lush" |
| 1:58 |
| 2. | "50 Cent" | 2:35 | |
| 3. | "Blow" | 2:31 | |
| 4. | "100" |
| 3:20 |
| 5. | "Heavy" | 1:58 | |
| 6. | "Molly & Aquafina" | 4:06 | |
| 7. | "Forever" | 13:00 | |
| 8. | "X" | 8:54 | |
| 9. | "Punk" | 2:34 | |
| 10. | "Country" | 2:10 | |
| 11. | "Hush" | 1:16 | |
| 12. | "Mersh" | 3:25 | |
| 13. | "Grade" | 4:45 |
Notes
- All tracks are stylized in all caps. For example, "Lush" is stylized as "LUSH".
Sample credits
- ^[a] "Lush" contains a sample of "For You", written by Stephens and performed by Big Star.
- ^[b] "100" contains a sample of "Over My Shoulder", written by McRobbie and performed by The Pastels.
References
edit- ^ a b c d Joyce, Colin (17 November 2014). "Dean Blunt: Black Metal". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Ryce, Andrew (3 November 2014). "Dean Blunt – Black Metal". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Eede, Christian (10 November 2014). "Dean Blunt – Black Metal". The Quietus. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Fox, Killian (1 November 2014). "Dean Blunt: Black Metal review – a work of strange dichotomies". The Observer. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. "Black Metal – Dean Blunt". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Chandler, Simon. "Dean Blunt – Black Metal". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Dean Blunt FM : Black Metal Thesis".
- ^ "Dean Blunt Releasing New Album BLACK METAL 2 This Week". Pitchfork. 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Black Metal by Dean Blunt reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Black Metal by Dean Blunt". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Hall, Josh (3 November 2014). "Dean Blunt: Black Metal". Fact. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ a b Hann, Michael (30 October 2014). "Dean Blunt: Black Metal review – extraordinary, in a baffling way". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Dean Blunt: Black Metal". Mojo (253): 93. December 2014.
- ^ Nesbitt, Huw (1 November 2014). "Dean Blunt – 'Black Metal'". NME. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Dean Blunt: Black Metal". Q (341): 107. December 2014.
- ^ "Dean Blunt: Black Metal". Uncut (211): 72. December 2014.
- ^ "2014: Favorite 50 Music Releases of 2014". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "The ultimate, definitive Best Albums Of 2014". Anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "The top 100 albums of the decade".
- ^ "The top 100 albums of the decade". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2023.