The Great Destroyer

This article is about the Low album. For the Nine Inch Nails song, see Year Zero (album). For the "The Great Destroyer" book about Barack Obama, see David Limbaugh.

The Great Destroyer
A painting of clouds with the album name offset
Studio album by
Low
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2005 (2005-01-25)
RecordedMay 3 – September 27, 2004
StudioTarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, New York, United States
GenreSlowcore
Length52:48
LabelSub Pop
Producer
Low chronology
Trust
(2002) 		The Great Destroyer
(2005) 		Drums and Guns
(2007)

The Great Destroyer is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on January 25, 2005, as their first recording on Sub Pop Records.[1]

"California", a song about Sparhawk's mother, was released as the album's first single, backed with a demo of "Cue the Strings".[2] A remix EP of "Monkey", entitled "Tonight the Monkeys Die", soon followed.[3] Music videos were created for both.[2][3]

The title of the album (as well as the song "Silver Rider") is taken from the story within the album art.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
The Guardian[8]
Mojo[9]
NME8/10[10]
Pitchfork5.5/10[11]
Q[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
SpinA−[14]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Great Destroyer received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from 34 critic scores. The site named it the 46th-best reviewed album of 2005.[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Mimi Parker, Zak Sally, and Alan Sparhawk

  1. "Monkey" – 4:19
  2. "California" – 3:23
  3. "Everybody's Song" – 3:55
  4. "Silver Rider" – 5:03
  5. "Just Stand Back" – 3:04
  6. "On the Edge Of" – 3:49
  7. "Cue the Strings" – 3:30
  8. "Step" – 3:18
  9. "When I Go Deaf" – 4:41
  10. "Broadway (So Many People)" – 7:14
  11. "Pissing" – 5:08
  12. "Death of a Salesman" – 2:28
  13. "Walk into the Sea" – 2:56

Personnel

Low

  • Mimi Parker – percussion, vocals, production, mixing
  • Zak Sally – bass guitar, production, mixing, painting, illustrations
  • Alan Sparhawk – guitar, vocals, production, mixing

Additional personnel

  • Gerry Beckley – backing vocals on "Everybody's Song"
  • Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound
  • Dave Fridmann – production, mixing, keyboards on "California", "Everybody's Song", "Step", and "Broadway (So Many People)"
  • Tom Herbers – engineering
  • Jeff Kleinsmith – layout
  • Hollis Mae Sparhawk – vocals on "Step", photography

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 67
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 190
Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 72
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[19] 13
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[20] 19

References

  1. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "The Great Destroyer – Low". AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Sub Pop Records : Low : California Single
  3. ^ a b Sub Pop Records : Low : Tonight The Monkeys Die
  4. ^ "RELEVANT Magazine - Low, The Great Destroyer". Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for The Great Destroyer by Low". Metacritic. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Blender (34): 141. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Chen, Steven (January 21, 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Entertainment Weekly. p. 88.
  8. ^ Peschek, David (February 11, 2005). "Low, The Great Destroyer". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  9. ^ "Low: The Great Destroyer". Mojo (135): 94. February 2005.
  10. ^ "Low: The Great Destroyer". NME: 59. January 29, 2005.
  11. ^ Raposa, David (January 26, 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "Low: The Great Destroyer". Q (224): 100. March 2005.
  13. ^ Fricke, David (February 10, 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  14. ^ Scholtes, Peter S. (February 2005). "Low: The Great Destroyer". Spin. 21 (2): 91. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Low – The Great Destroyer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Low – The Great Destroyer". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  17. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 5, 2005". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  19. ^ "Low Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  20. ^ "Low Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2011.