The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
Encyclopedia
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is the third full length album by the alternative rock
band Brand New
, and their major label debut on Interscope Records
. It was released on November 20, 2006 in the United Kingdom
, on November 21, 2006 in the United States
and Canada
, November 25, 2006 in Australia
and on January 12, 2007 in mainland Europe. The album debuted at number 31 on the Billboard 200
. Two singles from the album were released — "Sowing Season" on November 21, 2006, and "Jesus Christ
" on April 30, 2007.
, Mississippi
with producer Dennis Herring
, but later dropped him in favor of Mike Sapone
with whom they had worked on their first album.
On January 24, 2006, nine untitled demos for the album leaked
onto the Internet
. The band was disappointed to hear of the leak, however they performed the demos at live shows. In an interview with the band the question was asked, "Did the Internet leak of your demos affect the progress of the new album?" The responses were as follows:
Four of the demos went on to be officially released and/or re-recorded. "Untitled 8" was reworked into the album's opening track "Sowing Season" and "Untitled 6 (also known as "Mamas") later became "Luca". The original version of "Luca" was also released as the album's bonus track in the UK as "Luca (Reprisal Version)". This version is identical to the leaked demo (aside from being properly mastered
).
"Untitled 3" was later released as "Brothers", the b-side to "Jesus
". Additionally, an alternate version of "Brothers" was released as "aloC-acoC", the b-side to "Sowing Season" ("Coca-Cola" backwards, most likely spelled as such to avoid copyright infringement). "Untitled 7" was re-recorded and released as the single "(Fork and Knife)
".
It is also worth noting that "Untitled 9" bears a resemblance to "Archers" during the chorus, specifically the beginning of the vocal melody, although no definite correlation has been made.
The album's lyrics contains several references to popular culture and literature. The title of the song "Luca" refers to the character Luca Brasi of The Godfather
.
The second verse to "Sowing Season" is inspired by the Rudyard Kipling
poem If—
. The song "Limousine" is about the death of 7-year old Katie Flynn from various perspectives including Martin Heidgen, the driver who killed her. Mike Sapone can be heard at the end of the track. The title of "Sowing Season" is a reference from Stephen King's novel Secret Window, Secret Garden
, where the main character had written a short story of the same title.
, a musician who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
The album cover is a picture titled "Untitled #44" from Nicholas Prior's "Age of Man" collection which the band saw at an art show and later used. The outside of the cardboard case contains no song listings, and doesn't contain the name of the album or the band name anywhere but on the spine. The record company instead placed stickers on the plastic wrapping to indicate the name of the album and band, and on the UK version to indicate that it had the bonus track.
account that The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me would be released as a double vinyl LP set through Procrastinate! Music Traitors and Triple Crown Records
. This version included a lyric sheet that was not included with the original CD. The vinyl set was made available in stores on March 23, 2010. Another pressing of the album was done by Academy Fight Song, which went up for pre-order on their website on May 17, 2010. This pressing was released on September 17, 2010.
†First Pressing.
‡Sold out during May 17th, 2010 online pre-order.
Note: A red/black swirl version by Academy Fight Song was planned to be released at Hot Topic, but this was cancelled.
, selling about 60,000 copies in its first week. On Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
score of 78, based on 17 reviews.
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was rated the best album of 2006 by Punknews.org
.
In NME
s 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was rated as the 74th best album of 2000s. It also ranked at #20 in Sputnikmusic
's Top 100 Albums of the Decade list as voted by staff members.
Brand New
Production and recording
Additional musicians
Art and design
and Deja Entendu
will also be re-released on vinyl, as Lacey hopes this will help fans gather "a real collection."
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Brand New
Brand New
Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.In the late...
, and their major label debut on Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
. It was released on November 20, 2006 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, on November 21, 2006 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, November 25, 2006 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and on January 12, 2007 in mainland Europe. The album debuted at number 31 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Two singles from the album were released — "Sowing Season" on November 21, 2006, and "Jesus Christ
Jesus (Brand New song)
"Jesus" is a song by alternative rock band Brand New. It is the second single from their 2006 album The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. The single was released on 7" vinyl and CD in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2007...
" on April 30, 2007.
History and leaked demos
In late 2005, Brand New started recording their third studio album in OxfordOxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
with producer Dennis Herring
Dennis Herring
Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...
, but later dropped him in favor of Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer whose credits include producing records for bands such as Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Envy On The Coast, Straylight Run, Crime in Stereo, Hit the Lights and Public Enemy....
with whom they had worked on their first album.
On January 24, 2006, nine untitled demos for the album leaked
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
onto the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The band was disappointed to hear of the leak, however they performed the demos at live shows. In an interview with the band the question was asked, "Did the Internet leak of your demos affect the progress of the new album?" The responses were as follows:
Four of the demos went on to be officially released and/or re-recorded. "Untitled 8" was reworked into the album's opening track "Sowing Season" and "Untitled 6 (also known as "Mamas") later became "Luca". The original version of "Luca" was also released as the album's bonus track in the UK as "Luca (Reprisal Version)". This version is identical to the leaked demo (aside from being properly mastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
).
"Untitled 3" was later released as "Brothers", the b-side to "Jesus
Jesus (Brand New song)
"Jesus" is a song by alternative rock band Brand New. It is the second single from their 2006 album The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. The single was released on 7" vinyl and CD in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2007...
". Additionally, an alternate version of "Brothers" was released as "aloC-acoC", the b-side to "Sowing Season" ("Coca-Cola" backwards, most likely spelled as such to avoid copyright infringement). "Untitled 7" was re-recorded and released as the single "(Fork and Knife)
(Fork and Knife)
"'" is a 2007 single released by the band Brand New. The song was made available via digital retailers on October 23, 2007.-Background:...
".
It is also worth noting that "Untitled 9" bears a resemblance to "Archers" during the chorus, specifically the beginning of the vocal melody, although no definite correlation has been made.
Music and lyrical content
In contrast to the rest of the tracks on the album, where one band member would bring an almost completed song to the rest of the band, "Degausser" and "Sowing Season" were composed spontaneously as a band. Additionally, the music and lyrics for "Handcuffs" and "Welcome to Bangkok" were written by lead guitarist Vincent Accardi. The lyrics to the rest of the tracks from the album were written by Jesse Lacey.The album's lyrics contains several references to popular culture and literature. The title of the song "Luca" refers to the character Luca Brasi of The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
.
The second verse to "Sowing Season" is inspired by the Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
poem If—
If—
"If—" is a poem written in 1895 by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. It was first published in the "Brother Square Toes" chapter of Rewards and Fairies, Kipling's 1910 collection of short stories and poems...
. The song "Limousine" is about the death of 7-year old Katie Flynn from various perspectives including Martin Heidgen, the driver who killed her. Mike Sapone can be heard at the end of the track. The title of "Sowing Season" is a reference from Stephen King's novel Secret Window, Secret Garden
Secret Window, Secret Garden
Secret Window, Secret Garden is one of four novellas published in the Stephen King book Four Past Midnight in 1990. It is similar to King's earlier novel The Dark Half...
, where the main character had written a short story of the same title.
Album title and artwork
The name of the album came from a conversation Jesse Lacey had with a friend regarding Daniel JohnstonDaniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
, a musician who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
The album cover is a picture titled "Untitled #44" from Nicholas Prior's "Age of Man" collection which the band saw at an art show and later used. The outside of the cardboard case contains no song listings, and doesn't contain the name of the album or the band name anywhere but on the spine. The record company instead placed stickers on the plastic wrapping to indicate the name of the album and band, and on the UK version to indicate that it had the bonus track.
Vinyl release
On January 11, 2010, Brand New announced via their TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me would be released as a double vinyl LP set through Procrastinate! Music Traitors and Triple Crown Records
Triple Crown Records
Triple Crown Records is a New York-based record label. It is home to Hit the Lights, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Dear Hunter, Moving Mountains, and As Tall as Lions, among others...
. This version included a lyric sheet that was not included with the original CD. The vinyl set was made available in stores on March 23, 2010. Another pressing of the album was done by Academy Fight Song, which went up for pre-order on their website on May 17, 2010. This pressing was released on September 17, 2010.
| Record Label | Color(s) | Pressed | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Crown Records Triple Crown Records Triple Crown Records is a New York-based record label. It is home to Hit the Lights, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Dear Hunter, Moving Mountains, and As Tall as Lions, among others... |
Solid White | 3000 | † Released online & in retail stores. | |
| Translucent Red | 500 | † ‡ | ||
| Black/White Marble | 500 | † ‡ | ||
| Gold | 500 | † Sold on tour only, 25 sold per show, later shows 1 per person. | ||
| Academy Fight Song | Black | 200 | 180 Gram Vinyl. | ‡ Label's webstore exclusive. |
| Blue/Black Swirl | 500 | |||
| Orange/Black Swirl | 1000 | |||
| Solid White | 1500 | |||
| Solid Purple | 500 | Release on label's webstore 10-13-2010 | ||
| Blue/White Swirl | 500 | Available through Interpunk.com | ||
| Orange/White Swirl | 500 |
†First Pressing.
‡Sold out during May 17th, 2010 online pre-order.
Note: A red/black swirl version by Academy Fight Song was planned to be released at Hot Topic, but this was cancelled.
Reception
The album received generally favorable reviews, and debuted at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling about 60,000 copies in its first week. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 78, based on 17 reviews.
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was rated the best album of 2006 by Punknews.org
Punknews.org
Punknews.org is a website founded by Aubin Paul which launched in 1999. The website publishes music news and album reviews relating to punk rock, hardcore punk, ska, indie rock and heavy metal...
.
In NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
s 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was rated as the 74th best album of 2000s. It also ranked at #20 in Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
's Top 100 Albums of the Decade list as voted by staff members.
Track listing
Personnel
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me personnel according to vinyl edition liner notes.Brand New
- Jesse LaceyJesse LaceyJesse Thomas Lacey is an American musician from Levittown, New York. He is the frontman of the band Brand New.-Musical career:...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Vincent Accardi – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals - Garrett Tierney – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Brian Lane – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Derrick Sherman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Production and recording
- Mike Sapone – productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Brand New – production
- Claudius Mittendorfer – recording
- R. Peterson – additional recording
- R. Costry – mixingMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
- Emily Lazer – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Sarah Register – mastering
- L. Wood – A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
Additional musicians
- Irina Yalkowsky – thereminThereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
on "Luca" - Ron Piscitello – percussion
- Brent Arnold – stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
- Margaret White – strings
Art and design
- Jason Noto – art direction and layout
- Morning Breath Inc. – art direction and layout
- Jesse Lacey – photographs
- Brand New – photographs
- Borucki – photographs
- N. Prior – cover
- E. DeAngelis – skeletons
Cover
After a July 30, 2008 solo show, Lacey stated that the long wait for the vinyl release of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was due primarily to the band's failure to secure the rights of Nicholas Prior's photograph, which is on the cover for the CD. Lacey continued on saying that after the band either secured the rights, or picked an alternate cover, the album would be released on vinyl format. The band managed to secure the rights to the image by 2010, and released the album on vinyl. Reportedly, Your Favorite WeaponYour Favorite Weapon
-External links:* on YouTube...
and Deja Entendu
Deja Entendu
Deja Entendu is the second album from Long Island based rock band Brand New, released in 2003. It was widely praised for showing the band's maturation from Your Favorite Weapon. The album's title is French for "already heard" and is a commentary on modern rock...
will also be re-released on vinyl, as Lacey hopes this will help fans gather "a real collection."
In popular culture
- "The Archers' Bows Have Broken" is featured on the soundtrack to Burnout ParadiseBurnout ParadiseBurnout Paradise is the seventh game in the Burnout racing video game series. It was developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in January 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and on February 5, 2009 for Microsoft Windows...
and Burnout Dominator. - "Sowing Season" is a playable song in the video game Guitar Hero 5Guitar Hero 5Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
. - "You Won't Know" is the introduction to the Stargate UniverseStargate UniverseStargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way...
episode "Divided".
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | November 20, 2006 | Interscope/Tiny Evil | CD (with bonus track) | 602517174528 |
| United States | November 21, 2006 | CD | B0008034-02 | |
| March 23, 2010 | Procrastinate! Music Traitors/ Triple Crown/Interscope/Tiny Evil |
Double LP | 3099-1 | |
| September 17, 2010 | Academy Fight Song | Double LP | B0013946-01 |