Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief CD (album) cover

HAIL TO THE THIEF

Radiohead

 

Crossover Prog

3.44 | 513 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

memowakeman
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

This is the latest album of this great ptog/alternative/undergound band, and again this is different to the other ones, again a very experimental sound and with electronic tones.

After "Amnesiac", "Hail to the Thief" was released in 2003, the wait was good, because it is another great album for Radiohead`s fans. It starts with "2+2=5" a great opening track, here returned to the alternative and guitar oriented sound, with some electronic effects, this song has a strange beggining, and then ,it becomes so powerful, despite being the first track of the album, it was the third single, i think this album is the strongest and more powerful of this album, so after listen to it you can relax a bit and wait for softer music and less noise, experimental and great music.

"Sit Down , Stand Up" is the first of a melancholic and mellow tracks, this desperate song is special, is totally different to the first track,maybe this is the way of the album, different by different track, this song is repetitive, and at the end of it, a strange electronic beat appears.

"Sail to the Moon", is maybe similar to the last song, but i think this is better, with a "lullaby" mood and sound, a special fact in this kind fo songs, is the well - known deppresive way of sing of Thom Yorke, in fact the music and lyrics are a bit deppressive in this album (again), but thats a unique style of the band, and its good.

"Backdrifts", maybe my less favorite track, and i think is probably the weakest song, is so simple, and maybe boring and could desperate you, but anyway, is a nice track.

"Go to Sleep" begins with a superb acoustic guitar, i really think it is superb, Jonny Greenwood is a guitar monster, he playes very well, this song was the second single of the album, if you havent seen the video, its time to do it, its great, and the song is pretty nice too.

"Where I End and You Begin" , this song is very special for me,im in love with this, it has been envolving me every tiome i listen to it, it has a slow beggining, some spatial sound, then great bass lines making the rythm of the song, its a bit atmospheric and sad , lyrics are so great, and the voice beautiful like always, this tracj is my favorite of the album, it of course is not a strong song, but its beautiful, this is a prelude to the most exasperating song of the album, another weird change.

So, "We Suck Young Blood", maybe you will listen to it once, and then you wont listen again, it has a tremendous power of madness ,its so slow, with a frightening piano, and a scare vocals, between some claps, it so weird this song, but i like it, maybe if are not tolerant, you better push the skip button.

"The Gloaming" is another of my favorite themes, it is almost a experimental and electronic track, obviously with vocals and great atmosphere, this is definitively the most obscure track of the album, you will enjoy it, im sure this track could call your attention.

"There There", wow, it was my expression when i listen to it for the first time, it was on the radio, and this was the first single of the album, good choice i think, maybe this song is not a clear example of what the album is, but thatis not important, listen to this song with excellent harmony in the band, a nice and creative sound, and extraordinary lyrics, the drums are specially great, more guitar oriented and without electronic elements.

"I Will" is maybe another repetitive and melancholic track, if you really enjoy Yorke`s voice, this track could be so good for me, i like it, and this original version is for me better than the Com Lag version.

"A Punch at the Wedding" is some Beatle influenced track, its boring i dont like it so much, nice bass lines, but repetitive.

"Myxomatosis" is another excellent song, it has a very pleasant and again powerful sound, distorted bass make great this song, weird lyrics and some coll changes, (Re- Myxomatosis which is included in Com Lag, compared with this, is absolutely horrible), so maybe this track could be one of your favorites.

"Scatter Brain", nice guitar sound, so many good passages, but not the best song, i like it, but its not so creative as others, and the last song is.

"A Wolf at the Door", this is another great song, excellent to finish the album, again very weird and inventive lyrics, and beautiful guitar sound, with some difficult pronuntiation, but its so enjoyable.

Well talking about progressive rock, im sure this album is not what you are looking for, it`s songs lenght is something between 3. 30 and 4 minutes, of course it has some good changes, some atmospheric and with great electronic sound which make it some progressive. I like it so much, its not my favorite album but give it a try, i reccomend it to all of you. 4 Stars!

memowakeman | 4/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this RADIOHEAD review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.