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World Eater

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World Eater
Studio album by
Blanck Mass
Released3 March 2017 (2017-03-03)
GenreElectronic[1]
Length48:54
LabelSacred Bones
Blanck Mass chronology
Dumb Flesh
(2015) 		World Eater
(2017) 		Blanck Mass
(2019)
Singles from World Eater
  1. "Please"
    Released: 10 January 2017[2]
  2. "Silent Treatment"
    Released: 2 February 2017

World Eater is the third studio album by British musician Benjamin John Power, under his musical project Blanck Mass. It was released on 3 March 2017 by Sacred Bones Records.[3][2]

Production

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World Eater was recorded in Power's home studio in Tranent, Scotland.[4]

Artwork

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The album's artwork shows a close up picture of an animal's bare teeth, to which Power explained: "Fear and hope are both parts of our human make up, but it's the way that we act upon these feelings that is of concern to me – to understand the beast or to become the beast."[5]

Release

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On 10 January 2017, Blanck Mass announced the release of his third studio album World Eater.[6] In a statement of the release, Power explained:

"The title is a reference to both the inner beast inside human beings that when grouped en-masse stops us from moving forward towards good. Being surrounded by so much hate in the world right now throws a whole new light on the importance of love. I have never set out to make a protest record. I’ve never set out to make any kind of record really, but during the creative process for this and any of my past releases I start to form a bond with the project as we grow together."[2]

Singles

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The first single "Please" was released on 10 January 2017, the same day as the album release announcement.[2] The Line of Best Fit described "Please" as being "jammed with mayhem and bursting with tormented vocal shards."[7]

On 2 February 2017, the second single "Silent Treatment" was released.[8] Describing the single, Powers said: ""Silent Treatment" is about the problems that arise when we don't communicate. We often grow apart when we don't understand each other. Being left in the dark can lead to fear."[8] Pitchfork described the single as "jagged shards of euphoric instrumentals, piles on samples of disembodied vocals, and ratchets up the tempo until the song's intensity reaches an uncomfortable extreme. At its peak, the song evokes the feeling of a dance floor freak-out."[9] Stereogum described "Silent Treatment" as a "beast of a track that's both beautiful and punishing, building choral samples and sheets of static into an overwhelming, transcendent experience."[10]

Music videos

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The official music video for "Please" was released on Power's Facebook and YouTube on 16 February 2017.[11][12] The animated video was created by Michael Tan.[13]

On 19 July 2017, the second music video "The Rat" was released, and shows Power riding on a theme park attraction for majority of the video.[14] In a press release, Power spoke of the video: "The video itself is a bit of fun and was filmed on a family vacation, but somehow I feel it represents discontent within a capitalist regime and a world full of sugar-coated shit."[15]

Tour

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In support of the album, Power went on tour of Europe and the UK, starting on 31 March 2017 at the Rewire Festival in Netherlands, and finishing up at The Lantern in Bristol, London on 29 April 2017.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[16]
Metacritic81/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
DIY[19]
Drowned in Sound7/10[20]
Exclaim!8/10[1]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[21]
Loud and Quiet8/10[22]
MusicOMH[23]
Paste8.6/10[24]
Pitchfork8.1/10[25]
PopMatters7/10[26]

World Eater was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 81 based on 23 reviews.[17] Aggregate website AnyDecentMusic? gave the release a 7.6 out of 10 based on a critical consensus of 23 reviews.[16]

In a review for AllMusic, critic reviewer Heather Phares wrote: "Benjamin John Power transforms furious noise, drones, and the surprisingly danceable elements of Dumb Flesh into vivid portraits of division and turmoil that sound big enough to engulf a planet and intricate enough to consume it from within. World Eater's focused chaos is some of his finest work yet."[18] At Exclaim!, Tom Beedham said: "Power's music has consistently found space for stark, cathartic purges, but World Eater matches its brutal releases with hope and luminosity. It's a radical, adventurous exploration — and celebration — of the relationship between darkness and light."[1] Robert Ham of Paste stated: "The mixture of gentility and dissonance is somehow more unsettling than if Power was to go full on into harsher, angrier territory. The balance that he maintains throughout is what makes the album work."[24]

Accolades

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Publications' year-end list appearances for World Eater
Critic/Publication List Rank
Bleep[27] Bleep's Top 10 Albums of 2017 3
Drowned in Sound[28] Drowned in Sound's Top 100 Albums of 2017 99
Fopp[29] Fopp's Top 100 Albums of 2017 36
Loud and Quiet[30] Loud and Quiet's Top 40 Albums of 2017 6
Mixmag[31] Mixmag's Top 50 Albums of 2017 32
No Ripcord[32] No Ripcord's Top 50 Albums of 2017 16
Pitchfork[33] Pitchfork's Top 20 Experimental Albums of 2017 6
PopMatters[34] PopMatters' Top 60 Albums of 2017 26
PopMatters' Top 10 Experimental Albums of 2017[35] 7
Rough Trade[36] Rough Trade's Top 100 Albums of 2017 100
Rolling Stone[37] Rolling Stone's Top 20 Avant Albums of 2017 2
The Skinny[38] The Skinny's Top 50 Albums of 2017 41
SputnikMusic[39] SputnikMusic's Top 50 Albums of 2017 39
Stereogum[40] Stereogum's Top 50 Albums of 2017 − Mid-Year 46
Treble[41] Treble's Top 50 Albums of 2017 46
Under the Radar[42] Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2017 91
Uncut[43] Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2017 64

Track listing

[edit]
World Eater track listing
No.TitleLength
1."John Doe's Carnival of Error"2:35
2."Rhesus Negative"9:08
3."Please"7:28
4."The Rat"6:09
5."Silent Treatment"7:35
6."Minnesota/Eas Fors/Naked"7:28
7."Hive Mind"8:31

References

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  1. ^ a b c Beedham, Tom (1 March 2017). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Roberts, Christopher (10 January 2017). "Blanck Mass (Fuck Buttons' Benjamin John Power) Announces New Album, Shares "Please"". Under the Radar. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  3. ^ Reid, Harrison (10 January 2017). "Blanck Mass Is Back With An Angry Yet Beautiful New Album". Self-titled Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  4. ^ Sweeney, Eamon (10 April 2017). "Blanck Mass Interview". The Quietus. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ^ Tanti, Omar (10 January 2017). "Blanck Mass has a great name for his forthcoming album and he's shared a new track". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Blanck Mass is Releasing New Album 'World Eater' in March". DIY. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  7. ^ Day, Laurence (10 January 2017). "Blanck Mass shares 'Please', the chaotic first taste of new album World Eater". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Blanck Mass Gives Us the 'Silent Treatment' on his new single". DIY. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  9. ^ Jayasuriya, Mehan (6 February 2017). "Silent Treatment by Blanck Mass". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  10. ^ Helman, Peter (1 February 2017). "Blanck Mass - Silent Treatment". Stereogum. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Blanck Mass - Please (Official Music Video)". Facebook. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Blanck Mass Shares Politicised Animated Video for 'Please'". DIY. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Blanck Mass - Please". YouTube. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Blanck Mass Encourages Intense Eye Contact in the video for 'The Rat'". DIY. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  15. ^ Ilkowski, Kim (18 July 2017). "Blanck Mass - The Rat". Stereogum. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  16. ^ a b "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  18. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  19. ^ Davies Lomardi, Matthew (3 March 2017). "DIY Magazine Review". DIY. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  20. ^ Warfield, Russel (1 March 2017). "Drowned in Sound review". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  21. ^ Cottingham, Christian (25 February 2017). "As a soundtrack to uneasy times, Blanck Mass' World Eater is immaculate". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  22. ^ Zammitt, David (27 February 2017). "Loud and Quiet Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  23. ^ Bemrose, Bekki (27 February 2017). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  24. ^ a b Ham, Robert (2 March 2017). "Paste Magazine Review". Paste. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  25. ^ Cohen, Ian (11 March 2017). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  26. ^ Smith, Tanner (6 March 2017). "PopMatters Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Top 10 Albums of 2017". Bleep. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  28. ^ Adams, Sean (3 December 2017). "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  29. ^ "The Best of 2017". Fopp. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  30. ^ "The Loud and Quiet Top 40 Albums of 2017". Loud and Quiet. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  31. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2017". Mixmag. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  32. ^ "The Best Albums of 2017". No Ripcord. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  33. ^ Geffen, Sasha (15 December 2017). "The 20 Best Experimental Albums of 2017". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  34. ^ "The 60 Best Albums of 2017". PopMatters. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  35. ^ Harrison, Noa (20 December 2017). "The Best Avant-Garde and Experimental Music of 2017". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  36. ^ Pearis, Bill (14 November 2017). "Rough Trade Shops Top 100 LPs of 2017". Rough Trade. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  37. ^ Weingarten, Christopher (14 November 2017). "20 Best Avant Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  38. ^ "The Skinny's Top 50 Albums of 2017". The Skinny. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  39. ^ Spencer, Trey (20 December 2017). "The Top 50 Albums of 2017". SputnikMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Best Albums of 2017". Stereogum. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  41. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2017". Treble. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  42. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2017". Under the Radar. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  43. ^ Sacher, Andrew (22 November 2017). "Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2017". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
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