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The Myth of the Happily Ever After

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The Myth of the Happily Ever After
Studio album by
Biffy Clyro
Released22 October 2021 (2021-10-22)
Recorded2020–2021
StudioBiffy Clyro's home studio (West Scotland)
Genre
Length50:02
Label
Producer
  • Biffy Clyro
  • Adam Noble
Biffy Clyro chronology
A Celebration of Endings
(2020) 		The Myth of the Happily Ever After
(2021)
Singles from The Myth of the Happily Ever After
  1. "Unknown Male 01"
    Released: 3 September 2021
  2. "A Hunger in Your Haunt"
    Released: 20 September 2021
  3. "Errors in the History of God"
    Released: 21 October 2021
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic91/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Clash[6]
Classic Rock[7]
DIY[8]
Kerrang![9]
NME[10]
musicOMH[11]
Sputnikmusic[12]

The Myth of the Happily Ever After is the ninth[a] studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, released on 22 October 2021 through 14th Floor and Warner Records. It is said to be the 'sister album' to their 2020 album A Celebration of Endings. It entered the UK album chart at number 4.

Background

[edit]

The band first revealed they were working on a follow-up to A Celebration of Endings in August 2020, with Simon Neil saying the band had "15 songs that didn't make the album" that would make "a sprawling sister record".[13] While in recording, the record had the working titles, "A Commemoration of Commiserations" and the initials "RMV".[14]

The band announced they had finished their "positive but nihilistic" album at the BRIT awards in May 2021, and revealed a potential October release date. Neil said the album was originally "completely hand-in-hand [with A Celebration of Endings]" but "because we didn’t tour I ended up writing about seven or eight new songs for the album. Originally it was intended to be a few off-cuts from ‘A Celebration Of Endings’, but now it’s got wonderful new art and it’s kind of its own beast."[15]

The album was announced on 3 September 2021 alongside the first single "Unknown Male 01", after headlining Reading and Leeds Festival.[16]

Release

[edit]

The first single, "Unknown Male 01" was released on 3 September 2021 and conveys "the hopelessness and darkness felt when we lose someone we love".[17] Neil added "when you lose people […] it can make you question every single thing about your own life".[18]

Released on 20 September, second single "A Hunger in Your Haunt" was written as a "self-motivating mantra", born of "pure frustration".[19]

The 3rd single "Errors in the History of God" premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 21 October, prior to The Myth of the Happily Ever After's release on 22 October 2021.[20]

A combined music video of the two previously released singles was premiered on YouTube on 28 September 2021.[21][22]

The band performed the second single off the record "A Hunger in Your Haunt" live on Later... 23 October 2021 [23]

The album was acclaimed by critics and fans alike.

Musical style

[edit]

The band have said the album is a "reaction" to A Celebration of Endings and lyrically themed as "a fairly positive outlook with […] bone marrow nihilism going down inside of it", and "a rapid emotional response to the turmoil of the past year"[15]

The lead single "Unknown Male 01" has been described as a "slow building track that explores the themes of loss". It starts with "simple yet emotional instrumentation" with "church-like organ" then proceeding to turn into a "riff-laden rock explosion", making use of "hard rock and math rock tendencies".[17] Second single "A Hunger in Your Haunt" was described as a "punching, hard-riffing track",[24] that "jumps between gorgeous melodies and angular yelps, expressing both sides of the band's incredibly diverse sound".[25]

NME described the whole album as a "record defined by nuance", from "wonky electro and simmering rock of 'Separate Missions'" to the "R&B vibes" and "rock crescendo of 'Haru Urara'".[26] DIY describes the album as having "abundant creative freedom,[27] and Kerrang! describes "song structures [that] are subverted and arrangements are constructed with forensic care, while the level of creativity is unsurpassed".[28]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Simon Neil

The Myth of the Happily Ever After track listing[29]
No.TitleLength
1."DumDum"3:32
2."A Hunger in Your Haunt"3:49
3."Denier"2:59
4."Separate Missions"5:18
5."Witch's Cup"4:44
6."Holy Water"5:40
7."Errors in the History of God"4:16
8."Haru Urara"3:15
9."Unknown Male 01"6:08
10."Existed"4:09
11."Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep"6:09
Total length:50:02

Personnel

[edit]

Biffy Clyro

[edit]
  • Simon Neil – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (all tracks); violin (1, 11)
  • James Johnston – bass guitar (all tracks), backing vocals (2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
  • Ben Johnston – drums, percussion (all tracks); programming (2–10), backing vocals (6–9, 11)

Production

[edit]
  • Adam Noble – production, mixing, engineer, programming

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for The Myth of the Happily Ever After
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 183
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 122
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] 60
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] 46
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 11
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[36] 23
Irish Albums (OCC)[37] 47
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 9
UK Albums (OCC)[40] 4
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[41] 1

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ This numbering does not include the soundtrack album Balance, Not Symmetry from 2019. See also: Biffy Clyro discography

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Biffy Clyro - The Myth of The Happily Ever After (2021)". ISRABOX. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Biffy Clyro - The Myth of the Happily Ever After". Norman Records. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Biffy Clyro - The Myth of The Happily Ever After (2021)". ISRABOX. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  4. ^ "The Myth of the Happily Ever After by Biffy Clyro". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  5. ^ Collar, Matt (10 December 2021). "Biffy Clyro - The Myth Of The Happily Ever After". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. ^ Beech, Dave (22 October 2021). "Biffy Clyro - The Myth Of The Happily Ever After". Clash. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  7. ^ Johnston, Emma (22 October 2021). "Biffy Clyro's The Myth Of Happily Ever After: glorious, instantly recognisable weirdness". Classic Rock. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  8. ^ Tipple, Ben (20 October 2021). "Biffy Clyro - The Myth Of The Happily Ever After". DIY. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  9. ^ Winwood, Ian (21 October 2021). "Album Review: Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After". Kerrang!. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ^ Trendell, Andrew (20 October 2021). "Biffy Clyro – 'The Myth Of The Happily Ever After' album review". NME. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  11. ^ Marsh, Graeme (22 October 2021). "Biffy Clyro – 'The Myth Of The Happily Ever After'". musicOMH. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Biffy Clyro – 'The Myth Of The Happily Ever After'". Sputnikmusic. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  13. ^ "In Conversation with Biffy Clyro: "We've already got a sprawling new sister record coming"". NME. 18 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Biffy Clyro working on "sister" album to A Celebration Of Endings". Radio X. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Biffy Clyro: "We literally finished our new album last week"". NME. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Biffy Clyro announce surprise new project, The Myth Of The Happily Ever After". Kerrang!. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Biffy Clyro Drops New Song "Unknown Male 01" Shares Details About Upcoming Album "The Myth of The Happily Ever After" -". mxdwn Music. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Biffy Clyro announce new album 'The Myth of the Happily Ever After' with single 'Unknown Male 01'". NME. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  19. ^ September 2021, Elizabeth Scarlett21 (21 September 2021). "Biffy Clyro issue "wake-up call" via new single A Hunger In Your Haunt". loudersound. Retrieved 22 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Future Sounds with Clara Amfo, Biffy Clyro Hottest Record". BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  21. ^ Biffy Clyro - A Hunger In Your Haunt / Unknown Male 01 (Official Video), retrieved 21 October 2021
  22. ^ "Watch Biffy Clyro's combined video for 'Unknown Male 01' and 'A Hunger In Your Haunt'". NME. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  23. ^ Biffy Clyro - A Hunger In Your Haunt (Live on Later), retrieved 31 October 2021
  24. ^ "Biffy Clyro share hard-riffing new single 'A Hunger In Your Haunt'". NME. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  25. ^ "LISTEN: Biffy Clyro's Stunningly Angular New Track 'A Hunger In Your Haunt' - News". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Biffy Clyro – 'The Myth Of The Happily Ever After' review: a happy accident". NME. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Biffy Clyro - The Myth Of The Happily Ever After". DIY. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  28. ^ "Album review: Biffy Clyro – The Myth Of The Happily Ever After". Kerrang!. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  29. ^ "Biffy Clyro have announced a new project, 'The Myth of the Happily Ever After'". Upset. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Ö3 Austria Top40: Longplay-Charts". Ö3 Charts. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Ultratop.be – Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  33. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  34. ^ "Biffy Clyro: The Myth of the Happily Ever After" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  36. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 46. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  37. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  39. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  40. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  41. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
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