Probot
Probot | |
---|---|
Studio album by Probot | |
Released | February 10, 2004 |
Recorded | 2000–2003 |
Genre | Heavy metal, thrash metal, groove metal, crossover thrash, doom metal |
Length | 52:18 |
Label | Southern Lord (SUNN30) |
Singles from Probot | |
|
Probot was a heavy metal side project of former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. Described by Grohl as "a death metal Supernatural", the album mixes instrumentals recorded by Grohl himself with various metal singers whom the musician admired. The album was released in February 2004 by Southern Lord Records. It featured one single entitled "Centuries of Sin"/"The Emerald Law".
Background
After years of popularity in the
Some time later, inspired by the Santana album Supernatural, Grohl decided to attempt collaborations with singers he had idolized.[3] He came up with "my wish list of all of my favorite singers from this era which is '82 to '89 underground metal, and all the bands I listened to at the time: Eric Wagner from Trouble, Snake from Voivod, Cronos [from Venom], Lemmy and Wino," and started contacting the musicians,[4] some of whom were reached by Grohl's friend Matt Sweeney given the Foo Fighters had restarted their tour.[1] Grohl feared his fame built out of being "a stupid, middle-of-the-road, alternative-rock idiot" could drive the metal singers away, but many agreed immediately.[3] Cronos would later explain that "I'm open for everything. And Dave's cool," detailing that Grohl's email opened with "a real fan letter" where he mentioned his longtime appreciation of Venom, and then explained about his idea of a metal album with all his metal heroes "to get something off his chest."[5]
Seeing the positive response, Grohl brought Kasper and Sweeney back to do five more instrumental tracks and round out the project.[3] According to Grohl, the songs sent to Eric Wagner and King Diamond had been previously done for Ozzy Osbourne as he was contacted to write for the then-upcoming Down to Earth, but when Osbourne's label did not respond, he repurposed them for Probot.[6] Sweeney would organize the project as Grohl toured with the Foo Fighters, getting vocalists on board and organizing tracks.[7] Then the demo tapes were sent to the singers, each of whom was asked to come up with lyrics, record them and then title the song.[8] Cronos detailed he wrote three different versions so Grohl could choose one.[5]
Production and style
On the album, Grohl teamed up with heavy metal vocalists from 1980s and 1990s bands who influenced his musical tastes while he was growing up. Similar to 1995's
Only Lemmy and Wino visited Studio 606 to record, with all the others sending tapes from studio to studio until the album was finished.
Grohl also approached
In a 2007 interview for Guitar World magazine, Grohl was asked about the future of Probot. He explained that the idea behind Probot was to choose his favorite vocalists that inspired him when he was a teenager. Grohl said that he does not think that he will do it again, because he does not want to go outside of that idea.[15]
Release
Despite Grohl's label Roswell having a deal with
The album is available as a single CD and a double LP (available on red and black vinyl). Southern Lord released a double A-sided single, "Centuries of Sin/The Emerald Law" in a limited edition of 6,666 on 7" vinyl only. It is available on black, green, red & red/black swirl vinyl, and sold out shortly after release.[17] The album artwork was created by musician Away (Michel Langevin) of Voivod.[13]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork Media | 7.0/10[21] |
PopMatters | favorable[22] |
Rolling Stone | [23] |
Spin | [24] |
Stylus Magazine | A[25] |
Critical reception to the Probot album was largely positive with few recurring complaints; Metacritic shows a 72/100 critic rating based on 21 reviews. Rolling Stone declared it as "the year's first great metal album," while Blender reported, "Unlike similar records... this has a unity of aesthetic purpose, a competitive wallop, even (kind of) a seriousness."
David Browne of
Probot earned an A rating in Stylus magazine as well as the title of StylusMagazine.com's Album of the Week for February 8–14, 2004. Scott McKeating's extensive review describes how "Probot balances the grit with the sonic polish without lapsing into Metallica's Metallica. This is metal that demands banging, shaking and stamping." He commends the ambition of its overall conception, noting, "Very few [artists] go as far as Grohl and actually create something vital and new in their mid-thirties from their teenage obsessions. . . Probot is an inspirational record in every sense."
Adrien Begrand of PopMatters describes it as "One of the coolest ideas for an album in a long time, Grohl has put together a record that not only serves as a sincere tribute to the metal and hardcore bands of his youth, but features all his favorite vocalists as well." He gave a favorable review but heavily discussed Grohl's guitar skills and songwriting as lacking: "The biggest problem on the album is Grohl's complete lack of inventiveness as a guitar player. . . Had Dave Grohl used more guest musicians instead of trying to do everything himself, Probot would have been much better." Despite these criticisms, Begrand considers it "impossible not to like this album, mistakes and all."
Awarding a 4/5 rating,
"Shake Your Blood"
Although Grohl recorded the guitar and drums himself, Lemmy performed his own bass and wrote the lyrics to "Shake Your Blood". He noted, "I wrote the lyrics in about ten minutes. . . It's rock & roll, you know. It's not one of those complicated things."[4] The song bears strong resemblance to Lemmy's style and was considered "a terrific Motörhead clone" by Adrien Begrand of PopMatters.
The "Shake Your Blood" music video was filmed in November 2003 and released shortly thereafter. It features an appearance by 66 women from the SuicideGirls adult entertainment website. The music video also appears on the extras section on the movie SuicideGirls: The First Tour. In the video, the band is represented with Dave Grohl on drums, Lemmy on lead vocals and bass, and Wino (who sang on the Probot track "The Emerald Law") on lead guitar. Lemmy regarded the performance as "just like a tour in the '60s, when things were a lot more fun."[4]
Live performances
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Centuries of Sin" (feat. Jack Black of Tenacious D ) | 12:06 |
Personnel
- Dave Grohl – lead guitar, drums, bass
- Kim Thayil – additional guitar (tracks 6, 11)
- Cronos – lead vocals, bass (track 1)
- Max Cavalera – lead vocals (track 2)
- Lemmy – lead vocals, bass (track 3)
- Mike Dean – lead vocals (track 4)
- Kurt Brecht – lead vocals (track 5)
- Lee Dorrian – lead vocals (track 6)
- Scott "Wino" Weinrich – lead vocals, guitar (track 7)
- Tom G. Warrior – lead vocals (track 8)
- Denis "Snake" Bélanger – lead vocals (track 9)
- Eric Wagner – lead vocals (track 10)
- King Diamond – lead vocals (track 11)
- Jack Black – lead vocals, guitar (hidden track)
- Bubba Dupree (Void) – guitar (track 4)
- Erol Unala (Apollyon Sun, Celtic Frost) – guitar (track 8)
- Matt Sweeney – additional guitar (track 9)
- Stephen O'Malley – Design
- Michel "Away" Langevin – Cover Art
Charts
Album charts
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] | 34 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] | 59 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] | 77 |
Finnish Albums ( Suomen virallinen lista)[30]
|
32 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] | 36 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] | 43 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[33] | 12 |
UK Albums (OCC)[34] | 34 |
US Billboard 200[35] | 68 |
Singles charts
Year | Single | Peak positions |
---|---|---|
UK
[36] | ||
2004 | "Centuries of Sin" | 91 |
References
- ^ a b c d Man of Steel
- ^ "Building The Perfect Probot". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2018-08-24.
- ^ a b c Dave Grohl Preps A ‘Death Metal Supernatural‘ With Probot
- ^ a b c Appleford, Steven Dave Grohl Drums Up Probot Rolling Stone (February 6, 2004). Retrieved on 2-13-09.
- ^ a b VENOM Singer Comments On PROBOT Project: 'This Was Heavy Shit!'
- ^ a b "DAVE GROHL Responds to ZAKK WYLDE's Threat". 11 February 2004.
- ^ Dave Grohl's League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- ^ Dave Grohl Readies Metal Side Project, Rolling Stone
- ^ a b DIY Spirit Led Grohl's Probot to Indie Label, Billboard
- ^ Black and Grohl: Back together
- ^ Chuck Schuldiner: Biography, Billboard.com, (retrieved February 18, 2011)
- ^ Dave Grohl Explains Tom Araya's Absence From Probot CD Jan. 11, 2004 Blabbermouth.net
- ^ a b The Fan Has Won
- ^ "UNLEASHED: We Are Not Nazi Sympathizers!". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 2002-10-23. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
- ISSN 1045-6295.
- ^ Heavy Mettle, Time Out (2004). Retrieved on 2-14-08.
- ^ "PROBOT – Centuries of Sin".
- Allmusic. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ Blender March 2004, p.127
- ^ Browne, David (16 February 2004). "Probot Review | Music Reviews and News | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Begrand, Adrien (13 February 2004). "Probot: self-titled <PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Rolling Stone February 19, 2004, p.67
- ^ Gross, Joe (March 2, 2004). "Review of Probot". Spin. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
- ^ McKeating, Scott (9 February 2004). "Probot – Probot – Review – Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Soulfly Stoked On Forthcoming UK Tour RockSound.tv (January 12, 2009). Retrieved on 2-03-09.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Probot – Probot". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Probot – Probot" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Probot – Probot" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Probot – Probot". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Probot – Probot". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Probot | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Probot Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "PROBOT - Official UK Charts history". officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 16, 2019.