Tomahawk (album)

Tomahawk
Studio album by Tomahawk
Released October 30, 2001
Recorded 2001
Genre Alternative rock,[1] experimental rock,[1] hard rock,[2] post-hardcore,[3] alternative metal,[4] country rock[5]
Length 42:19
Label Ipecac
Producer Joe Funderburk
Tomahawk chronology
Tomahawk
(2001)		 Mit Gas
(2003)
Tomahawk sampler
Cover for the 2 track Australian Tomahawk sampler CD.

Tomahawk is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Tomahawk. Recorded after a meeting between vocalist Mike Patton and guitarist Duane Denison, the album features members of Faith No More, The Jesus Lizard, Helmet and Melvins. The band toured with Tool in support of the record, but were not well received by Tool's fans.

Released on October 30, 2001, through Patton's record label Ipecac Recordings, Tomahawk has received positive attention from critics, with most appraisals drawing attention to the versatility of Patton's vocals. The album charted in both Australia and the United States, reaching a peak of number 20 in the Billboard Independent Albums countdown.

Production

For Tomahawk, the band is composed of Mike Patton, vocalist for Faith No More and Mr. Bungle; Duane Denison, guitarist for The Jesus Lizard; Kevin Rutmanis, bass player for Melvins; and John Stanier, drummer for Helmet.[6] Patton and Denison met in 2000 at a Mr. Bungle concert in Nashville, Tennessee, and began exchanging music. From there, the two began to jam together with a view to releasing an album.[7] Patton described the new group as "the closest thing to a rock band I've been involved with for a while".[8]

The band hired Joe Funderburk to produce the album; Funderburk had previously worked with Emmylou Harris and The Judds.[6] The album was released through Ipecac Recordings, the record label owned by Patton and Greg Werckman.[9][10] Ipecac is also home to Rutmanis' band Melvins,[10] whose vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne had previously collaborated with Patton as a member of Fantômas.[11]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Boston Herald[2]
Drowned in Sound8/10[12]
Pitchfork7/10[5]

Tomahawk was released on October 30, 2001.[4] The album was supported by a tour in which the band supported Tool; however, Tools fans were unreceptive to Tomahawk and frequently booed their performances.[13]

Writing for AllMusic, Blake Butler rated Tomahawk four stars out of five, describing the album as "moody, violent, beautiful, sarcastic, vomitive, silly [and] heartstopping".[4] Butler praised Patton's versatility, calling the vocalist "a complete and utter musical visionary, and a mind-blowing and standard-warping genius".[4] Pitchfork's Luke Buckman award the album a rating of 7 out of 10, similarly highlighting Patton's vocals as exemplary. Buckman called Patton "one of the greatest male vocalists around today"; and felt that "Flashback" and "Cul de Sac" were among the album's best songs.[5] Mark Reed of Drowned in Sound rated the album 8 out of 10, noting the "wit" and "style" of the songwriting.[12] Reed felt that the album was among the most conventional of those recorded by Patton, but still described it as featuring "supercatchy, earstretching vocals, dark lyrics rich in black humour, swathes of crunchy guitars and some of the most unusual rhythms to be played by human hands since time began".[12]

Writing for the Boston Herald, Butch Lazorchak rated Tomahawk three stars out of four, finding that it "makes mincemeat out of the new-metal Johnny-come-latelies".[2] Lazorchak described the album as having "an updated '70s hard rock approach that echoes Blue Öyster Cult at its sinister best", and found the opening song "Flashback" to be a "head-crushing pleasure".[2] Reviewing a leg of the album's supporting tour for The Irish Times, Peter Crawley felt that "Sir Yes Sir" was a highlight of the album, due to Patton's "dark utterings" and Rutmanis' "drilling bassline".[14] Writing for CMJ New Music Monthly, Dana Buoniconti compared the album to the soundtracks of David Lynch's film and television work—specifically likening "Honeymoon" and "Sweet Smell of Success" to the Twin Peaks theme. Buoniconti found Tomahawk to be "unsettling and unwholesome", but "thoroughly appealing".[15]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tomahawk (Mike Patton, Duane Denison, Kevin Rutmanis and John Stanier).

No.TitleLength
1."Flashback"  2:58
2."101 North"  5:13
3."Point and Click"  3:09
4."God Hates a Coward"  2:39
5."POP 1"  3:25
6."Sweet Smell of Success"  3:41
7."Sir Yes Sir"  2:09
8."Jockstrap"  3:51
9."Cul de Sac"  1:44
10."Malocchio"  2:42
11."Honeymoon"  3:07
12."Laredo"  4:16
13."Narcosis"  2:39
Total length:42:19
Sampler
No.TitleLength
1."Flashback"  2:58
2."God Hates a Coward (Excerpt)"  1:56

Personnel

Chart performance

Tomahawk reached its highest chart position on the United States Independent Albums chart, reaching a peak position of 20 and spending two weeks in that chart.[17] It also reached a peak of 31 in that country's Top Heatseekers chart.[4] It spent one week in the Australian ARIA Charts, reaching number 37.[18]

Country Chart Peak
position		 Ref
Australia ARIA Charts 37 [18]
United States Independent Albums 20 [17]
Top Heatseekers 31 [4]

References

  1. 1 2 http://sfmedia.com.au/tomahawk-oddfellows-cd-review/
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lazorchak, Butch (November 18, 2001). "Lynne's Latest Softens Edges". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 27, 2012. (subscription required)
  3. ↑ http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20244-tomahawk_wednesday_feb_13.html
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Butler, Blake. "Tomahawk - Tomahawk: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Buckman, Luke (November 14, 2001). "Tomahawk - Tomahawk". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Prato, Greg. "Tomahawk - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  7. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim (November 2, 2001). "Super Models: New Bands Show That Supergroups Can Get It Right". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 27, 2001. (subscription required)
  8. ↑ Mallon, Tom (October 2001). "Patton Pending". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ (97): 66. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ "About Ipecac Recordings". ipecac.com. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Downs, David (January 17, 2007). "Orinda's Noise Vomitorium | Music | Oakland, Berkeley & the Bay Area". East Bay Express. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  11. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Fantômas - Music Biography and Discography". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Reed, Mark (November 17, 2001). "Tomahawk - Tomahawk / Releases". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ Hreha, Scott (May 1, 2003). "Tomahawk: Mit Gas | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  14. ↑ Crawley, Peter (March 15, 2002). "Tomahawk; The Ambassador, Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved August 27, 2012. (subscription required)
  15. ↑ Buoniconti, Dana (February 2002). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ (99): 64. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Tomahawk – Tomahawk: Credits". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Tomahawk - Tomahawk". billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  18. 1 2 "australian-charts.com - Tomahawk - Tomahawk". australian-charts.com. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
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