''A Cruel World'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band Bloodsimple, released on March 29, 2005.

Musical style

''A Cruel World'' has been labeled as a

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

, and

groove metal Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...

album.

Production and marketing

The band’s debut record was recorded with rock producer GGGarth Richardson in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Richardson had previously worked with a number of alternative metal acts, including

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

, Slipknot, 40 Below Summer, Chevelle and

Trapt Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Nine studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), '' Trapt'' (2002), '' Someone in Control'' (2005), '' Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (2 ...

. According to the band, Richardson understood the sound the band was seeking and did not attempt to "tone it down". The record's production was a lengthy process, spanning approximately three years from beginning to end. After an extended period of writing, the band spent three and a half months in the studio. The basic elements of the album, including most of the vocals, were recorded in six weeks. After taking some time off, the band received an initial mix of the record, but were dissatisfied with the results. The record was remixed with more success by Mike Fraser.

Songs

The themes of ''Cruel World'' include war ("Straight Hate"), failed relationships ("Leaving Song", "Sell Me Out"),

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

("Running from Nothing") and drug addiction ("Flatlined"). The album's first single, "Straight Hate", was written about American soldiers fighting in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Vocalist Tim Williams stated that the song was about how difficult it was for the soldiers and that he wanted to write something where the words would help them through the day. Williams denies that the song is political, stating that he does not care about the Government's reasons for deployment of troops to the Gulf. The song "Flatlined" is about drug addiction, and was written from the perspective of a drug addict who eventually dies. Williams states that one of his best friends, who loved the song, ended up dying in the same way. The track "Falling Backwards" features a guest performance by Mudvayne's

Chad Gray Chad Gray (born October 16, 1971) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal bands Mudvayne and Hellyeah. Career Mudvayne Gray quit his factory job that paid $40,000 a year to move to Peoria, Illinois and formed Mud ...

. "What if I Lost it" was used as the theme music for

Fuse TV Fuse is an American television channel owned by Fuse Media, LLC, that was originally launched in 1994 as MuchMusic USA, a localized version of the Canadian cable channel MuchMusic, owned by CHUM Limited which was also the parent company of City ...

's '' Metal Asylum''.

Track listing

#"Straight Hate" – 4:46 #"Path to Prevail" – 3:18 #"What If I Lost It" – 3:25 #"Blood in Blood Out" – 2:20 #"Sell Me Out" – 3:38 #"The Leaving Song" – 4:32 #"Running from Nothing" – 4:12 #"Cruel World" – 3:56 #"Flatlined" – 4:14 #"Falling Backwards" (feat.

Mudvayne Mudvayne is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records wor ...

) – 3:51 #"Plunder" – 6:45 * This song ends at 3:23 followed by silence until 4:53, at which point a phone conversation fades in which leads to the end of the track.

Personnel

*Tim Williams –

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Mike Kennedy –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Nick Rowe –

* Kyle Sanders –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

*Chris Hamilton –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Charting positions

Album Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruel World, A 2005 debut albums Bloodsimple albums Reprise Records albums Albums produced by Garth Richardson