''Old Gods'' is the tenth and final studio album by New Zealand rock band

Shihad Shihad were a Rock music, rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1988. The band consisted of founders Tom Larkin (musician), Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon To ...

, released on 8 October 2021. The album debuted at number one in New Zealand.

Production

Much of the album was inspired by

Jon Toogood Jonathan Charles Toogood (born 9 August 1971) is a New Zealand musician who is the frontman (lead vocals and guitar) of the rock band Shihad. He started playing guitar when he was "8 or 9" and became friends with Tom Larkin (musician), Tom Lark ...

's experiences after his conversion to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, before his marriage to Dana Salih in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

in 2014, and the band's disgust at the rise of Conservative politicians in the world. The song "Little Demons" was one of the first songs written for the album, inspired by a televised Australian political debate where a

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

told an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

woman to call the police when she experiences racist threats.

Release and promotion

The album was announced on 8 July 2021, at the same time when the first single from ''Old Gods'' was released, "Tear Down Those Names". This was followed by "Little Demons" on 30 July, "Feel the Fire" in August and "Empire Falling" on 7 October. The album was originally slated for release on 27 August, however the album was postponed due to the 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

lockdowns in New Zealand, eventually released on 8 October. The album debuted at number one in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, scoring the band the record for New Zealand band with the most number one albums in history. The band intended to tour the album in Australia with a seven-date tour in October, and a planned five date tour of New Zealand in November, however both were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions in the countries. Shihad held their This Is the Sound of an Empire Falling tour in New Zealand, performing four dates in September and October 2022.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Shihad *

– guitar, songwriting * Karl Kippenberger – bass, songwriting * Phil Knight – guitar, songwriting * Tom Larkin – drums, songwriting Production and recording * Adam Spark – mixing, producer * Tom Baker – mastering

Production

Release and promotion

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References