''Truth Rising'' is the eighth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Hed PE Hed PE (standing for ''Higher Education Planet Earth/Planetary Evolution'', typeset as (həd)p.e., (hed) Planet Earth, (Hed)pe or (Hed)PE) is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1994, the band is known for its ecle ...

. Released on October 26, 2010, the album received mixed reviews and debuted at #98 on the Billboard 200. The album also peaked #13 on the Top Independent albums charts.

Music and lyrics

The music of ''Truth Rising'' primarily fuses

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

, heavy metal,

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

Jared Gomes Paulo Sergio "Jared" Gomes, also known as Jahred and M.C.U.D. ("MC Underdog") (born February 29, 1964), is an American singer and rapper best known as the lead vocalist of Hed PE. Biography Gomes was born Paulo Sergio Gomes on February 29, ...

' vocal style ranges from melodic singing to

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

and

death growl The death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other Extreme metal, extreme Heavy metal genres, subgenres of heavy metal music. Sometimes death gro ...

s. The album continues the band's increasingly political lyrical message, drawing thematic material from the 9/11 Truth movement. Religion and sex are also discussed. Gomes states that the "truth" referred to in the album's title refers to "a lot of different things. One of it is trying to sift through all the political catch phrases and junk. There’s also the organized religion component, there’s the E.T. reality component and then there’s blind consumerism. It’s a broad concept." "No Rest for the Wicked" was recorded especially for the compilation '' Major Pain 2 Indee Freedom: The Best of Hed P.E.'', and features a chorous reminiscent of

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

. The band purchased new recording material for the song, which premiered on

Noisecreep Noisecreep is a hard rock and heavy metal music news and media website based in the United States. The site was created by AOL Music in March 2009. Noisecreep was the fourth genre-specific music website owned by AOL after the rock music websi ...

Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...

singer

Lajon Witherspoon Lajon Jermaine Witherspoon (born October 3, 1972) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist of Atlanta-based rock band Sevendust. Members from bands such as Staind, Seether, Alter Bridge, and Diecast have listed Witherspoon and Seve ...

contributed guest vocals to the song "Stand Up". Gomes described "Takeover" as a

battle rap Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and Diss (music), disses originating in the African Americans, African-Amer ...

; he also stated that the lyrical themes were lighter than the rest of the album.

Music videos

The video for "It's All Over" was presented in September 2011Archived a
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Wayback Machine
as a plasticine animation. It shows the members of the band being made of plasticine and driving their car. It also has scenes in some house with Hed PE musicians binding a girl with ropes and killing a man with an

angle grinder An angle grinder, also known as a side grinder or disc grinder, is a handheld power tool used for grinding (abrasive cutting) and polishing. History The high-speed angle grinder was invented in 1954 by German company Ackermann + Schmitt ( FLE ...

. Closer to the end it shows a battle between Jahred's character and some beast with a sword.

Reviews

411mania gave the album a 6.5 rating, describing parts of the album as "disjointed"; the punk and hip hop tracks were deemed to be the weakest on the album.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that "all the mishmashing makes ''Truth Rising'' even more inconsistent and alienating than usual." Kik Axe Music gave the album 3 out of 5, stating that the sexual references in the latter part of the album diminished the sincerity of the band's message. OC Reloaded wrote, "Despite the overly profane lyrics used in a few select songs, Truth Rising has a lot to offer. The general message Hed PE sends about getting involved in socio-political matters is an admirable one. Whether or not you agree with Hed PE’s views, you should still get involved. Musically, Truth Rising contains enough variety to provide something to enjoy for everyone."

Track listing

Personnel

;(Hed) Planet Earth *

— Vocals * Jaxon Benge — Guitar * DJ Product © 1969 — Turntables * Mawk (Mark Young) — Bass * Trauma — Drums ;Production * Produced by Jahred Gomes, Kevin Zinger & Brad Xavier * Recorded by Lance Eichler & Rory Graham, @ Trackhouse Studios, Orange County, California *Vocals recorded @ Greensprings Studios, Orange County, California * Mixed by Jahred Gomes, @ Greensprings Studios, Orange County, California *

Mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Mike Lazer, @ Paramount Studios *Management by Kevin Zinger & Ivory Daniel (The Regime) *Layout & design by poabdesigns.com *Art supervision by Jahred Gomes & poabdesigns.com

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Hed PE albums Suburban Noize Records albums