''Tyranny'' is the debut

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 the 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

the Voidz The Voidz (formerly Julian Casablancas + The Voidz) are an experimental rock band. They consist of Julian Casablancas (vocals), Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter (guitar), Amir Yaghmai (guitar), Jacob "Jake" Bercovici (bass, synthesizers), Alex Carapeti ...

(marketed as Julian Casablancas + The Voidz), recorded at Labyrinth, NYC and released on September 23, 2014 through the

Cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

label. The first single from the album, the 11-minute track " Human Sadness", was released on September 2, 2014. The music video for the second single "Where No Eagles Fly", released on September 9, 2014, was directed by guitarist Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter. On September 23, ''Tyranny'' was made available to stream on the websites of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' and ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''. The album was placed 50th in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s "Top 50 Albums of 2014" list.

Reception

The album received generally positive reviews, though outlets often expressed mixed opinions. ''

'' gave the album 3.5 stars, calling it "the sound of a man shedding his skin. Not pretty, but more compelling for it." ''Paste'' gave it 6.0, while ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' gave it 8 out of 10, calling it "a seriously sad album...compelling." Lucas Villa of

AXS AXS may refer to: Anschutz Entertainment Group * AXS (company), primary ticket platform developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). * AXS TV, a cable channel partially owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Other * Access (group), a Japa ...

awarded four out of five stars, writing, "Casablancas continues to exercise his experimental muscle in the most raucous ways with The Voidz in tow." Benji Taylor of '' Clash'' gave the album 7/10, calling it "a weirdly wonderful mesh of awkward time signatures, unconventional song structures and, in general, unbridled madness". Pitchfork was among the most negative of the reviewers, giving the album a 4.9 and calling it unlistenable and a failure. '' GQ'' printed in a 2014 interview with Casablancas entitled, "Julian Casablancas Is Done Trying to Save You",

Track listing

All tracks are arranged by the Voidz; all tracks are written by

Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

The Voidz *

– vocals *Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter – guitar *Amir Yaghmai – guitar *Jacob "Jake" Bercovici – bass guitar, synthesizers *

Alex Carapetis Alex Carapetis (born 27 April 1982) is an Australian drummer and member of The Voidz. He was formerly a member of Wolfmother, and has toured with Nine Inch Nails, and Julian Casablancas among others. Alex currently resides in Los Angeles. Early ...

– drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

*Jeff Kite – keyboards

Production and others

Shawn Everett Shawn Everett (born July 6, 1982) is a Canadian music engineer and producer best known for his work with Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs, The Killers, and Julian Casablancas. Everett has won six Grammy Awards. Early life Ev ...

– production, mixing, engineering *Alana Da Fonseca – additional engineering *Ryan Fagman – additional engineering on "Dare I Care", "Xerox", "Nintendo Blood" and "Crunch Punch" * J. P. Bowersock – guru for "Crunch Punch", "Human Sadness" and "Take Me in Your Army" * Mike Bloom – additional guitar on "Dare I Care" *Jason Lader – co-writer on "Nintendo Blood" *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance-p ...

– mastering at

Bernie Grundman Mastering Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chri ...

, LA *Dave Kutch – additional mastering at The Mastering Palace, NYC *

Emily Lazar Emily B. Lazar is an American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997. She won a Grammy Award for ...

– additional mastering at The Lodge, NYC *

Warren Fu Warren Fu is an American music video director, illustrator and designer. He has directed videos for artists such as the Weeknd, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, The Strokes, the Killers, Hayley Williams, Mark Ronson and Julian Casablancas. Fu is si ...

– artwork *Liz Hirsch – artwork *Sam Adoquei – "The Visit of Govindu" artwork *Colin Lane – photography *El Teneen – "Chessboard" artwork *Richard Priest – management crew *Lysee Webb – management crew *Jack Rovner – management crew *Julie Bernouis – assistant manager

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums Cult Records albums The Voidz albums