The Darkness is the tenth studio album by American hip hop duo Twiztid. It was released on January 27, 2015, through Majik Ninja Entertainment with distribution via INgrooves. Recording sessions took place at the Dojo, a MNE recording studio in Michigan. Production was handled by Michael "Seven" Summers, Jake One, Eric Davie, Fritz the Cat and the Dead Beatz.
| The Darkness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 27, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2014 | |||
| Studio | The Dojo (Michigan) | |||
| Length | 56:14 | |||
| Label | Majik Ninja Entertainment MNE 002 | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Twiztid chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Darkness | ||||
| ||||
| Darkness | ||||
 Outer cardboard slip cover. | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
The album peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200, at No. 3 on the Top Rap Albums chart, and No. 5 on the Independent Albums chart in the United States.
Background
editIn early/mid 2014 Twiztid released a promo video, and it was said that Twiztid's next album would be called The Darkness. Twiztid was asked if the album would have any features and Monoxide had said "No. This is just me and Jamie from start to finish, no features". It was in contrast to the duo's previous release A New Nightmare in 2013, which had a large array of guest features.
Twiztid stated in a later 2014 interview that they would release short promo videos from December 2014 until January 2015 to help promotion for the album. They said that some of the videos they are in, and some of them they aren't. On November 26, 2014, Twiztid released the album cover art, and the track list for The Darkness. Two of the three bonus tracks ("Breakdown" and "Mind Goes Mad") were featured on their Get Twiztid EP (which was previously released on April 15, 2014, and on the Bootleg Banner Tour with Blaze Ya Dead Homie), albeit slightly edited in length. The third bonus track "A Place in the Woods" was previously released as a limited edition VIP single, with a slightly different mix.[2]
On December 3, 2014, Twiztid released the first single off the album, "Boogieman". On December 9, 2014, Twiztid released the second single via Rolling Stone website titled, "Back to Hell". On December 17, 2014, Twiztid released their first promo video for their upcoming album, The Darkness, titled "Hostage". On January 8, 2015, via Revolver (magazine), Twiztid released the third single off The Darkness titled "A Little Fucked Up". On January 9, 2015, Twiztid released the second promo video for The Darkness titled "Family Time". The first music video off the album was "A Little Fucked Up" which was released on February 11, 2015. On March 17, 2015, the second music video, "Boogieman" was released via Revolver. On July 9, 2015, the third music video, "No Breaks", was released via Twiztid-Shop.com, their online store.
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by James Spaniolo and Paul Robert Methric
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Why Won't You Answer" | 2:44 | |
| 2. | "Afraid of the Dark" | Seven | 1:27 |
| 3. | "In Hell" | The Dead Beatz | 4:35 |
| 4. | "Back to Hell" | Fritz "the Cat" Van Kosky | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Problems with Medication" | 0:26 | |
| 6. | "A Little Fucked Up" |
| 3:41 |
| 7. | "Boogieman" (Skit) | 1:04 | |
| 8. | "Boogieman" |
| 4:23 |
| 9. | "Down Here" |
| 4:48 |
| 10. | "Dr. Weasel" | 0:43 | |
| 11. | "F.T.S." | Seven | 3:20 |
| 12. | "Take It Away" | Seven | 4:19 |
| 13. | "On and On" | Seven | 3:03 |
| 14. | "No Breaks" | Seven | 2:48 |
| 15. | "Seance" | Jake One | 3:08 |
| 16. | "The Exorcism" |
| 1:02 |
| Total length: | 45:08 | ||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Breakdown" | The Dead Beatz | 3:55 |
| 18. | "Mind Goes Mad" | Seven | 3:37 |
| 19. | "A Place in the Woods" (featuring Blaze Ya Dead Homie) | Seven | 3:45 |
| Total length: | 56:25 | ||
Personnel
edit- Jamie "Madrox" Spaniolo – lyrics, vocals, music
- Paul "Monoxide" Methric – lyrics, vocals, music
- Ashley M Price – vocals (tracks: 1, 8)
- Sid Haig – vocals (track 5)
- Eric Davie – additional vocals (track 8), producer (track 16), engineering
- Michael Winagar – additional vocals (track 8)
- Bill Moseley – vocals (track 10)
- Michael "Seven" Summers – producer (tracks: 2, 8–9, 11–14, 18–19)
- The Dead Beatz – producer (tracks: 3, 17)
- Fritz "The Cat" Van Kosky – producer (track 4), engineering
- Jacob Brian Dutton – producer (tracks: 6, 15)
- Joe Strange – producer (track 16), additional producer (tracks: 6, 8, 9), mixing
- Kullen Cruickshank – assistant engineering
- Jim Kissling – mastering
- Tate Steinsiek – art direction, artwork
- Eric Shetler – additional artwork
- Jim Neve – design, layout
- Jason Shaltz – photography
- George Vlahakis – management
- Chris Rouleau – lyrics & vocals (track 19)
Charts
edit| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[3] | 29 |
| US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[4] | 3 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[5] | 18 |
| US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[6] | 24 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[7] | 5 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[8] | 22 |
References
edit- ^ Jeffries, David. "The Darkness - Twiztid | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Debut 'The Darkness' Album Cover". The Boombox. November 26, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Twiztid Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
External links
edit- Twiztid – The Darkness at Discogs (list of releases)