Blackened Sky
Studio album by
Biffy Clyro
Released10 March 2002 (2002-03-10)
Recorded2001–2002
StudioThe Church Studios (London), Moles Studio (Bath), Mark Angelo Studios (London), and Great Linford Manor (Great Linford)
Genre
Length49:00
LabelBeggars Banquet
Producer
Biffy Clyro chronology
Thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow
(2000)		 Blackened Sky
(2002)		 The Vertigo of Bliss
(2003)
Singles from Blackened Sky
  1. "27"
    Released: 9 April 2001
  2. "Justboy"
    Released: 1 October 2001
  3. "57"
    Released: 4 February 2002
  4. "Joy.Discovery.Invention"/"Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys"
    Released: 7 October 2002

Blackened Sky is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Largely produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 10 March 2002. The album reached number 78 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned four singles. A deluxe remastered edition was released in 2012, which featured, in addition to the original 12 album tracks, two songs from the band's debut extended play (EP) thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow and a number of B-sides from the album's singles.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

Critical reception to Biffy Clyro's debut album was generally mixed. John Murphy of independent music website musicOMH, writing at the time of its release in 2002, claimed that Blackened Sky was evidence of Biffy's status as "the most exciting new band in Britain", drawing comparisons to influencing band Nirvana and praising elements such as the consistency in the vocal performances.[4] His review was not entirely positive though, as he pointed out that "with this album ... the band sometimes lose the balance between light and shade", claiming that "There's no sign of any kind of breakthrough song here, ... but if you take the time to explore this Blackened Sky you'll find a few shining stars worth exploring".[4] Jason MacNeil of PopMatters was similarly indecisive, concluding that Blackened Sky was "Generally a credible first step despite some lapses in judgement".[5]

Allmusic critic Dean Carlson was less generous, awarding the album a low rating of 1.5 out of five stars; the review proposed that on the album "the band came across as all of the least interesting aspects of American grunge released a decade too late", with the website claiming that Biffy did not live up to the hype they had received prior to the album's release.[3]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Simon Neil; all music is composed by Simon Neil

No.TitleLength
1."Joy.Discovery.Invention"3:38
2."27"3:27
3."Justboy"4:22
4."Kill the Old, Torture Their Young"6:12
5."The Go-Slow"3:59
6."Christopher's River"4:09
7."Convex, Concave"4:28
8."57"3:21
9."Hero Management"4:46
10."Solution Devices"3:18
11."Stress on the Sky"4:14
12."Scary Mary" (lyrics co-written by Martin Scott)3:06
Total length:49:00
2012 remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Hope for an Angel"4:06
14."Less the Product"6:05
15."Instructio4"5:53
16."Breatheher"3:55
17."Unsubtle"2:27
18."Being Gabriel"6:20
19."Time as an Imploding Unit/Waiting for Green"9:25
20."All the Way Down Chapter 2"3:49
21."The Houses of Roofs"5:13
Total length:96:13

Personnel

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog Ref.
United Kingdom 10 March 2002 Beggars Banquet Records CD album BBQCD226 [7]
LP record BBQLP226 [8]
France 8 April 2002 Labels CD album 7243 8 1207420 [9]
Scandinavia 8 April 2002 Playground Music Scandinavia CD album BBQCD226 [10]
United Kingdom 2 April 2012 Beggars Banquet Records Double LP BBQLP2089 [11]

References

  1. ↑ Collar, Matt. "A Celebration of Endings - Biffy Clyro". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (Expanded Edition) - Vinyl". Beggars Banquet Records. 2 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 Carlson, Dean. "Blackened Sky - Biffy Clyro". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 Murphy, John (11 March 2002). "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky". Album Reviews. musicOMH. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  5. ↑ MacNeil, Jason (12 January 2003). "Biffy Clyro: Blackened Sky". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "British album certifications – Biffy Clyro – Blackened Sky". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (Vinyl, Album, LP)". Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
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