Biffy, as they are often referred to, utilise a quiet/loud dynamic, constructing songs that can range from a whisper-quiet pick on the guitar, to huge walls of noise with massive distortion and crashing drums. Their sound has simplified somewhat in recent times yet still occasionally contains complex time signatures and heavy riffs. While Simon Neil sings lead, all three members provide vocals. 'Mon the Biffy!' is a well known chant amongst Biffy fans; it is usually shouted in between songs at gigs, or before the band come on stage. Some fans have reacted poorly to the band's recent output.
The first incarnation of what would eventually become Biffy Clyro was formed in 1995 by fifteen-year-old Irvine-born, Ayr-raised guitarist Simon Neil, who recruited Kilmarnock-born Ben Johnston and someone known only as Barry on drums and bass respectively, calling themselves Screwfish. Barry was soon replaced by James Johnston, Ben's twin brother, and the three spent the next two years rehearsing, writing and covering songs. In 1997, they played their first gig as the support for a band called Pink Kross at a local youth centre. The trio then moved to Glasgow, where Neil went to the University of Glasgow and the Johnston twins went to Stow College, studying Electronics with Music and Audio Engineering respectively.They then progressed onto the bigger stage
After playing gigs around Glasgow and receiving positive and enthusiastic reactions from the audiences, the band were spotted by Dee Bahl, who soon became their manager. Bahl offered them a chance to release an independent single on Aereogramme's Babi Yaga record label. 'Iname' was released on 28 June 1999, and led to the band being chosen by Stow College's Electric Honey record label to release a record. thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow... was released on 13 June 2000, and after hearing it, BBC Radio Scotland DJ Vic Galloway gave the band airplay. A few days prior to the release of thekidswho..., the band were spotted at the Unsigned Bands stage at T in the Park 2000 by a Beggars Banquet representative. Soon after, the band was signed to the independent Beggar's Banquet, and on 30 October 2000, they re-recorded and released the single, '27', which became Kerrang!'s Single Of The Week.
On 1 October 2001, one of the songs from thekidswho... was re-recorded and released as a single, 'Justboy'. This was repeated on 4 February 2002, when the song '57' was released. On 11 March, the band's debut album, Blackened Sky, was released to generally positive reviews. It was around this time that the band began touring extensively, including being the support for Weezer on 20 March at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. On 15 July, the fourth single from the album, 'Joy.Discovery.Invention' was released as a double A-side with a newly recorded song, entitled 'Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys', which later appeared on The Vertigo of Bliss.
In 2003, the band retreated to the Linford Manor recording studio in Great Linford, Milton Keynes, England to record the follow-up to Blackened Sky. On 24 March, a new single was released entitled, 'The Ideal Height', followed by another new single entitled 'Questions and Answers' on 28 May. The band's second album, The Vertigo of Bliss was released on 16 June, to positive reviews, which focused on the more experimental style of the album in comparison to Blackened Sky, as well as the introduction of string sections.
In 2004, after touring relentlessly for The Vertigo of Bliss, the band retreated to Monnow Valley Studios in Monmouth, Wales to record a follow-up. As with the previous album, two singles were released before the actual album; 'Glitter and Trauma' and 'My Recovery Injection' on 9 August and 20 September, respectively. A digital download was also released; 'There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake', on 31 May. On 4 October, the band's third album, Infinity Land was released, and on 14 February 2005, the last single from the album, 'Only One Word Comes To Mind' was released. On 16 February, the band performed a cover of Franz Ferdinand's 'Take Me Out' live from Maida Vale on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. Simon Neil's side project, Marmaduke Duke, also released an album in 2005, The Magnificent Duke, and toured the UK, along with the Johnston twins accompanying on bass and drums, for it.
In 2006, Biffy Clyro left Beggars Banquet and signed a deal with 14th Floor, an offshoot of Warner Bros. In June, the band contributed a cover of Weezer's 'Buddy Holly' to Kerrang!'s High Voltage!: A Brief History of Rock, which came free with Issue #1110 of the magazine. In September, the band moved temporarily to Canada to record their fourth album at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, and The Farm Studio in Gibsons, which they finished doing in November. The song 'Semi-Mental' was released as a digital download on 25 December. In 2007, the song 'Saturday Superhouse' was released on 14 May, where it reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart; the band's highest single chart position to date. On 14 May, the song 'Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies' was released, reaching #19 on the UK Singles Charts. On 21 May, Biffy were confirmed for T in the Park 2007, as well as being announced as one of the support bands for the 17 June gig at the new Wembley Stadium for Muse. On 1 June, Biffy were confirmed for Glastonbury 2007. On 4 June, Puzzle was released to critical acclaim, and eventually helped the band to reach their highest UK Albums Chart position ever, reaching #2 in the first week of release. On 6 June it was announced that Biffy were to support The Who at Marlay Park in Ireland. On 12 June, it was announced that 'Folding Stars' was released as a single on July 16. On the 23rd of August 2007, Biffy Clyro were announced as the support act for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Hampden Stadium in Glasgow, for the Stadium Arcadium tour.
Born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland, Simon Neil formed Biffy Clyro in 1995 at 15 years old recruiting Kilmarnock-born James Johnston and someone known only as Barry on bass and drums respectively, calling themselves Skrewfish. Barry was soon replaced by Ben Johnston, James's twin brother, and Biffy Clyro was effectively formed.In 1997, the trio moved to Glasgow, where Neil studied. Biffy Clyro returned in 2016 with the full-length album Ellipsis. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Rich Costey (Franz Ferdinand, Muse), the LP featured the singles 'Wolves of Winter' and 'Animal Style.' They went on to promote the album with an open-air set in Glasgow, and headlined the Reading & Leeds festival in 2016 and the Download. But while the handful of tracks from their first three albums, Blackened Sky ('57'), The Vertigo of Bliss ('Diary of Always'), and Infinity Land ('Glitter and Trauma'), may draw a blank from those new to the Biffy fold, it's these old-school additions that receive the most rapturous response from the longtime fans who've stuck with them ever.
Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies. Edit the album Report an error. Single, 2008, Warner Music Group. Biffy Clyro returned in 2016 with the full-length album Ellipsis.Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Rich Costey (Franz Ferdinand, Muse), the LP featured the singles 'Wolves of Winter' and 'Animal Style.' They went on to promote the album with an open-air set in Glasgow, and headlined the Reading & Leeds festival in 2016 and the Download Festival in 2017.
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Future Events
Past Events
Blackened Sky | |||
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Studio album by | |||
Released | 10 March 2002 | ||
Recorded | 2001–2002 at The Church Studios (London), Moles Studio (Bath), Mark Angelo Studios (London), and Great Linford Manor(Great Linford) | ||
Genre | Alternative rock, post-hardcore, post-grunge, emo | ||
Length | 49:00 | ||
Label | Beggars Banquet | ||
Producer |
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Biffy Clyro chronology | |||
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Singles from Blackened Sky | |||
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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.[1]
Reception[edit]
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.[2] 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'.[2] Jason MacNeil of PopMatters was similarly indecisive, concluding that Blackened Sky was 'Generally a credible first step despite some lapses in judgement'.[3]
Biffy Clyro Space
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.[4]
Past Events
Blackened Sky | |||
---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | |||
Released | 10 March 2002 | ||
Recorded | 2001–2002 at The Church Studios (London), Moles Studio (Bath), Mark Angelo Studios (London), and Great Linford Manor(Great Linford) | ||
Genre | Alternative rock, post-hardcore, post-grunge, emo | ||
Length | 49:00 | ||
Label | Beggars Banquet | ||
Producer |
| ||
Biffy Clyro chronology | |||
| |||
Singles from Blackened Sky | |||
|
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.[1]
Reception[edit]
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.[2] 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'.[2] Jason MacNeil of PopMatters was similarly indecisive, concluding that Blackened Sky was 'Generally a credible first step despite some lapses in judgement'.[3]
Biffy Clyro Space
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.[4]
Track listing[edit]
All lyrics are written by Simon Neil; all music is composed by Simon Neil.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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[edit]
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Release history[edit]
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 10 March 2002 | Beggars Banquet Records | CD album | BBQCD226 | [5] |
LP record | BBQLP226 | [6] | |||
France | 8 April 2002 | Labels | CD album | 7243 8 1207420 | [7] |
Scandinavia | 8 April 2002 | Playground Music Scandinavia | CD album | BBQCD226 | [8] |
United Kingdom | 2 April 2012 | Beggars Banquet Records | Double LP | BBQLP2089 | [9] |
References[edit]
Blackened Sky Biffy Clyro Rar Download Torrent
- ^'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.
- ^ abMurphy, John (11 March 2002). 'Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky'. Album Reviews. musicOMH. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^MacNeil, Jason (12 January 2003). 'Biffy Clyro: Blackened Sky'. PopMatters. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^Carlson, Dean. 'Blackened Sky - Biffy Clyro'. Allmusic. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^'Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (CD, Album)'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^'Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (Vinyl, LP)'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^'Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (CD, Album)'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^'Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (CD, Album)'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ^'Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky (Vinyl, Album, LP)'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 September 2013.