Cosmic Egg
Encyclopedia
Cosmic Egg is the second studio album
by Australian rock
band Wolfmother
, released on 23 October 2009. It is the first album by the second lineup of the band, featuring vocalist, songwriter and lead guitarist Andrew Stockdale
, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, rhythm guitarist Aidan Nemeth and drummer Dave Atkins
, formed in 2009 after original members Chris Ross
and Myles Heskett
left in August 2008. Upon its release, Cosmic Egg peaked at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
, the same position as the band's first album. The album was the only studio release by the band to feature Atkins, who left the band in April 2010 during the Cosmic Egg promotional tour cycle.
The album was recorded between April and May 2009 at Sound City Studios and Sunset Sound Studios
in Los Angeles, California. The title of the album comes from a position in yoga
described by frontman Stockdale as "like the fetal pose
". The album's release was promoted throughout 2009 and 2010 by the New Moon Rising World Tour, beginning in September 2009 in Australia. The first song released from the album was the promotional digital download
single "Back Round
" on 2 June 2009; "New Moon Rising
" was the first full single release from Cosmic Egg, on 25 August 2009.
began shortly after its international release in 2006. In August, music magazine NME
revealed that the band were discussing ideas for their second album, quoting Stockdale as saying "I feel like we've got a lot more to say". In January 2007, MTV
reported that "Wolfmother celebrated the news of their Grammy
nomination last month by writing a new song, which they've since recorded." The song, then known as "Love Attacker" and "about people who use love as a weapon to manipulate and get their way through desire", later evolved into "Pleased to Meet You" and was featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack released on 1 May 2007. In revealing the news, MTV also suggested fall
2007 as the beginning of the recording process, quoting Andrew Stockdale as saying:
In February NME reported that Wolfmother "[felt] good about the second record", explaining that the band wanted to make their follow-up to Wolfmother sound "more relentless and in your face." After more touring and a brief period of inactivity with few updates regarding new material, American magazine Rolling Stone
reported in November 2007 that "Wolfmother [were] hard at work on a new album". Speaking on the upcoming album, Stockdale explained that "It's kind of cinematic, and it's kind of epic", going on to suggest that "there's also this fully aggressive side that's undeniably explosive". Among ten songs "ready to go", Stockdale first revealed the name "Back Home", which would eventually evolve into "Back Round
".
The first new original material, since the release of "Pleased to Meet You" in 2007, appeared during the band's first performance in nine months at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art
(QGMA) on 12 April 2008 in the form of four new songs: "Back Round", "The Violence of the Sun", "Monolith" and "Inside the Mountain". With increasing discussion of Wolfmother's second album, rumours began to emerge in August 2008 that the band was due to split up; various sources suggested that the trio were experiencing tensions after their performance at Splendour in the Grass
on 3 August and that a statement to be released by their management was imminent. The following statement was released to radio station Triple J
upon the band's lack of appearance at a scheduled interview:
The statement made by manager John Watson at the time was as follows:
Within days of the rumours surfacing, reports were updated to make the breakup official; bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett departed Wolfmother immediately due to "longstanding frictions". Universal Music Australia
released a statement explaining that Ross departed the band first due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences" and was followed almost immediately by Heskett who was not willing to continue as part of a new line-up. Stockdale, however, promised fans that he would continue the Wolfmother moniker by finding new members to replace the departed co-founders. It was subsequently reported by the band's record label, Modular Recordings
, that "Wolfmother Phase II" planned to record their first album with producer Dave Sardy
ready for an "early 2009" release.
After a number of rumours regarding new members, Wolfmother re-appeared in February 2009, performing under the alias "White Feather"; two low-key gigs were played on 6 February at The Valley Studios, Brisbane and 8 February at Oxford Art Factory, Sydney with new musicians accompanying Stockdale. Following the performances the new members of Wolfmother, who had officially joined the band on 5 January 2009, were confirmed as guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres and drummer Dave "Acosta" Atkins, and a new song called "Pilgrim" was mentioned. Other songs debuted at the two low-key comeback performances included "White Feather
", "Phoenix", "Far Away
" and "10,000 Ft.", complemented by the previously performed "Back Round" and "The Violence of the Sun". In an interview with Triple J in February, Stockdale mentioned a number of songs being considered for the new album, namely "Pilgrim", "Phoenix", "Back Round", "The Violence of the Sun" and the previously unmentioned "Sun Dial". He also revealed that there were 17 new songs written for the album, recording for which was due to begin in March, which he described as "heavy" and "riff driven".
and Clipsal 500
respectively, the first official material released by "Wolfmother Phase II" was a studio version of "Back Round", made available as a free digital download
on the band's official website on 30 March. Stockdale began using his Twitter
profile in April, with his first update on 9 April confirming recording progression by revealing that the band were "Onto the 9th song tracking drums", hinting that it "looks like this will be a double album spectacular." On 11 April, Stockdale revealed that they had "Tracked the 14th song," and by 15 April the band had tracked the drums on all 18 songs. The title of the album was revealed as Cosmic Egg by NME in April, who also revealed that the album would contain 18 songs including "White Feather", "The Violence of the Sun" and a title track. On 1 May, Wolfmother performed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
, debuting new songs "Cosmic Egg" and "California Queen". Beginning in late-April,confirmation began spreading that ex-Guns N' Roses
and current Velvet Revolver
guitarist Slash
was to join the band in recording their new album, although it later turned out that the collaboration had resulted in "By the Sword
", a song which would later appear on Slash's self-titled debut solo album.
On 9 May, Stockdale reported on his Twitter page that the band had "3 more songs to go, of 17 songs", adding that "this is an endurance test, though the horizon seems closer". Later, he notified readers that he was "About to shred the solo on White Feather", describing it as "possibly the greatest song written since Womac
[k] and Womac
[k]'s "Foot Steps" Yes!" On 15 May, Stockdale reported that the title track "Cosmic Egg" had been completed, describing it as "a rollicking viking song". On 16 May, Stockdale hinted at the prominence of a string section
on the song "10,000 Feet" by revealing that "Dave [Atkins] has done some amazing string arrangement
s for 10,000 feet, he's a talented guy!" Shortly after this update, a link was posted on the Twitter page to a montage video of the band recording and mixing some songs on the album, including "Back Round" and "Pilgrim". On 20 May, Stockdale reported that the album was near to completion, stating that there are "Ten songs down, Seven to go", adding "we're in double album territory now. It's a vast album". On 22 May, another Twitter update revealed that "tomorrow [23 May] we may well be finished! Then 4 weeks of mixing!" On 30 May, Stockdale reported that the band were "leaving L.A tonight [...] with Album in hand", confirming that recording for Cosmic Egg had been completed.
Cosmic Egg was mix
ed in Pasadena, California shortly after the recording of the album by Stockdale, producer Alan Moulder
and Joe Barresi
. On 18 June, Stockdale reported that he had "Just heard a mixed and mastered version of Cosmic Egg the song", describing it as "of[f] the Richter Scale
". In the tweet, he also revealed that the album would be released on 13 October 2009. On 3 August, Stockdale revealed that he had "Just recorded some B Sides at Electric Ladyland
, Jimi Hendrix
's studio in N.Y.", adding that the recordings "Sound[ed] amazing" and had a "great vibe".
described the album as "vintage Wolfmother", mentioning features and qualities such as the "distorted, frenetic, bass-heavy sounds of 'White Feather'" and "the epic 'In the Morning'". MTV also hinted at the style of the album early, explaining that "Tunes like 'California Queen' and 'Sundial' chug along on meaty chords, dive into sludgy breakdowns and sizzle with Stockdale's flame-kissed solos". Writer James Montgomery went on to add that "'Far Away' and 'Pilgrim' are moody, fog-machine ruminations on astral planes and mythic realms, floating on pealing organ lines and stony synths".
In August 2009, Spin
published a track-by-track review of Cosmic Egg, revealing the following song descriptions:
. Replying to a fan's query on Twitter, Stockdale confirmed that the album would "be [released] on vinyl
with some beautiful artwork". The band announced that they would begin touring in November, as well as supporting fellow Australian hard rock band AC/DC
at a number of dates on the Australia/New Zealand leg of their Black Ice World Tour
, beginning in February 2010. The release date of 13 October was later confirmed to be that of the United States, while Japan (8 October), Germany, New Zealand (both 9 October), Europe (12 October) and the band's native Australia (also 9 October) would receive the album earlier.
In July 2009 it was announced that the band would be completing a national tour of Australia in September, the New Moon Rising Tour, prior to the release of Cosmic Egg, showcasing much of the new material. On 17 July Stockdale announced that the band would tour the United States before the end of 2009, in October or November; later in the day, he confirmed that Wolfmother would also visit the United Kingdom and Europe later in the year. It was later revealed that the band would be supporting American alternative rock
band The Killers on the North American leg of their Day & Age Tour, prior to their Australian New Moon Rising Tour.
On 27 July the album was played in full at the newly-opened Laserium CyberTheater in Hollywood, California. This was first hinted at by Stockdale on 22 July when he revealed that "Los Angeles – Your time has come. 7/27 is your chance to join in on a very exclusive Cosmic event"; a competition was later opened to allow 20 Wolfmother fans from Los Angeles to attend the event and "hear Cosmic Egg, in full and FIRST". The track listing was revealed by a fan and Laserium attendant the next day.
On the subject of music video
s or a possible full movie companion to the album, Stockdale revealed that "We want to do a film clip for every song—just like a total visual thing for the whole record", adding that "I don't know if it'll be a linear thing where it has a script or anything like that but we'll definitely try to create some interesting footage to go with this record". On 10 August a Wolfmother blog on MySpace
revealed that the first single from the album would be "New Moon Rising
", available on 5 October worldwide. The news also came with the official revelation of the track listing, as well as information regarding album formats and release dates.
The artwork for Cosmic Egg was revealed on 12 August 2009. On 26 August a video was uploaded to the band's official YouTube
page entitled "Transmissions From The COSMIC EGG - Episode 1", revealed to be "The first of a series of behind-the-scenes looks at the forthcoming Wolfmother opus" in which "Episode 1 travels the open high-way to Byron Bay where much of the record was born and pre-production
took place". In September Cosmic Egg was delayed further "to allow [the band and management] more time to complete the artwork and manufacture the various release configurations". Throughout October 2009 the full album was available to listen to on the band's official MySpace page. On the Australian release date of the album, record label Modular Recordings
declared 23 October to be "Official Cosmic Egg Day".
-esque riffs and heaving basslines mixed with the distinctive wail of Andrew Stockdale that all add up to something racous and thrilling". In another pre-release interview with Stockdale, music website Artistdirect
summarised the album as "a powerful and poignant rock n' roll record with all the ingredients of a modern classic". Writer Rick Florino went on to describe specific strengths of the album, including "unforgettable riffs on 'Pilgrim' and 'Sun Dial'" and "the infectious hook on 'New Moon Rising'". Florino also identified "Pilgrim" as "lyrically [...] stand[ing] out", described "Sundial" as "like one of those crazy Black Sabbath stories" and outlined the bass performance as "pretty killer". MTV writer James Montgomery explained that "Cosmic Egg shouts very loudly, showcasing the added punch of three new musicians [...] and taking everything that made Wolfmother's self-titled debut such a smash — namely, gut-busting riffs, incendiary solos and bong-glazed mysticism — and cranking it to the absolute maximum". A review blog, CMK Music Review, stated that "While it may seem like it is nothing special, the simplicity of this album, combined with a constant force makes for a great combination". According to the Australian Recording Industry Association
, in 2009 in Australia, Cosmic Egg was the 75th best-selling album and the 21st best-selling album by an Australian artist.
The album was nominated for the Classic Rock
Album of the Year award in 2010, eventually losing to Slash
's debut album, Slash.
Production personnel
Additional personnel
As well as those releases listed, Cosmic Egg was released as an iTunes
digital download album available internationally. It was released in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland Switzerland on 23 October; Denmark on 26 October; Canada and Spain on 27 October; and Sweden on 28 October.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Australian rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
, released on 23 October 2009. It is the first album by the second lineup of the band, featuring vocalist, songwriter and lead guitarist Andrew Stockdale
Andrew Stockdale
Andrew James Stockdale is an Australian hard rock musician, he is the lead singer, lead guitarist and the only mainstay member of the rock band, Wolfmother which formed in 2000. In 2007, alongside his Wolfmother band mates, he won 'Songwriter of the Year' at the APRA Awards...
, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, rhythm guitarist Aidan Nemeth and drummer Dave Atkins
Dave Atkins
Dave "Acosta" Atkins is an Australian drummer, guitarist, bass player, producer, engineer & co-founder and Director Of Hydrofunk Records from Brisbane, Queensland. He is currently performing with hip hop band Resin Dogs...
, formed in 2009 after original members Chris Ross
Chris Ross
Chris Ross is an Australian musician from Erskineville, New South Wales. Best known for his former role as bassist and keyboardist of hard rock band Wolfmother, Ross was formerly a digital designer and has two children...
and Myles Heskett
Myles Heskett
Myles Heskett is the former drummer of Australian rock band Wolfmother.Heskett grew up in Sydney's Northern Beaches, attending Barrenjoey High School. His mother was a primary school principal and his father, who died in 2004, was an artist...
left in August 2008. Upon its release, Cosmic Egg peaked at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, the same position as the band's first album. The album was the only studio release by the band to feature Atkins, who left the band in April 2010 during the Cosmic Egg promotional tour cycle.
The album was recorded between April and May 2009 at Sound City Studios and Sunset Sound Studios
Sunset Sound Recorders
Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard.The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was converted in 1962 by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a collection of old commercial and residential buildings - some built more...
in Los Angeles, California. The title of the album comes from a position in yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
described by frontman Stockdale as "like the fetal pose
Fetal position
Fetal position is a medical term used to describe the positioning of the body of a prenatal fetus as it develops...
". The album's release was promoted throughout 2009 and 2010 by the New Moon Rising World Tour, beginning in September 2009 in Australia. The first song released from the album was the promotional digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
single "Back Round
Back Round
"Back Round" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother. Written by vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, the song was the first material released since original band members Chris Ross and Myles Heskett left the band in August 2008...
" on 2 June 2009; "New Moon Rising
New Moon Rising (song)
"New Moon Rising" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother. It was released on their second studio album Cosmic Egg, released in 2009. The song shares its name with an Australian concert tour by the band, the New Moon Rising Tour, and was released as the lead single from the album on 25...
" was the first full single release from Cosmic Egg, on 25 August 2009.
Background and composition
Mention of a follow-up to the band's 2005 debut studio album WolfmotherWolfmother (album)
Wolfmother is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Wolfmother, originally released on 31 October 2005 in Australia. The album was later released internationally at various dates in 2006, with the addition of "Love Train" and a rearranged track listing...
began shortly after its international release in 2006. In August, music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
revealed that the band were discussing ideas for their second album, quoting Stockdale as saying "I feel like we've got a lot more to say". In January 2007, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
reported that "Wolfmother celebrated the news of their Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination last month by writing a new song, which they've since recorded." The song, then known as "Love Attacker" and "about people who use love as a weapon to manipulate and get their way through desire", later evolved into "Pleased to Meet You" and was featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack released on 1 May 2007. In revealing the news, MTV also suggested fall
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
2007 as the beginning of the recording process, quoting Andrew Stockdale as saying:
In February NME reported that Wolfmother "[felt] good about the second record", explaining that the band wanted to make their follow-up to Wolfmother sound "more relentless and in your face." After more touring and a brief period of inactivity with few updates regarding new material, American magazine Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
reported in November 2007 that "Wolfmother [were] hard at work on a new album". Speaking on the upcoming album, Stockdale explained that "It's kind of cinematic, and it's kind of epic", going on to suggest that "there's also this fully aggressive side that's undeniably explosive". Among ten songs "ready to go", Stockdale first revealed the name "Back Home", which would eventually evolve into "Back Round
Back Round
"Back Round" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother. Written by vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, the song was the first material released since original band members Chris Ross and Myles Heskett left the band in August 2008...
".
The first new original material, since the release of "Pleased to Meet You" in 2007, appeared during the band's first performance in nine months at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art
The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre at the South Bank area of South Brisbane. It holds most of Queensland Art Gallery's contemporary works, while also being the joint host to the current Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art...
(QGMA) on 12 April 2008 in the form of four new songs: "Back Round", "The Violence of the Sun", "Monolith" and "Inside the Mountain". With increasing discussion of Wolfmother's second album, rumours began to emerge in August 2008 that the band was due to split up; various sources suggested that the trio were experiencing tensions after their performance at Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass is an annual Australian music festival held in July at Woodford, Queensland, and previously held at Belongil Fields, outside Byron Bay...
on 3 August and that a statement to be released by their management was imminent. The following statement was released to radio station Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
upon the band's lack of appearance at a scheduled interview:
The statement made by manager John Watson at the time was as follows:
Within days of the rumours surfacing, reports were updated to make the breakup official; bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett departed Wolfmother immediately due to "longstanding frictions". Universal Music Australia
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
released a statement explaining that Ross departed the band first due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences" and was followed almost immediately by Heskett who was not willing to continue as part of a new line-up. Stockdale, however, promised fans that he would continue the Wolfmother moniker by finding new members to replace the departed co-founders. It was subsequently reported by the band's record label, Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings
Modular Records is an Australian record label. It was established by Sydney-based music promoter Steve Pavlovic as a joint-venture with EMI, but is now distributed by Universal Music in Australia...
, that "Wolfmother Phase II" planned to record their first album with producer Dave Sardy
Dave Sardy
David Sardy is a Brooklyn born-and-raised composer, musician, songwriter, and record producer- Biography :...
ready for an "early 2009" release.
After a number of rumours regarding new members, Wolfmother re-appeared in February 2009, performing under the alias "White Feather"; two low-key gigs were played on 6 February at The Valley Studios, Brisbane and 8 February at Oxford Art Factory, Sydney with new musicians accompanying Stockdale. Following the performances the new members of Wolfmother, who had officially joined the band on 5 January 2009, were confirmed as guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres and drummer Dave "Acosta" Atkins, and a new song called "Pilgrim" was mentioned. Other songs debuted at the two low-key comeback performances included "White Feather
White Feather
White Hair is the English name of several Osage Indian leaders in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.-White Hair I:The first White Hair, Paw-Hiu-Skah, Pahuska, or Pawhuska, was born about 1763 and died about 1809. The town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma is named for him. He was the chief of the...
", "Phoenix", "Far Away
Far Away (Wolfmother song)
"Far Away" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother, featured on their 2009 second studio album Cosmic Egg. Written by vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, the song was released as the fourth single from the album on 3 June 2010, backed with a live cover version of the Kate Bush song...
" and "10,000 Ft.", complemented by the previously performed "Back Round" and "The Violence of the Sun". In an interview with Triple J in February, Stockdale mentioned a number of songs being considered for the new album, namely "Pilgrim", "Phoenix", "Back Round", "The Violence of the Sun" and the previously unmentioned "Sun Dial". He also revealed that there were 17 new songs written for the album, recording for which was due to begin in March, which he described as "heavy" and "riff driven".
Recording and production
Stockdale began recording early versions of the new Wolfmother songs in his home-based studio before the new band members were officially unveiled. With subsequent comeback performances made on 14 and 22 March at Sound ReliefSound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009...
and Clipsal 500
Adelaide 500
The Adelaide 500 is an annual motor racing event for V8 Supercars, held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia on a shortened form of the Adelaide Street Circuit, the former Australian Grand Prix track...
respectively, the first official material released by "Wolfmother Phase II" was a studio version of "Back Round", made available as a free digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on the band's official website on 30 March. Stockdale began using his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
profile in April, with his first update on 9 April confirming recording progression by revealing that the band were "Onto the 9th song tracking drums", hinting that it "looks like this will be a double album spectacular." On 11 April, Stockdale revealed that they had "Tracked the 14th song," and by 15 April the band had tracked the drums on all 18 songs. The title of the album was revealed as Cosmic Egg by NME in April, who also revealed that the album would contain 18 songs including "White Feather", "The Violence of the Sun" and a title track. On 1 May, Wolfmother performed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. Its distinctive main building, with fitted marble walls and domed and...
, debuting new songs "Cosmic Egg" and "California Queen". Beginning in late-April,confirmation began spreading that ex-Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
and current Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
was to join the band in recording their new album, although it later turned out that the collaboration had resulted in "By the Sword
By the Sword (song)
"By the Sword" is the first official single from the album Slash by current Velvet Revolver and former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash. It features Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother on vocals and was released as a digital single on March 16, 2010. It was released in the UK on March 28, 2010...
", a song which would later appear on Slash's self-titled debut solo album.
On 9 May, Stockdale reported on his Twitter page that the band had "3 more songs to go, of 17 songs", adding that "this is an endurance test, though the horizon seems closer". Later, he notified readers that he was "About to shred the solo on White Feather", describing it as "possibly the greatest song written since Womac
Cecil Womack
In 1983, under the name of Womack & Womack, Cecil and Linda released a successful album, Love Wars, and continued to make albums until 1993. Their song "Love Wars" was covered by The Beautiful South for the 1990 compilation Rubáiyát. Their most successful single was "Teardrops" in 1988.-Albums:*...
[k] and Womac
Linda Womack
Linda Womack , also known as Zeriiya Zekkariyas, is an American singer and songwriter.Womack is the daughter of Sam Cooke, and with her husband Cecil Womack has had a successful recording career under the name Womack & Womack. Their first album Love Wars proved a critical hit on the Elektra label. ...
[k]'s "Foot Steps" Yes!" On 15 May, Stockdale reported that the title track "Cosmic Egg" had been completed, describing it as "a rollicking viking song". On 16 May, Stockdale hinted at the prominence of a string section
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
on the song "10,000 Feet" by revealing that "Dave [Atkins] has done some amazing string arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s for 10,000 feet, he's a talented guy!" Shortly after this update, a link was posted on the Twitter page to a montage video of the band recording and mixing some songs on the album, including "Back Round" and "Pilgrim". On 20 May, Stockdale reported that the album was near to completion, stating that there are "Ten songs down, Seven to go", adding "we're in double album territory now. It's a vast album". On 22 May, another Twitter update revealed that "tomorrow [23 May] we may well be finished! Then 4 weeks of mixing!" On 30 May, Stockdale reported that the band were "leaving L.A tonight [...] with Album in hand", confirming that recording for Cosmic Egg had been completed.
Cosmic Egg was mix
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
ed in Pasadena, California shortly after the recording of the album by Stockdale, producer Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
and Joe Barresi
Joe Barresi
Joe Barresi is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with bands such as Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive and Bad Religion.-Biography:...
. On 18 June, Stockdale reported that he had "Just heard a mixed and mastered version of Cosmic Egg the song", describing it as "of[f] the Richter Scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
". In the tweet, he also revealed that the album would be released on 13 October 2009. On 3 August, Stockdale revealed that he had "Just recorded some B Sides at Electric Ladyland
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
's studio in N.Y.", adding that the recordings "Sound[ed] amazing" and had a "great vibe".
Style and direction
In revealing details of the album to NME in April 2009, Stockdale compared Cosmic Egg to the band's debut album Wolfmother by explaining that "Everything is magnified. The heaviness is magnified to heavier state. The simple ones are really simplistic, two-minute songs, and the journey songs are like 12 parts". In a pre-release interview with the singer-songwriter, Rolling Stone AustraliaRolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
described the album as "vintage Wolfmother", mentioning features and qualities such as the "distorted, frenetic, bass-heavy sounds of 'White Feather'" and "the epic 'In the Morning'". MTV also hinted at the style of the album early, explaining that "Tunes like 'California Queen' and 'Sundial' chug along on meaty chords, dive into sludgy breakdowns and sizzle with Stockdale's flame-kissed solos". Writer James Montgomery went on to add that "'Far Away' and 'Pilgrim' are moody, fog-machine ruminations on astral planes and mythic realms, floating on pealing organ lines and stony synths".
In August 2009, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
published a track-by-track review of Cosmic Egg, revealing the following song descriptions:
Release and promotion
After being tipped for a release in September, Cosmic Egg was confirmed as being due for release on 13 October 2009, possibly as a double albumDouble album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
. Replying to a fan's query on Twitter, Stockdale confirmed that the album would "be [released] on vinyl
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
with some beautiful artwork". The band announced that they would begin touring in November, as well as supporting fellow Australian hard rock band AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
at a number of dates on the Australia/New Zealand leg of their Black Ice World Tour
Black Ice World Tour
Black Ice World Tour was a 2008/2009/2010 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC in support of the group's 15th studio album, Black Ice, which was released in October 2008. The tour was the band's first since the Stiff Upper Lip World Tour in 2000/2001.The jaunt began in Wilkes-Barre,...
, beginning in February 2010. The release date of 13 October was later confirmed to be that of the United States, while Japan (8 October), Germany, New Zealand (both 9 October), Europe (12 October) and the band's native Australia (also 9 October) would receive the album earlier.
In July 2009 it was announced that the band would be completing a national tour of Australia in September, the New Moon Rising Tour, prior to the release of Cosmic Egg, showcasing much of the new material. On 17 July Stockdale announced that the band would tour the United States before the end of 2009, in October or November; later in the day, he confirmed that Wolfmother would also visit the United Kingdom and Europe later in the year. It was later revealed that the band would be supporting American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Killers on the North American leg of their Day & Age Tour, prior to their Australian New Moon Rising Tour.
On 27 July the album was played in full at the newly-opened Laserium CyberTheater in Hollywood, California. This was first hinted at by Stockdale on 22 July when he revealed that "Los Angeles – Your time has come. 7/27 is your chance to join in on a very exclusive Cosmic event"; a competition was later opened to allow 20 Wolfmother fans from Los Angeles to attend the event and "hear Cosmic Egg, in full and FIRST". The track listing was revealed by a fan and Laserium attendant the next day.
On the subject of music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s or a possible full movie companion to the album, Stockdale revealed that "We want to do a film clip for every song—just like a total visual thing for the whole record", adding that "I don't know if it'll be a linear thing where it has a script or anything like that but we'll definitely try to create some interesting footage to go with this record". On 10 August a Wolfmother blog on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
revealed that the first single from the album would be "New Moon Rising
New Moon Rising (song)
"New Moon Rising" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother. It was released on their second studio album Cosmic Egg, released in 2009. The song shares its name with an Australian concert tour by the band, the New Moon Rising Tour, and was released as the lead single from the album on 25...
", available on 5 October worldwide. The news also came with the official revelation of the track listing, as well as information regarding album formats and release dates.
The artwork for Cosmic Egg was revealed on 12 August 2009. On 26 August a video was uploaded to the band's official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
page entitled "Transmissions From The COSMIC EGG - Episode 1", revealed to be "The first of a series of behind-the-scenes looks at the forthcoming Wolfmother opus" in which "Episode 1 travels the open high-way to Byron Bay where much of the record was born and pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
took place". In September Cosmic Egg was delayed further "to allow [the band and management] more time to complete the artwork and manufacture the various release configurations". Throughout October 2009 the full album was available to listen to on the band's official MySpace page. On the Australian release date of the album, record label Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings
Modular Records is an Australian record label. It was established by Sydney-based music promoter Steve Pavlovic as a joint-venture with EMI, but is now distributed by Universal Music in Australia...
declared 23 October to be "Official Cosmic Egg Day".
Reception
According to the majority of pre-release reviews and interviews, Cosmic Egg was generally well-received among music critics. Tiffany Bakker of Rolling Stone Australia magazine described the songs on the album as "vintage Wolfmother – heavy SabbathBlack Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
-esque riffs and heaving basslines mixed with the distinctive wail of Andrew Stockdale that all add up to something racous and thrilling". In another pre-release interview with Stockdale, music website Artistdirect
ARTISTdirect
Founded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...
summarised the album as "a powerful and poignant rock n' roll record with all the ingredients of a modern classic". Writer Rick Florino went on to describe specific strengths of the album, including "unforgettable riffs on 'Pilgrim' and 'Sun Dial'" and "the infectious hook on 'New Moon Rising'". Florino also identified "Pilgrim" as "lyrically [...] stand[ing] out", described "Sundial" as "like one of those crazy Black Sabbath stories" and outlined the bass performance as "pretty killer". MTV writer James Montgomery explained that "Cosmic Egg shouts very loudly, showcasing the added punch of three new musicians [...] and taking everything that made Wolfmother's self-titled debut such a smash — namely, gut-busting riffs, incendiary solos and bong-glazed mysticism — and cranking it to the absolute maximum". A review blog, CMK Music Review, stated that "While it may seem like it is nothing special, the simplicity of this album, combined with a constant force makes for a great combination". According to the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
, in 2009 in Australia, Cosmic Egg was the 75th best-selling album and the 21st best-selling album by an Australian artist.
The album was nominated for the Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
Album of the Year award in 2010, eventually losing to Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
's debut album, Slash.
Track listing
Personnel
Wolfmother- Andrew StockdaleAndrew StockdaleAndrew James Stockdale is an Australian hard rock musician, he is the lead singer, lead guitarist and the only mainstay member of the rock band, Wolfmother which formed in 2000. In 2007, alongside his Wolfmother band mates, he won 'Songwriter of the Year' at the APRA Awards...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Ian Peres – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s - Aidan Nemeth – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Dave AtkinsDave AtkinsDave "Acosta" Atkins is an Australian drummer, guitarist, bass player, producer, engineer & co-founder and Director Of Hydrofunk Records from Brisbane, Queensland. He is currently performing with hip hop band Resin Dogs...
– drums, stringsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
on "10,000 Feet"
Production personnel
- Alan MoulderAlan MoulderAlan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixing - Joe BarresiJoe BarresiJoe Barresi is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with bands such as Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive and Bad Religion.-Biography:...
– engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixing - Morgan Stratton – engineering assistance
- Adam Fuller – engineering assistance
- Darren Lawson – additional mixing
- Henrik Michelsen – mixing assistance
- Justin Tressider – engineering on "Back Round"
Additional personnel
- Kenny Segal – strings on "10,000 Feet"
- Ben Tolliday – additional bass and engineering assistance on "Back Round"
- Invisible CreatureInvisible CreatureInvisible Creature is a graphic design studio based in Seattle. It is run by brothers Don and Ryan Clark, co-founders of Asterik Studios and members of the metalcore band Demon Hunter. The Clark brothers split with Asterik because they wanted to focus their attention on producing work for the music...
– art directionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games.... - Ryan ClarkRyan Clark (musician)Ryan Clark is an American graphic designer and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Demon Hunter, which he co-founded with his brother, guitarist Don Clark.-Early life and career:...
– graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience... - Diego Ibanez – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
3 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 11 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
14 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 32 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
55 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
24 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
15 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
26 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
35 |
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
16 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 21 October 2009 | Universal Music Japan Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
CD album Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
UICO-1172 | Standard edition | |
| Australia | 23 October 2009 | Modular Recordings Modular Recordings Modular Records is an Australian record label. It was established by Sydney-based music promoter Steve Pavlovic as a joint-venture with EMI, but is now distributed by Universal Music in Australia... |
CD album Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
MODCD111 | Standard edition | |
| CD album | MODCD112 | Deluxe edition | ||||
| Double Double album A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs.... LP album LP album The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
||||||
| United Kingdom | 26 October 2009 | Island Records Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
CD album | Standard edition | ||
| CD album | 2714011 | Deluxe edition | ||||
| Double LP album | ||||||
| N/A | Digital download album | N/A | Standard edition track listing | |||
| United States | 26 October 2009 | Interscope Records Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:... |
CD album | BOO13365 | Standard edition | |
| CD album | BOO13436 | Deluxe edition | ||||
| Double LP album | 001336501 | |||||
| N/A | Digital download album | N/A | Standard edition track listing | |||
| Digital download album | N/A | Deluxe edition track listing |
As well as those releases listed, Cosmic Egg was released as an iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
digital download album available internationally. It was released in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland Switzerland on 23 October; Denmark on 26 October; Canada and Spain on 27 October; and Sweden on 28 October.