{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Dear Desolation | type = studio | artist = Thy Art Is Murder | cover = Dear Desolation - Thy Art Is Murder.jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|2017|8|18|df=y}} | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = * Deathcore * death metal * blackened death metal<ref>{{cite web |last1=Senior |first1=Nicholas |title=Album Review: Thy Art Is Murder – Dear Desolation |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/review-thy-art-murder-dear-desolation/ |access-date=8 August 2018|date=15 August 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Redmond |first1=Josh |title=REVIEWSREVIEW: Thy Art Is Murder – "Dear Desolation" |url=http://www.itdjents.com/reviews-2/review-thy-art-murder-dear-desolation/ |access-date=8 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808172333/http://www.itdjents.com/reviews-2/review-thy-art-murder-dear-desolation/ |archive-date=8 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | length = 38:17 | label = Nuclear Blast | producer = Will Putney | prev_title = Holy War | prev_year = 2015 | next_title = Human Target | next_year = 2019 }}
'''''Dear Desolation''''' is the fourth studio album by Australian deathcore band Thy Art Is Murder. The album was released on 18 August 2017 by Nuclear Blast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/thy-art-is-murder-to-release-dear-desolation-album/|title=THY ART IS MURDER To Release 'Dear Desolation' Album|date=19 May 2017|website=Blabbermouth.net|accessdate=18 August 2017}}</ref> The record is the band's last album with founding drummer Lee Stanton, as well as the first to feature Kevin Butler on bass.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thy Art Is Murder - Dear Desolation - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives|url=https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Thy_Art_Is_Murder/Dear_Desolation/747299|access-date=August 15, 2022}}</ref>
==Background== Following the release of their third full-length album ''Holy War'' in 2015, vocalist CJ McMahon briefly left the band. In January 2017, the band announced McMahon's return and released the stand-alone single "No Absolution" (a B-side from the ''Holy War'' recording sessions) as part of the announcement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://themusic.com.au/news/all/2017/01/21/vocalist-cj-mcmahon-returns-to-thy-art-is-murder,-band-drop-new-track/|title=Vocalist CJ McMahon Returns To Thy Art Is Murder, Band Drop New Track|website=theMusic|accessdate=19 August 2017}}</ref>
According to Eliran Kantor, the artist behind the album's cover, the image of the wolf feeding a baby lamb serves to convey the album's primary themes of greed, oppression, cynicism, preying on and misleading the weak, and the connection of fear & hope; the wolf feeding the baby lamb outwardly portrays kindness, while in reality, the wolf is helping the lamb to grow in order to prepare a bigger meal for herself.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kantor |first1=Eliran |title='Dear Desolation', 2017, commissioned by Thy Art Is Murder I noticed the metaphor of the wolf and the lamb appeared a few times in the lyrics, and I thought it grabbed the essence of the topics covered: greed, oppression, cynicism, preying on and misleading the weak, the connection of fear & hope. So I pictured a female wolf feeding a baby lamb while licking her lips. Revealing that she is not nurishing him, but preparing a bigger meal for herself. Released by Nuclear Blast |url=https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2881240238597514&id=122810627773836&set=a.122811937773705 |website=Facebook |access-date=2 October 2024}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{album ratings | rev1 = ''Exclaim!'' | rev1Score = 9/10<ref name="Exclaim! review">{{cite web | url = http://exclaim.ca/music/article/thy_art_is_murder-dear_desolation | title = Thy Art Is Murder Dear Desolation | last = Smith-Engelhardt | first = Joe | date = August 16, 2016 | accessdate = 19 August 2017 | publisher = Exclaim!}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Metal Hammer'' | rev2Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Metal Hammer review">{{cite web | url = http://teamrock.com/review/2017-08-15/thy-art-is-murder-dear-desolation-album-review | title = Thy Art Is Murder - Dear Desolation album review | last = Rees | first = Adam | date = 15 August 2017 | accessdate = 19 August 2017 | publisher = Metal Hammer}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Metal Injection'' | rev3Score = 7/10<ref name="Metal Injection review">{{cite web | url = http://www.metalinjection.net/reviews/thy-art-is-murder-dear-desolation | title = Album Review: THY ART IS MURDER Dear Desolation | last = Pementel | first = Michael | date = 16 August 2017 | accessdate = 19 August 2017 | publisher = Metal Injection}}</ref> }}
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. ''Exclaim!'' called it "the band's strongest album to date",<ref name="Exclaim! review"/> noting the band's stylistic shift from deathcore towards conventional death metal inspired by bands like Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse.<ref name="Exclaim! review"/> It has been described as continuing their prior deathcore sound by ''Metal Hammer''.<ref name="Metal Hammer review"/> ''Metal Hammer'' praised McMahon's vocal performance, and wrote that though the album is "short on the penetrative hooks that ''Holy War'' possessed in abundance, ''Into Chaos We Climb'' and ''The Final Curtain's'' seismic jolts and haunting leads leave an indelible mark for deathcore disciples to latch onto."<ref name="Metal Hammer review"/>
==Track listing== {{Track listing |title1 = Slaves Beyond Death |length1 = 3:44 |title2 = The Son of Misery |length2 = 4:18 |title3 = Puppet Master |length3 = 3:15 |title4 = Dear Desolation |length4 = 3:21 |title5 = Death Dealer |length5 = 4:08 |title6 = Man Is the Enemy |length6 = 3:28 |title7 = The Skin of the Serpent |length7 = 3:58 |title8 = Fire in the Sky |length8 = 4:10 |title9 = Into Chaos We Climb |length9 = 4:05 |title10 = The Final Curtain |length10 = 3:50 |total_length = 38:17 }}
==Personnel==
===Thy Art Is Murder=== * Chris "CJ" McMahon – vocals * Andy Marsh – lead guitar * Sean Delander – rhythm guitar * Kevin Butler – bass guitar * Lee Stanton – drums
===Production=== * Eliran Kantor – artwork * Will Putney – mixing, mastering, production, engineering * Randy LeBeouf – additional engineering * Steve Seid – additional engineering * Randy Slaugh – additional programming
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (2017) ! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position |- {{album chart|Australia|5|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|album=Dear Desolation|rowheader=true|accessdate=26 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|Austria|28|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|album=Dear Desolation|rowheader=true|accessdate=31 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|Flanders|97|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|album=Dear Desolation|rowheader=true|accessdate=26 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|Wallonia|106|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|album=Dear Desolation|rowheader=true|accessdate=26 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|Germany|29|id=334445|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|album=Dear Desolation|rowheader=true|accessdate=25 August 2017}} |- ! scope="row"| New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/albums/2017-09-22|title=NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=28 August 2017|access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> | 7 |- {{album chart|Scotland|90|date=20170825|rowheader=true|accessdate=26 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|Switzerland|42|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|album=Dear Desolation|rowheader=true|accessdate=30 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|Billboard200|95|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|rowheader=true|accessdate=29 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|BillboardHardRock|3|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|rowheader=true|accessdate=29 August 2017}} |- {{album chart|BillboardRock|15|artist=Thy Art Is Murder|rowheader=true|accessdate=29 August 2017}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Thy Art Is Murder}}
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Category:2017 albums Category:Thy Art Is Murder albums Category:Nuclear Blast albums Category:Albums produced by Will Putney