| The Taking | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 19, 2011 (2011-04-19) | |||
| Recorded | August–September 2010 | |||
| Studio | Studio X, Seattle, Washington | |||
| Genre | Hard rock,punk rock | |||
| Label | Eagle Rock Entertainment, Armoury | |||
| Producer | Terry Date | |||
| Loaded chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Taking is the third studio album by Americanrock bandLoaded. It was produced byTerry Date inSeattle,Washington, and was released on April 19, 2011, throughEagle Rock Entertainment. Writing for the album began in 2009, while the band was touring in support ofSick. It was the first Loaded release, sinceEpisode 1999: Live, without drummerGeoff Reading, who, after departing the band, was replaced byIsaac Carpenter in September 2009.
A feature-length film about the album, as well as Loaded, byfilmmaker anddocumentarian Jamie Burton Chamberlin has been filmed, with the album serving as the film's soundtrack.
In July 2009, singer and guitaristDuff McKagan announced, during Loaded's tour, that the band was writing new material for their next album.[1] He said that they have some "great ideas and riffs" that the band wrote during their tour.[1] Loaded parted ways with record labelCentury Media in February 2010[2] with the band continuing the work on new material.[3] Prior to the beginning of recording, producerTerry Date approached the band and offered to produce the new album,[4] with recording beginning, atStudio X,[5] in August 2010,[6][7] and completed by the beginning of September.[4][8] On October 28, it was announced that the band had signed a deal withEagle Rock Entertainment for the release of their album.[9] In November,Blabbermouth.net announced the album's title,The Soundtrack, with a release date scheduled for March 22, 2011.[10][11] It was later revealed in interviews with guitaristMike Squires and filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin that the album title was changed toThe Taking,[12][13] and the release date was changed from March 22, to April 19, 2011.[14]
A new song by Loaded from the album entitled "We Win" is being used byESPN andMajor League Baseball for their coverage of theAmerican League Championship Series,National League Championship Series, and theWorld Series[15] while a second song entitled "Fight On" was confirmed for the album.[16] Loaded performed the two new songs at theSeattle Seahawks Veterans Day half time show on November 7.[16]
Loaded began collaborating withfilmmaker anddocumentarian Jamie Burton Chamberlin on a film based on the album in October 2010.[16] Chamberlin stated that the film would be more "about designing a fictitious story line which will be a part of the larger project, and will be a contemporary version of, say,Hard Days Night meets (Led Zeppelin's)Song Remains the Same, with aspects of documentary, music video, and live performance, all interconnected by an underlying motivation"[16] and that the "album will serve as the soundtrack."[16] The film was planned to feature a number of cameos from various musicians, includingJohn Roderick ofThe Long Winters,[17]Chris Ballew ofThe Presidents of the United States of America,[17]Soundgarden membersBen Shepherd andKim Thayil[17] as well asLemmy ofMotörhead.[18] Shooting locations for the film included Seattle, with the band planning to perform unannounced acoustic shows for filming,[18] and Los Angeles.[17] Chamberlin hoped to premier the film at the 2011SXSW[12] while a trailer for the film was released in January 2011.[19] The film was eventually released in episodic format by Eagle Rock Entertainment onYouTube in 2012.[20]
The album was released in a number of versions with different bonus tracks, including Japanese version with three acoustic tracks[21] and digital version with instrumental versions of the album's songs and non-album single "Fight On".[22]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (65/100)[23] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [24] |
| Canoe.ca |  [25] |
| Fast Forward Weekly | (mixed)[26] |
| Kerrang! | [23] |
| PopMatters | [27] |
| Record Collector | [28] |
| Revolver | [29] |
| Sputnikmusic | [30] |
| Ultimate Guitar Archive | (8/10)[31] |
| Winnipeg Free Press | (positive)[32] |
The Taking received generally positive reviews, scoring a 65 out of 100 ("generally favorable reviews") onMetacritic based on five reviews.[23]Allmusic reviewerStephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars stating that McKagan "turns in his hardest record in recent memory" and that the album "does make a brute impression [...] playing with a vitality that almost compensates for how they fetishize the past."[24]Kerrang! magazine stated that with the album, "Loaded sound like a proper band now."[23]Revolver magazine's Kory Grow complimented its "big hooks and driving riffs" while notingpunk influences on the album.[29] Joseph Viney, reviewing for Sputnikmusic, gave the album a three-and-a-half out of five stars, noting a darker tone throughout the album, with songs such as “Lords Of Abbadon,” “Executioner’s Song” and “She’s An Anchor” earning comparisons toDown andAlice in Chains.[30]Ultimate Guitar Archive commented that the album's music has "a bit ofGN’R influence injected into it all, but [that] there’s just as much a heavy helping of punk and even 70’s glam" while they also complimented the lyrics stating they have "some fantastic moments."[31] David Jón Fuller of theWinnipeg Free Press stated "it's clear McKagan hasn't lost any of his musical swagger" and while "his vocals are little more than shouting [...] the sound is powerful and bottom-heavy."[32]
All tracks are written by Loaded
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lords of Abbadon" | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Executioner's Song" | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Dead Skin" | 3:20 |
| 4. | "We Win" | 4:04 |
| 5. | "Easier Lying" | 4:05 |
| 6. | "She's an Anchor" | 3:22 |
| 7. | "Indian Summer" | 4:22 |
| 8. | "Wrecking Ball" | 3:27 |
| 9. | "King of the World" | 3:24 |
| 10. | "Cocaine" | 4:14 |
| 11. | "Your Name" | 3:18 |
| 12. | "Follow Me to Hell" | 3:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Cocaine" (acoustic) | 4:08 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Cocaine" (acoustic) | |
| 14. | "Runaway" (acoustic) | |
| 15. | "King of the World" (acoustic) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Cocaine" (acoustic) | |
| 14. | "Lords of Abbadon" (instrumental) | |
| 15. | "We Win" (instrumental) | |
| 16. | "Easier Lying" (instrumental) | |
| 17. | "She's an Anchor" (instrumental) | |
| 18. | "Indian Summer" (instrumental) | |
| 19. | "Wrecking Ball" (instrumental) | |
| 20. | "King of the World" (instrumental) | |
| 21. | "Your Name" (instrumental) | |
| 22. | "Fight On" | |
| 23. | "Fight On" (instrumental) |
| Chart (2011) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S.Billboard Top Heatseekers | 12[33] |
