HAIL TO THE THIEF

I've been exposed to Radiohead a long long time, when I was 11 years old Mtv was playing Karma Police and Paranoid Android all the time. I like the songs in some way but always thought they were too depressive to listen to. When I was about 14 years old I walked around my dads room and saw Ok Computer laying on a shelf. I borrowed it and never gave it back, not that I liked it initially, again it was too depressed, but I simply forgot about the entire thing. Some 2 years later a friend of mine claimed that Ok Computer was voted the best rock album of all time and my interest in the record grew. I never even knew that Radiohead were such a big band let alone have released the best record of all time let alone that That particular album was laying at home almost untouched except for when I wanted to listen to that wonderful song Paranoid Android again. So I putted it on and began listening to it very intensely and so began my love for Radiohead which has only increased since then.

Some time later when I already was a big fan of both "the Bends" and "Ok Computer" that same friend told me that Radiohead's new record (which at the time had come out a year before that time I'm speaking of) was amazing and might be his favourite album. So I, the Radiohead fan that I was, got back from school, putted on my computer and started downloading, and so began my adventure with the album I'm now writing this review for. The newbie Radiohead lover is was didn't know this side of the band and was completely surprised. What the hell was this? was this even the same band? I must be because I hear Thom Yorke singing on here but how come, uh? Well I didn't really like it as you might suggest but as my musical taste grew further I had then figured out that you should always give albums more than 1 listen. So I did, and the album started growing, slowly. I don't remember well but I think it costs me about 8 months to actually really like this album.

In September 2005 when I had just turned 18 I went to an Opeth concert, which I still consider the best concert I have ever been to but nevermind that. Just before I went there I went into our Capital's biggest record store and saw this laying there for just 6,66 Euros! Of course I bought it and yet another big step in my relation with the album had been overcome. I liked the album but I never loved it so far. My musical direction had gone in every direction possible and both Kid A and Amnesiac were safe in my top 100 albums. I loved and still love experimental music and love it more than any other kind of music but Hail to the Thief remained a weird album for me. But some day in 2006 I got it, I simply got it and loved this album. Het kwartje viel, like we say in Dutch. And now on this day of writing I am still discovering the beauty of this album which somehow has so many stuff hidden inside of it that every when I will listen to it I will discover a new sound, a new noise which fits the pieces better together again.

Written for Rateyourmusic