Hats Off to the Bull
| Hats Off to the Bull | ||||
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| Studio album by Chevelle | ||||
| Released | December 6, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 at Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:49 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Joe Barresi | |||
| Chevelle chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hats Off to the Bull | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Alternative Addiction | |
| The A.V. Club | C- |
| Loudwire | |
| PopMatters |   |
| Sputnikmusic | (3.0/5) |
Hats Off to the Bull is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Chevelle released on December 6, 2011. The first single, "Face to the Floor", was released on October 10, 2011. On February 16, 2012, Chevelle made it official that "Hats Off to the Bull" would be the second single off this album.
On November 29, 2011 Hats Off to the Bull was premiered on Revolver Magazine. On November 30, 2011 "Same Old Trip" was premiered on Noisecreep.
Hats Off to the Bull has sold 239,000 copies in the US.
Pete Loeffler, when talking about the album in an interview with Artistdirect, cited his difficulty when writing saying he read a lot of books and went on to cite Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins as an example of getting away from music when hitting a wall, quoted saying "I'm constantly rewriting them and trying not to rhyme too much." He also stated that the song "Clones" touches on the criticism that the band sounds too much like the band Tool, but going on to say it's about "getting shit from peers and people saying that you're ripping somebody else off" and that the song goes back to his youth as well as one other track.
The band also stated that "Clones" felt like it belonged on Point #1, questioning if it was a negative or positive direction.
In the interview with Artistdirect.com, Pete also said that he and Bernardini were on a "Stanley Kubrick kick", noting The Shining as one of the movies they'd record and watch at the end of the night on the tour bus, but marked that he found a humor to it and that he had also watched all the Star Trek movies back-to-back.
The album's title comes from Pete's disgust at bullfighting. He explains "It’s such a heartless sport and it’s so torturous for these animals ... We got the idea of rooting for the bull instead. We root for the underdog."
Hats Off to the Bull received generally positive reviews from critics. AllMusic reviewer Gregory Heaney said, "Heavy and dramatic, the album is packed full of tightly coiled, muscular riffs, giving the album a controlled feeling more like a slow burn than an explosive, cathartic release." Ryan Jones at Alternative Addiction states "The guitar lines and effects here are nothing short of fantastic.", citing the songs "Face to the Floor" and "Same Old Trip". He does, however, state it's not as good as Chevelle's past albums, citing "...while this album starts and finishes strong, the middle is a mundane experience."
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