Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Austin Chronicle
Drowned in Sound	9/10
Entertainment Weekly	A−
The Guardian
Mojo
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10
Q
Stylus Magazine	A+
Uncut

The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is the third album recorded by post-rock band Explosions in the Sky, released on November 4, 2003 on the Temporary Residence label in the USA and on the Bella Union label. It is widely considered to be a concept album.

The album continues the patterns of the previous albums, with brooding, ominous melodies building into crashing climaxes. It has received positive reviews from critics, with a rating of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

From an interview on "Slice of the Shiny" Munaf said The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place was the band's "attempt at love songs".

"Your Hand in Mine" was adapted for inclusion in the Friday Night Lights soundtrack, along with other original material written for the movie. The song was shortened from its album length of over eight minutes to just over four, and was embellished with string accompaniment. Parts of the song, especially the dramatic crescendo at 6:18, are used in Reliant Energy's series of radio and television advertisements extolling "The Promise of Power". The song was used on The Weather Channel's Local on the 8s for July and August 2011.

"The Only Moment We Were Alone" was featured in the trailer for the 2008 film Australia. The song was also featured in the 2009 documentary film Love the Beast. It is also featured briefly in Michael Moore's film, Capitalism: A Love Story.

"First Breath After Coma" was used in a 2009 promo for sports television channels Versus, the Big Ten Network, an Under Armour commercial, commercials for Bing, and in the outro of Toy Machine's "Good and Evil" skateboard video. It was also used by director Shawn Levy, in the movie Real Steel to make Dakota Goyo cry.

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