Hail To the Thief

Am I the only one that thinks Radiohead is boring?

It listens as the album where Radiohead mixed the elements from their rockier-oriented career start with their later electronic experimental style. Call it a Kid A meets OK Computer. This was certainly not an album I 'got' in just one listen. It has taken a few proper sessions to get through the somewhat dark and inaccessible layers this album has. Not just musically, but lyrically the band seems to be a lot more cynical and angry than I've known them. But I'm enjoying the album more with every listen, mostly because there's so much to discover with every playthrough. There are so many details that are revealed with each new listen, and those details are presented in a truly varied way. There is rarely any repetition; the variety is huge and you're traveling quickly from one place to another, which sometimes makes the album feel a bit disjointed at the start. But after a few listens I think only We Suck Young Blood is a lesser song on a truly great album. Slowly this might be becoming one of my favourite Radiohead albums. I'm putting it at 4,5*, but this album might end up as a 5* album in a few years if I revisit it.

Rating Radiohead is hard. I mean, this is a five star album. But it's less good than four or five five star albums by Radiohead. So I'm giving it four stars because relativity. Even though it's five stars in reality. You with me?

Angry, bitter and mesmerising. A clandestine club which you're not invited to.

I've heard this one before and I know it's a 9.5/10 the last .5 is saved for OK Computer and Kid A lol

Still one of my favorite Radiohead albums, so many poignant tracks, catchy riffs and solid bass lines

Ah. This is fabulous. I'm not a Radiohead-junkie but bit part hit fan. So I knew nothing of Hail to the Thief, experimental electronics led album. But it's great. I know the band didn't love the album, but I love the sound. No hits, no filler (Radiohead disagree) a proper album.

The drunken voice inside my head is telling me it's time to go home. I stumble into a bush and rest. As I lay there Hail to the Thief flicks a switch in my mind and the night is illuminated. The rain pours down and drowns my soul, but a glimmer of light claws open my imagination and a chasm of colour drains out into the world. It's coming at me at 3 million miles an hour and my heart is racing, chasing, embracing the wonders within.

Great album! Compositionally very fresh and complex but still holds a beautiful simplicity.

This album came out at a transitional time in my life, so my memories of it aren't as strong as they are with other Radiohead albums. It was right before I moved to Providence, away from everyone I knew, save for my alcoholic girlfriend who was moving with me. It was a fairly lonely, but eye opening year, and I was soaking in all kinds of new things - not least of which was a grim sense of reality that didn't so much start to sink in, but slap me in the face. This album is great - a natural extension of what they established on their previous two albums. It's Radiohead. It's amazing. But this is where my engagement with them starts to drift away. This was partially due to somewhat painful associations with ex-girlfriends and the fact that I didn't need their existentially sad sound at that time in my life. It would've put me over the edge to wallow in it. That and I think they were starting to repeat themselves a bit here. Not that I don't love the sound but it didn't surprise me in the same way that their previous albums had. I'm not gonna say there were no surprises, but I feel like they had settled into a creative comfort zone of sorts. Understandably so, as they were pretty much universally revered by this point, and could easily rest on those laurels. They were a big fish now, a whale really, and I suppose being that size it was harder to make sharp turns or change directions.

It’s a very solid album. However it did not blow me away like kid a/ ok computer did. There are a few stand out tracks: there, there being my favorite. But the album doesn’t beg to be listened to straight through the way Kid A does for me.

The most challenging and abstruse Radiohead album by far - even more so than the juvenile effort of Pablo Honey and the rhythmic jungle of TKOL. Took me years to get into and appreciate this one as a whole, so I fully understand all the low ratings here. The crowd-pleasing '2+2 = 5' is a fitting opener, as while it seems to herald a return to Bends-ish territory from Kid A/Amnesiac the shifting 3-act structure belies the melodic and rhythmic menagerie that follows. From here, the complete downshift into 'Sit Down' thus begins the surprising, hills and valleys that make up this LP. I think this is far and away the least polished RH album, especially given that Thom's lyrical subtlety is about as smooth as sandpaper throughout ("Fuck Bush. Fuck you, Bush. What were you doing in Iraq, Bush?"). Themes aside, even the instrumentals and vocals sound slightly rawer than the vacuum-sealed electronic efforts that came before. That's not to say they lack interest or staying power - 'Where I End' was one of the first Radiohead tracks I listened to on repeat solely for the bass, '2+2' shreds obviously, 'Young Blood' builds to one of the most satisfying climaxes in the group's discography, and even 'Gloaming' has a bit of frenetic charm to it. In describing these tracks, though, it's clear that the melodic throughline is a bit lax. Rather, the thing that holds this burgeoning mess of tracks together is the airtight production and distinct instrumental palette throughout. It's a recalibration period for the band, a step back to OKC territory but with a bigger synth presence after the practice afforded on Kid A and its twin. At its heart, however, is Amnesiac 1.5 in disguise - listening at all to Thom's lyricism betrays the same sense of curdled hope that has passed through cynicism into bitter despair. So yeah, there's a lot going on here. Not all of it works, it's bumpy tempo transition-wise, and some of it just isn't even palatable the first time around. But despite its flaws, the LP presents such a logical step in the band's discography and overall sound that it shines in context (and honestly presents some experimental pathways I wish the band had followed). I don't fault anybody who hates this on first listen or just doesn't get it - an album that requires understanding an entire band's output to 'get' isn't perfect by a long shot. For me, though, I keep coming back to this runt of the litter LP that wears its 'Scatterbrain' on its sleeve and finding things new to love about this band.

Massive fan of Radiohead. I got this album as a bday present from a friend when it first came out. I haven't listen to it nearly as much as The Bends, OK Computer, King of Limbs, In Rainbows. Going through it again is a bit of a trip. Might require some additional listening, but really really solid album too. Is it their best? Probably not. Stand out tracks: There There, Go To Sleep, Myxomatosis.

Even tho it's not The Bends or OK Computer, this album is really good, and I find it to be extremely overlooked compared to other Radiohead LPs, which is a shame

Direct quote from my wife; “Oh my god that’s terrible. Turn it off.”

Hi. I might be the weirdo that thinks this is, song for song, my favorite Radiohead album. (I loved "In Rainbows," too, so consider yourselves warned.) I'd have to listen to "The Bends" again, but yeah. For me, I have always felt like they got the balance of the alt-indie rock stuff they'd done in the past with the electronic and looser song structure shit they were into on the two previous albums just right on "Hail to the Thief." It's a moody record. But they didn't forget that distortion pedals and guitars exist. But they added more vocal harmonies and let the bass guitar lead a little more here and there. I don't know. It's a weird mix and I know even Radiohead fans are soft on this one, but I saw them live on the "In Rainbows" tour and "Myxomatosis" just destroyed. All three of the final tunes here are as good as anything they've done, imo.

Every song is a banger or is super memorable. I listened to this album years ago and still recall so much of it. Between hypnotic electronic ragas to and cryptic political rock bops, this album has a little something for every mood.

Tous les albums de Radiohead pourraient se retrouver sur cette liste vu qu'ils ont toujours cherché à se renouveler et ont presque toujours surpris à chacune des sorties d'album à partir d'Ok Computer. Cet album est un grand favori pour plusieurs pour le retour plus marqué des guitares et instruments plus acoustiques. C'est effectivement le point déterminant de cet album, mais les expérimentations de Kid A et Amnesiac sont bien maitrisées et servent bien les chansons ici. On est en territoire plus accessible en terme de mélodies, mais avec un petit edge intéressant dans l'emballage. Je crois pouvoir affirmer sans me tromper que c'est l'album qui se situe au centre de ce que Radiohead peut livrer comme chansons rock indies et expérimentations électroniques.

I've been a fan of Radiohead since I was a teenager, and I know this album in and out. I love it! But I am sceptical to including it in the book. I can see the reasoning; Hail to the Thief showcases a certain mix of different aspects of the band's music. But there are five albums that I think are more influential and better album experiences than Hail to the Thief. In my opinion you don't need to hear more than half of Radiohead's discography to get what they're about and why they have legend status. But as I said, this is an amazing album.

I haven’t listened to this all the way through in a while. I’d forgotten how consistently Radiohead was putting out complete albums, one after another. This isn’t quite on the level of The Bends, OK Computer or Kid A, but there is not a bad song in this album and they all fit well together. We’ll see which other Radiohead albums are on here…they may all be getting 5’s from me.

Listening to this just reaffirms for me how Radiohead feel so far and ahead of most music in the list, but I'm extremely biased. Production wise its top notch. Reading the Wikipedia again, it's interesting to hear it was a very focused 2-week effort to record in California, like a "summer camp" retreat. It's manic, it's frantic, and it encapsulated the times... and still does. I love that a lot of the album was just recorded, then they moved on and didn't dwell on it as much. Of course, this only works if you're really fucking good. Some of Radiohead's best live banger in here: 2+2=5, The Gloaming, There There, Myxomatosis all go hard live but they are all top notch on the album as well. I know the band is not fully happy with the end mixes and there is disagreement between them, but I think it's great as-is. There is a leaked early version that is interesting for the hardcore, but the differences are end up as minutiae. For further listening, Glastonbury 2003 is divine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sAoHCiTqUc

This album was a sleeper for me, but I like it more and more every time I listen. It's a perfect blend of what they were doing on OK Computer and the left turn they made with Kid A. There's not a bad song on this album.

Love radiohead. Way better than I remember

Not their best album but still full of bangers.

I’m biased because I LOVE Radiohead, but this album captures a lot of what I love about them, especially the contrast between somber moments and crazy, driving, soundscapy moments.

Not as good as Kid-A But this is an easy 5 star record. This is a classic that resonated at the time as much as it does now. 2+2=5 is a favorite. And the opening to this album blasts off into exactly where I want to be with Radiohead.

It feels weird to say it but this is for sure radioheads most underrated album, an absolute masterpiece in my opinion

Despite being a very local band, I'd not really listened to much Radiohead until quite recently, and I had been sort of unsure about what I thought of them. There were definitely some songs I enjoyed and others I was initially unsure about. This is the first Radiohead album I've listened to in its entirety and I have to say that I loved it. The riffs are great, and I loved how somber and calm beginnings often swelled into driven electronic climaxes. It was a pleasant surprise to see how electronic-focused this album was. Judging by what others have been saying, I don't know if this'll be my favourite Radiohead album by the end of the list, but I must say that I really enjoyed this. Favourite: Go To Sleep

Not my favourite Radiohead, but it’s still Radiohead

I have always maintained that even the worst Radiohead album is still a 4/5. And this is not the worst Radiohead album (that would be Pablo Honey). Radiohead is a band that hits me in all the right ways. I love their instrumentation. I love their dark, melancholy, eerie sound. I love Thom Yorke's voice. If I had to choose one band to name as the "perfect" band, I would probably say Radiohead. Hail To the Thief is not my favorite of theirs, but it is still a perfect album. Zero skips, and nearly every song gives me chills at some point or another. Beautiful song after beautiful song. I'm glad this album popped up because it has been a few years since my last listen, and rediscovering it was fantastic. Standout Tracks: "Backdrift," "There, There," "A Wolf At the Door," "A Punch Up at a Wedding"

Lots of good tracks but sometimes a little bit of a slog to get through.

Very hard to rate.... I like the musicalities and production was top notch in my opinion. I was expecting something very different from radiohead and I am both disappointed and pleased... I will probably listen to the album again. 3.5/5

Suffers from not being as good as the studio albums either side of it, but it’s still a very good record. Far too long though. Three excellent tracks, 2+2, There There and Punch Up.

I’m a defender of this album but even I don’t think it’s essential. C’mon Bob

Ok the highlights on this album were incredible, with “2 + 2 = 5” probably being my favorite, but “There, There” and “Where I End and You Begin” also being standouts. At this point in Radiohead’s discography, there were 2 groups of fans they had: those who preferred their more traditional rock sounds of “The Bends” and “OK Computer”, and the other group of fans who preferred the more experimental/electronic sounds of “Kid A” and “Amnesiac”. Personally I’m in the former, but I feel like this album does a good job of bridging the gap between those two camps. This album is pretty political and that can get pretty one-note and tiring, especially when you add in the fact that this is Radiohead’s longest album, coming in at 56 minutes. Overall, I really enjoyed it, but it wouldn’t be the first Radiohead album I’d recommend to someone. Solid 7/10

Poopy

Fuck I hate Radiohead. This is about the 600th album of theirs here, because they're from the UK. What an absolute chore to get through. It just kept going and going and fucking going. Made muse sound exciting. 1/5.

Thom York and Radiohead continue to baffle me as to how they make so many albums that people love. I find him and his music tedious, boring ,and painful to sit through.

I already told you twice, I hate Radiohead. And this album certainly isn’t going to change that. Fuck off, wankers.

I'm not a fan of Radiohead in general, but this is their worst album on this list so far. 90% just pretentious electronica. It seems mainstream music was generally pretty lost in the 2000s.

Great pump-up album that sounds new. Timeless. Great guitar tones.

Radiohead is altijd top! Dit album heeft wat van alles: gitaar, piano, electronische muziek,... Heel goed album

Haha, 2e fois pour cet album cette semaine. Voici ce que j'en ai dit avec mon autre groupe: "Tous les albums de Radiohead pourraient se retrouver sur cette liste vu qu'ils ont toujours cherché à se renouveler et ont presque toujours surpris à chacune des sorties d'album à partir d'Ok Computer. Cet album est un grand favori pour plusieurs pour le retour plus marqué des guitares et instruments plus acoustiques. C'est effectivement le point déterminant de cet album, mais les expérimentations de Kid A et Amnesiac sont bien maitrisées et servent bien les chansons ici. On est en territoire plus accessible en terme de mélodies, mais avec un petit edge intéressant dans l'emballage. Je crois pouvoir affirmer sans me tromper que c'est l'album qui se situe au centre de ce que Radiohead peut livrer comme chansons rock indies et expérimentations électroniques."

mint

very sad

FUCKING SMUKT ALBUM!!! Lige til at græde til

Forgot how good this album is

Love this. Classic album

Bello, non sembra neanche un album degli anni 2000

Kan deze ongeluisterd op 5 sterren zetten. Heb ik overigens niet gedaan want ik vind het een geweldig album dus fijn nog een keer gedraaid :-)

God I love this album.

Mislim da im je dosta underrated ovaj album. Jako volim Radiohead i jako sam vezana za puno njihovih albuma među kojima je i ovaj

Absolute favorite Radiohead album

Excellent

Oh. Yes.

This is so much better than those boring things that preceded it. There's tension and build up in the songs. Yorke's vocals are atmospheric, whereas they'd descended into irritating, fingernails on the blackboard. We Suck Young Blood is freaky, creepy perfect.

Piece of art

Radiohead albums are either perfect or near perfect and I believe this one falls in the former category. 5/5

5 🌟

Master… flan in the face! piece

The criticism towards society it is shown by the slow tempos and gloomy atmosphere created by guitars, choirs, and several drums. The vocalist uses his voice to set the tone and help lyrics achieve its message, short and repetitive sentences with strong words.

alt rock made nice n weird

When this album was released I had just started reading Stephen King's "The Waste Lands" which is one segment of an epic post-apocalyptic fantasy which seems unimportant and completely irrelevant to this album but shut up it's NOT - because in my brain these two works are inexplicably tied together. I spent a good 2 weeks of mornings taking the long train ride in to work with this album in my headphones while reading the book, and I still can picture the landscapes described in the book just upon hearing the opening 7/8 rhythm of "2+2=5." Anyways yeah with my good fortune the book merged perfectly with the music and themes on this record. It's low-key kinda terrifying. By Thom Yorke's own words many of the songs are about either a general sense of terror or even fascism that had suddenly come to prominence in the world (thanks 9/11). And even though lyrics/vocals are usually boring and a distraction (...for me...) this is the rare album that weaves the creepy-AF music with the lyrics in such a perfect way that it's impossible not to notice. "Hail To The Thief" is and was the perfect brooding sad terror soundtrack for the book - you have a fantasy world in print where a few lone travellers are fending for themselves in a world gone mad where nobody can be trusted and so many are out for themselves - and for the current real-world, both in 2003 and pitifully maybe even more-so today. I loved Radiohead's previous 2 albums KidA and Amnesiac although I know a lot of older fans were a little turned off by the swift pivot to electronic music - this album seemed a great balance between electronics as they're backed off quite a bit - I love the varied instrumentation used on this album, the production which gives so much of a feel of being in the studio with the band ("We Suck Young Blood" - the off-timing on the claps is something I particularly enjoy). A little something for everyone in the family on this album - weirdness abound, odd time signatures, and if you just want a good driving rock song that's still inherently and all Radiohead you've got the imperceptibly complex "Go to Sleep" and slightly more straightforward "There, There." Personal fave: "Sit Down, Stand Up" - that haunting and seemingly everlasting build until the "and the raindrops...and the raindrops..." etc. Amazing. Slows just a little on the last few tracks but not enough to knock it down - I love just about everything about this album even if it's considerably less than uplifting and I'm almost sure that's exactly why I love it. 9/10 5 stars.

They can’t miss really

Radiohead is definitely an acquired taste for a lot of people, but once you've grown to appreciate their style, you can can never go back. Truly unique musical inspiration. I would argue that other albums in their portfolio are more important, but this is great nonetheless.

I don't think this one lives up the their previous album, The Bends, but it is still very solid. These guys are so unique. I really don't know why I've never listened to them all that much... except for the Pablo Honey CD I bought in middle school.

I enjoyed this even more on the relisten

Melodic and melancholic. Cohesive. The best of Radiohead's analog and digital sides. Conor - 4.2 Bill - 4 Shannah - 4 (4.06/5)

This album defies any genre definition. There are rock tracks, electronic synth tracks, beautiful ballads and some jazzy moments, all bound together by a gloomy vibe, not least created by Thom Yorke's voice. I like a couple of tracks (especially A Wolf At The Door), but unlike a couple of other Radiohead albums, this album doesn't quite vibe with me. I wish it was different, because I can hear that there's some high quality musicianship in there. It just fails to reach me on any emotional level. Which is just too bad. 3.5/5

I still haven't listened to enough of Radiohead's work, but I'm so glad this project keeps introducing me to their music. Fascinating band and I really like this album. Very interesting blend of electronica and rock. To me, at least, this music activates my brain in ways that I enjoy. Engaging, complex, and superbly performed.

2000s alt rock nostalgia 3.7⭐

I like Radiohead a lot and this is a great album, but I don’t feel like I have anything new to say about this music

Le premier d’une série d’albums qui se ressemblent tous. Celui-ci était nouveau et il marquait un autre renouveau pour Radiohead ce qui lui donne un point de plus que In Rainbows qui vient après mais qui sonne un peu redondant après Hail to the Tief. C’est excellent.

A little experimental in the middle but less so than some other Radiohead albums. I’d rate it second best of their stuff.

Kind of a redundant addition to the list given all the other Radiohead already on here, no? This has never been one of my fave albums of theirs, but giving it a relisten, yeah, there are a bunch of tunes on here I like. Minus one whole star for "Backdrifts" - what a horrible flow-breaking mess. Fave track - "2+2=5" maybe, or "Where I End and You Begin"

I haven't spent much time with this album but certainly enjoyable.

Been a while since I listed in full. Couple reasons why it's behind the Holy trinity and AMSP like the production not so crisp and much more of mood album. But its still great.

it takes a bit of commitment to listen to all of it, but overall the album is coherent and flows really really well. of course, I mean, it's a classic.

Underrated Radiohead album

Super moody. Needs focused listening.

Haven't heard the album before, but as can be expected by Radiohead a great album. Very intrigued by the electronic drum's en synths.

tinder上match的朋友给我推荐的网站，听到的第一首歌，喜欢

Emotioneel gezien heb ik helaas een mindere band met Radiohead gekregen na de jaren 90, maar het blijft een geweldig collectief. Tof om deze ook weer even te horen.

3.75

En sah pas mal, on est là 3.5/5

Another Radiohead banger, this time a more aggressive outcome than their previous efforts. Not often a sucker for political lyricism, but this works. Favourite Tracks: - There There - A Wolf at the Door - Myxomatosis - 2 + 2 = 5 - Where I End and You Begin - Sit Down, Stand Up - A Punchup at a Wedding - Backdrifts - Go to Sleep Overall Rating: 4/5

It’s pretty good, not amazing. 7/10

7/10. I've come to realize I don't really care much for Radiohead, but I did like this album. The subdued sound and cynicism work well together here.

A limbo album. its clearly not part of the Kid Amnesiac hyper experimental era and it gets followed up by in rainbows (albeit 4 years later) which is arguably their most accomplished album. its not part of the previous era and it in no way compares to the quality of in rainbows so it just kind of exists in between, unbothered. it's still decent but it's competing with pablo honey for the radiohead album with the least individual draw.

Radiohead po meni ima jedan loš album, jedan onako okej - možeš bez njega, a ostatak diskografije je odličan, ako ne i perfektan. Ovaj spada pod odličan dio diskografije, iako nije ni u top 5 njihovih albuma (imo), svejedno je odličan album. Nije Kid A, OKC, IR, The Bends, A Moon Shaped Pool album, ali je tu negdje iza njih odmah. Sveto trojstvo -> Kid A (hladna noć) - OKC (kišni dan) - IR (sunčana jesen). I da, imam posebno izdanje CD-a ovog albuma. Joj, moram se ponovno vratit njima kao u stare dane.

I'm in two minds about this one. As a Radiohead fan, I absolutely love "There, There", "Myxomatosis" and "2+2=5". " Where I Amd You Begin" is pretty good too, and I like how the lyrics on this LP naviagte between pointed political criticism and heartfelt moments of optimism (you sure that map on the cover to do that sort of thing, right?). On the other hand, *Hail To The Thief* is also the rare *good* Radiohead album that contains clear filler--half baked songs or rather effectless experimentation that could have easily been edited out to streamline the tracklisting on *both* "sides". *A Moon-Shaped Pool* is the other one of those good records overall where this happens too (*Pablo Honey* and *The King Of Limbs* are not convincing enough as a whole anyway to be labelled as a "good Radiohead album"). So what am I gonna do? I hesitate between a 4/5 and 4.5/5 grade. Now that you're reading this, you already know which sort of grade I have chosen. It's quite funny that I have not yet. What's for sure is that I will probably not include that record in my own list of essential listens even though I still think it's a good one. That will leave some room for other artists. Pretty sure that other Radiohead fans will agree with me that it's the right thing to do here. We're cool guys and gals, generally speaking. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 800, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far  Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter                

Highly enjoyable, nice relaxing music

Not my favourite Radiohead album, but some cool stuff on here. A Wolf at the Door is amazing.

Not quite Bends and OK computer level but still solid

Kid A and OK Computer seem to get all the attention but this album flew under the radar for me. idk if it's just that people forgot about Radiohead after the year 2000 or are just stuck on those other albums because of how great they are, but I think this album is a lot more accessible and less pretentious. Doesn't mean it's necessarily better but I am enjoying it more. Don't write this one off just because it's not Radiohead's most well-known

I did like this, just wish it had something more to really elevate it to the other Radiohead stuff I've listened to so far.

Another solid showing from Radiohead, with excellent atmosphere and vibes. It does not reach the heights of some of their masterpieces, and feels like a little more than the sum of its parts, with each individual song not being as strong as their collective energy is together, but ultimate a strong record.

Difficult to rate because it is an AMAZING album, but by Radiohead standards to me it's not even close to being their best. So I'll give this a 4 since other albums by them featured on the list will certainly be getting the 5s.

Not their best but still Radiohead

Backdrifts kinda slaps, aint gonna lie. Quite nice so far, definitely can hear the progression from kid A -> In Rainbows. Okay Backdrifts properly slaps. Where I end you begin is pretty tasty, yummy. Also very varied sound. Honestly, on first listen this has been pretty good, which is not always the case for even really good radiohead albums in the past. Think this may be a sneaky good one for my taste. There There is nice track. I will is very different as well, slow harmonies. Nice contrast. I'm feeling a solid 4 tbh.