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Metallic Spheres

Metallic Spheres is the tenth studio album by the ambient techno group the Orb, released in October 2010. It features the Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and the Killing Joke bassist Youth.[3] It spent three weeks on the UK charts, reaching number 12.[4] In 2023, the album was remixed, partially re-recorded and released as Metallic Spheres in Colour.[5]

Metallic Spheres
Studio album by
the Orb featuring David Gilmour
Released12 October 2010 (2010-10-12)
Recorded2009
GenreElectronica, dub, progressive rock, ambient
Length48:54
LabelColumbia
ProducerMartin "Youth" Glover[1][2]
The Orb albums chronology
Baghdad Batteries (Orbsessions Volume III)
(2009) 		Metallic Spheres
(2010) 		The Orbserver in the Star House
(2012)
David Gilmour albums chronology
Live in Gdańsk
(2008) 		Metallic Spheres
(2010) 		Rattle That Lock
(2015)

Production

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The album came about after David Gilmour released an online single, "Chicago - Change the World" (a re-titled cover of the Graham Nash song "Chicago"), in support of Gary McKinnon. It was remixed by the Orb, who asked if Gilmour would provide some extra guitar parts. These were recorded in one day in June, 2009, at Youth's Wandsworth studio, the Dreaming Cave, resulting in a 25-minute track. Youth and the Orb expanded this to the eventual album.[6]

It was produced by Youth and engineered by Tim Bran (of Dreadzone) and David Nock. Mixing was done by Youth, with mix engineering from Bran, Nock and Michael Rendall at "The Study" in 2010. Mastering was done by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios in London. A headphone version was released as the second disc of the deluxe 2-CD edition, with sound design by Mike Brady, recording by Mike Brady, David Nock and Michael Rendall, and mixing by Youth.

Track listing

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.3/10[7]
Metacritic72/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
The A.V. ClubC+[10]
Mojo     [11]
Now     [12]
Pitchfork7.0/10[13]
PopMatters6/10[14]
Q     [15]
Slant Magazine     [16]
Spin5/10[17]
Uncut     [18]
  1. "Metallic Side" (28:42)
    1. "Metallic Spheres"
    2. "Hymns to the Sun"
    3. "Black Graham"
    4. "Hiding in Plain View"
    5. "Classified"
  2. "Spheres Side" (20:12)
    1. "Es Vedra"
    2. "Hymns to the Sun (Reprise)"
    3. "Olympic"
    4. "Chicago Dub"
    5. "Bold Knife Trophy"
  3. "Cult of Youth Ambient Mix (Parts 1 & 2)" (Edit) (5:35) (iTunes-only bonus track)

All tracks written by David Gilmour, Alex Paterson, and Youth, except:

  • "Hymns to the Sun" written by Gilmour, Paterson, Youth, and Graham Nash
  • "Black Graham" written by Gilmour, Paterson, Youth, and Marcia Mello
  • "Hiding in Plain View" written by Gilmour, Paterson, Youth, and Tim Bran

Personnel

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  • David Gilmour – guitars, vocals
  • Alex Paterson – sound manipulation, keyboards, turntables
  • Youth – bass, keyboards, programming
  • Tim Bran – keyboards, programming
  • Marcia Mello – acoustic guitar (on "Black Graham")
  • Dominique Le Vac – backing vocals

Charts

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Chart performance for Metallic Spheres
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 58
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 40
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[21] 21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 95
Irish Albums (IRMA)[23] 65
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] 51
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 12
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[27] 3

References

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  1. ^ "Metallic Spheres – David Gilmour, The Orb : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  2. ^ The Orb featuring David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres (Columbia – 88697 79645 2) at Discogs
  3. ^ Columbia Records (28 September 2010). "The Orb Featuring David Gilmour's Metallic Spheres to be Celebrated Through Original Laser Show and Appearances by The Orb". PR Newswire. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  4. ^ "David Gilmour | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  5. ^ Irwin, Corey (10 August 2023). "David Gilmour and the Orb Announce Metallic Spheres in Colour". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ Ewing, Jerry (10 August 2023). "David Gilmour and The Orb's Metallic Spheres remixed and reimagined". Louder. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  7. ^ "The Orb feat. David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Metallic Spheres by The Orb" – via www.metacritic.com.
  9. ^ AllMusic review
  10. ^ "The Orb Featuring David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres". Music.
  11. ^ Alexander, Phil (November 2010). "The Orb feat. David Gilmour Metallic Spheres". Mojo. p. 100. [A] finely textured affair … Challenging, but also warm, lush and reassuringly ambient.
  12. ^ Boles, Benjamin (14 October 2010). "The Orb Featuring David Gilmour".
  13. ^ "The Orb / David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres". Pitchfork.
  14. ^ "The Orb feat. David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres". PopMatters. 13 October 2010.
  15. ^ "The 50-minute opus is an ambient masterclass." [Nov 2010, p.112]
  16. ^ Kilpatrick, Michael. "Review: The Orb featuring David Gilmour, Metallic Spheres". Slant Magazine.
  17. ^ "The Orb vs. David Gilmour, 'Metallic Spheres' (Columbia/Sony) | SPIN". 1 October 2010.
  18. ^ "What most surprising is the diversity here – the sense of direction is not pressing, but ultimately there's plenty to revisit." [Nov 2010, p.94]
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Orb feat. David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Orb feat. David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Dutchcharts.nl – The Orb feat. David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Orb feat. David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Orb". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Italiancharts.com – The Orb feat. David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
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