Metallic Spheres

Metallic Spheres
Studio album by The Orb
Released	12 October 2010
Recorded	2009
Genre	Electronica, dub, progressive rock
Length	48:53
Label	Columbia
Producer	Martin "Youth" Glover[1][2]
The Orb albums chronology
Baghdad Batteries (Orbsessions Volume III) (2009) Metallic Spheres (2010) The Orbserver in the Star House (2012)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	C+[5]
Mojo	[6]
NOW Magazine	[7]
Pitchfork Media	7.0/10[8]
PopMatters	[9]
Q	[10]
Slant Magazine	[11]
Spin	5/10[12]
Uncut	[13]
URB	[14]

Metallic Spheres is the tenth studio album released by ambient techno group The Orb in October 2010 and features Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Killing Joke bassist Youth.^[15] The album spent 3 weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number 12.^[16]

Track listing

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 & Youth.
"Hymns to the Sun" written by David Gilmour, Alex Paterson, Youth & Graham Nash.
"Black Graham" written by David Gilmour, Alex Paterson, Youth & Marcia Mello.
"Hiding in Plain View" written by David Gilmour, Alex Paterson, Youth & Tim Bran.

Personnel

• 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

Production

The album was produced by Youth and recorded in June, 2009 at "The Dreaming Cave", in Wandsworth. Engineering was done 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 CD2 of the deluxe 2CD edition, with sound design by Mike Brady, recording by Mike Brady, David Nock and Michael Rendall, and mixing by Youth.

References

1. "Metallic Spheres – David Gilmour, The Orb : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
2. The Orb featuring David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres (Columbia – 88697 79645 2) at Discogs
3. http://www.metacritic.com/music/metallic-spheres/the-orb
4. AllMusic review
5. The A.V. Club review
6. 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.
7. http://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/the-orb-featuring-david-gilmour/
8. Pitchfork Media review
9. http://www.popmatters.com/review/131182-the-orb-feat-david-gilmour-metallic-spheres/
10. "The 50-minute opus is an ambient masterclass." [Nov 2010, p.112]
11. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-orb-featuring-david-gilmour-metallic-spheres
12. http://www.spin.com/reviews/orb-vs-david-gilmour-metallic-spheres-columbiasony/
13. "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]
14. "Metallic Spheres, a collaboration with electronica legends the Orb, represents his boldest and most satisfying footnote to date."
15. Columbia Records (September 28, 2010). "The Orb Featuring David Gilmour's Metallic Spheres to be Celebrated Through Original Laser Show and Appearances by The Orb". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
16. "David Gilmour | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 12 July 2012.