Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
Metascore
88 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
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  1. Mojo
    100
    The scope and breadth is startling. [Oct 2004, p.94]
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  2. Alternative Press
    100
    Two masterpieces. [Dec 2004, p.158]
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  3. The Guardian
    100
    An entirely unique return to form.
  4. Tiny Mix Tapes
    100
    As a word of warning, though, this brilliant, but lengthy double album may not be the best beginner's guide to Nick Cave. However, for anyone who is a fan of the duration of his career, this album rewards the listener with a bit of the best of everything he has to offer.
  5. E! Online
    100
    He gets all beautiful on your ass for the Orpheus portion of this double-disc set, then explodes with a pounding intensity on Abattoir Blues that'll knock your socks off.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    Cave... remains a singular sensation. [29 Oct 2004, p.69]
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  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    This is murderously good stuff. [25 Sep 2004, p.64]
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  8. Dot Music
    90
    A fragrant bouquet of melody, light, love and naughtiness wrapped in an unfamiliar joie de vivre.
  9. Stylus Magazine
    90
    It’s easy to get over-eager about a decent album that appears after some significantly less magnificent efforts, and perhaps that’s precisely what I’ve just done. But I don’t especially care. What I hear throughout this release, and what I’m latching so strongly onto, is my own imagined version of what a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds record should be like.
  10. Playlouder
    90
    'Abattoir Blues' is weirdly full of wonderment, and - get this - 'The Lyre of Orpheus' is even more joyful! And they both kick Nocturama's arse full of buttonholes.
  11. All Music Guide
    90
    An aesthetic watermark for Cave, a true high point in a long career that is ever looking forward.
  12. Drowned In Sound
    90
    While the first offering holds a quite tangible anger and general gloom within, 'The Lyre of Orpheus is a much more mellow affair, contemplating existentialism and the like.
  13. PopMatters
    90
    So fresh, so revelatory, so alive.
  14. Dusted Magazine
    90
    The Bad Seeds have not made a record this ambitious, well, ever, and the results are rewarding, thoughtful and challenging.
  15. Filter
    82
    This is not Cave's best work by any means, but these songs do showcase his impressive range as a lyricist, performer and musician. [#12, p.100]
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User Reviews

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User Score
9.0 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. drownsoda
    10
    Following a two-album string of letdown records, Cave waters his Bad Seeds and here they are in full bloom. Impressive, back-to-basics and no less zealous than his former work, Cave delivers something uniquely beautiful that only he can deliver in its purest form.… Full Review »
  2. madsl
    7
    abbatoir blues is a partial return to form for cave after a series of dreadfully bland albums. It's just a shame that the antiseptic production threatens to kill the otherwise inspirational songwriting. The Lyre of Orpheus is cave doing what he has done lately - therefore I don't like it, but it is a notch better than nocturama/no more shall we part - both albums which I strongly recommend music lovers should shy away from..!… Full Review »
  3. EvanW
    1
    I've been a fan of Nick Cave for about eight years. I always loved his dark lyrics and instrumentation. After 2002, he seems to have completely lost all his old inspiration, and continues making albums only because he's a musician, not because he has something to say. This record did not need to be made. Insipid lyrics, over-produced pap.… Full Review »
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