Beneath the Skin is the second studio album by Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. It was released on 8 June 2015 in Iceland, and a day later in the rest of the world. The album artwork and design was created by artistic director Leif Podhajsky. It debuted at number three on US Billboard 200, and sold 61,000 copies in its first week, becoming the band's highest-charting album in the country.
The album title is derived from a lyric in the song "Human": "Plants awoke and they slowly grow beneath the skin."
The album was nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
Reception Critical reception
Beneath the Skin received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Madison Vain of Entertainment Weekly stated, "Lyrics brim with woodsy imagery, and the sweet vocals elevate these campfire tunes into something extravagant.
Commercial performance On the chart dated 27 June 2015, Beneath the Skin debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart with 61,000 copies in the first week of its release (including 57,000 pure album sales), becoming the highest-charting album by the band there. Its first-week sales made it the best sales week of the band.
The album also made it entry at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 8,437 copies. It dropped to number 40 with 2,749 units in the second week on chart.
Track listing All songs are credited to Of Monsters and Men, but were actually written by the band's individuals and/or others. The actual writers are listed alongside the tracks.
Personnel
Of Monsters and Men Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir – vocals, guitar Ragnar Þórhallsson – vocals, guitar Brynjar Leifsson – guitar Kristján Páll Kristjánsson – bass Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson – drums, percussion
Additional musicians Steingrímur Karl Teague – keyboards Walter Simonsen – trumpet Erm Navarro – trombone Robert Brophy – viola Charlie Bisharat – violin Josefina Vergara – violin Lisa McCormick – french horn Paula Hochhalter – bass trombone Stephen Hughes – cello
Technical Of Monsters and Men – producer Rich Costey – producer, mixing Bob Ludwig – mastering Martin Cooke – engineering
Artwork and design Leif Podhajsky – artwork, graphic design
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Beneath the Skin Chart (2015) Peakposition Icelandic Albums (Tonlist) 2
Year-end charts + 2015 year-end chart performance for Beneath the Skin Chart (2015) Position Canadian Albums (Billboard) 33 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 32 + 2016 year-end chart performance for Beneath the Skin Chart (2016) PositionIcelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi) 9
Certifications
References