Feral Roots

"Do Your Worst" redirects here. For the 2005 Jaguar Wright song, see Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul.

Feral Roots is the sixth studio album by American rock band Rival Sons. It was released on January 25, 2019, through Low Country Sound and Atlantic Records.^[4] It is the band's first album since Hollow Bones (2016), and their first release on Atlantic Records. It was preceded by the lead single "Do Your Worst", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in March 2019.^[4][5]

Feral Roots
Studio album by Rival Sons
Released	January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25)
Studio	RCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee) Muscle Shoals (Sheffield, Alabama)
Genre	Blues rock hard rock
Length	46:57
Label	Low Country Sound/Atlantic
Producer	Dave Cobb
Rival Sons chronology
Hollow Bones (2016) Feral Roots (2019) Darkfighter (2023)
Singles from Feral Roots
"Do Your Worst" Released: September 14, 2018 "Back in the Woods" Released: November 1, 2018[1] "Feral Roots" Released: December 14, 2018[2] "Look Away" Released: January 21, 2019[3] "Too Bad" Released: April 16, 2019 "Shooting Stars" Released: November 26, 2019

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Consequence of Sound	B+[8]
Exclaim!	6/10[9]

Michael Pementel of Consequence of Sound gave the album a grade of B+ and said the album shows off Rival Sons' "range in performing bluesy rock 'n' roll; with high energy riffs and slow melancholy rhythms, the music offers a variety of emotional tones for listeners to absorb", and concluding that for listeners new to Rival Sons, "Feral Roots is an excellent place to start".^[8]

James Christopher Monger of AllMusic has called the track "Do Your Worst" "a radio-ready banger that evokes both Led Zeppelin and the Black Keys." He also points similarities between the track "Look Away" and the album Led Zeppelin III.^[7] Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.^[10]

At the 2020 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Rock Album, losing to Cage the Elephant's Social Cues. "Too Bad" was nominated for Best Rock Performance, losing to Gary Clark Jr.'s "This Land".

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Do Your Worst" (Buchanan, Dave Cobb, Holiday)	3:30
2.	"Sugar on the Bone"	3:02
3.	"Back in the Woods"	3:32
4.	"Look Away"	5:19
5.	"Feral Roots"	5:55
6.	"Too Bad"	4:44
7.	"Stood by Me"	4:05
8.	"Imperial Joy"	4:09
9.	"All Directions" (Buchanan, Cobb, Holiday)	4:29
10.	"End of Forever" (Dave Beste, Buchanan, Holiday)	3:52
11.	"Shooting Stars"	4:20
Total length:		46:57

All tracks are written by Jay Buchanan and Scott Holiday, except where noted^[11]

Personnel

Rival Sons

• Jay Buchanan – vocals, rhythm guitar on tracks 5 and 9
• Scott Holiday – guitars
• Michael Miley – drums
• Dave Beste – bass guitars

Additional musicians

• Todd Ögren – keyboards on tracks 1–5, 7–11
• Kristen Rogers and Whitney Coleman – backing vocals on tracks 1–3, 5, 7, 8 and 9
• The Nashville Urban Choir – additional vocals on track 11

Production

• Dave Cobb – producer, mixing, rhythm guitar on tracks 7 and 11
• Eddie Spear – recording engineer
• Gena Johnson and Chris Taylor – recording engineers
• Andrew Scheps – mixing
• Pete Lyman – mastering

Additional

• Martin Wittfooth – album cover ("Wildmother" painting)
• Mark Obriski – art direction and design
• Steven J. Bradley – photography

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[11]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 16 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 37 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 18 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 79 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 43 French Albums (SNEP)[17] 46 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 8 Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 94 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] 4 Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 4 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 4 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[24] 12 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[25] 2 US Billboard 200[26] 139 US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[27] 13 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 6 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 22 US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[31] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 192

References

1. "Rival Sons unleash 'Back in the Woods' off newly announced album, Feral Roots". Consequence of Sound. 2 November 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
2. "RIVAL SONS: Official Visualizer For 'Feral Roots' Title Track". Blabbermouth.net. 14 December 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
3. "Rival Sons share Eastern-tinged new single Look Away". Loudersound. 21 January 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
4. "RIVAL SONS To Release 'Feral Roots' Album In January". Blabbermouth.net. November 2, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
5. "Rival Sons Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
6. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
7. Monger, James Christopher. "Feral Roots - Rival Sons | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
8. Pementel, Michael (January 23, 2019). "Rival Sons Bring on the Electric Warmth of Rock and Blues on Feral Roots". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
9. Bowles, Beth (January 28, 2019). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
10. "The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. December 5, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
11. Feral Roots liner notes.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Rival Sons – Feral Roots" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
13. "Ultratop.be – Rival Sons – Feral Roots" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
14. "Ultratop.be – Rival Sons – Feral Roots" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Rival Sons – Feral Roots" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
16. "Rival Sons: Feral Roots" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
17. "Lescharts.com – Rival Sons – Feral Roots". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rival Sons – Feral Roots" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
19. "Italiancharts.com – Rival Sons – Feral Roots". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Rival Sons – Feral Roots". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
22. "Swedishcharts.com – Rival Sons – Feral Roots". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Rival Sons – Feral Roots". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
25. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
26. "Rival Sons Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
27. "Rival Sons Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
28. "Rival Sons Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
29. "Rival Sons Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
30. "Rival Sons Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
31. "Rival Sons Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
32. "Rapports Annuels 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved August 29, 2020.