Worship and Tribute

Production and style

Originally, Worship and Tribute was to have twelve songs with the last song entitled "Convectuoso." The band, however, had recorded the song with their previous label, Roadrunner Records, for the "Ry Ry's Song" single. Since Glassjaw abruptly ended their contract to sign with Warner Bros., Roadrunner retained the rights to that song and refused to let the newly rerecorded "Convectuoso" be released on the final album despite being on promotional copies.

Worship and Tribute marks a huge stylistic change for Glassjaw. Rather than the extremely abrasive metal-influenced hardcore found on the first album, it moves more towards experimental rock. The album mixes jazz, afrobeat, psychedelic rock and funk among other styles and genres, and only returns to their old style fully in the opening track "Tip Your Bartender." On the other hand, tracks like "Mu Empire", "Pink Roses" and "Stuck Pig" show moments that are as aggressive as and arguably heavier than any of the band's previous material, and show more of a mix of thrash metal and noise rock.

Vocalist Daryl Palumbo has stated that while Glassjaw's debut album was filled with negativity, Worship and Tribute is much more optimistic in tone. Regarding the album title, Palumbo expressed how the bands that influenced Glassjaw have shaped their musical identity and are therefore being honored through Glassjaw's music:

"You are only a sum of all of your influences and that's what we are. . . I think that we're original and I think that what we're doing is different and that's something I always knew we had on our side, but no matter how original you are you're still just a sum of your influences."

Guitarist Todd Weinstock has regarded continuity as the biggest difference between Glassjaw's debut album and Worship and Tribute, noting "EYEWTKAS was just kind a bunch of songs written over years and when we got signed we were like 'okay we got some songs we can throw together.' With Worship we went into it with the intentions of writing an album that made sense as a unit as opposed to a bunch of songs, some of which may have even been written four years earlier!" He also noted that, due to the fact that the album was written around the time of the September 11 attacks, its tone was affected by the tragedy.

Promotion and touring

"Cosmopolitan Bloodloss" and "Ape Dos Mil" were released as singles. Music videos for both tracks were included on the CD. In addition, a second version for "Ape Dos Mil" was later released. "Ape Dos Mil" was released to radio on February 11, 2003.

Dave Allen joined Glassjaw as bassist following the recording of Worship and Tribute. The band then toured extensively, including festival tours such as Warped Tour, Ozzfest and SnoCore.

Daryl Palumbo's Crohn's Disease brought heavy burden onto Glassjaw's touring schedule in promotion of Worship and Tribute. On October 1, 2002, he was rushed to a Paris hospital and Glassjaw's European tour schedule was postponed for December. However, on December 5, as Glassjaw returned from a US flight, Palumbo relapsed and was again rushed to a London hospital and forced the cancellation of the rescheduled dates. Palumbo was ordered to take two months off, and the European dates were rescheduled for a second time in April 2003. From June to August, the group went on the 2003 edition of Warped Tour.

It has been confirmed that the band will be performing the album in full at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth on the 10th anniversary of the album's release

Packaging

The original 2002 CD release of the album did not include a front insert, but rather a clear film sheet that had a picture of a record player arm. The disc itself was designed to look like a vinyl record, and the inside tray included a picture of a record player. The overall product is supposed to look like a vinyl record being played on a record player. The album was reissued for the first time on vinyl format in 2011 for Record Store Day. The record was packaged in a clear plastic sleeve with a picture of a record player arm printed on the front of the sleeve. It also included a sheet with the picture of the record player printed on it. The vinyl version was reissued again in 2014, with 1,000 copies pressed on clear vinyl.

Critical reception

Allmusic's William Ruhlmann gave Worship and Tribute a positive review, noting "Cosmopolitan Bloodloss" an AMG Track Pick. He described Glassjaw as "more interesting than their metal peers" and reflected "Glassjaw can pound it out like the best of them, but the fun comes in never knowing what variation the band will throw in next."

Mehan Jayasuriya of PopMatters noted "Worship and Tribute addressed many of these lyrical flaws [of Glassjaw's debut album] and introduced a wider palette of sounds to the band’s arsenal; in so doing, however, it lost sight of much of the momentum and focus that made the band notable in the first place." Adrien Begrand, also of PopMatters, gave an in-depth review where he acknowledged the band's talent in select songs but also stressed the poor quality of Worship and Tribute as a whole: "They've shown they're a smart band, both musically and lyrically, but on Worship and Tribute, listeners are stuck with 40 percent inspiration, 60 percent filler." Kludge included it on their list of best albums of 2002.

The January 2008 issue of Alternative Press (AP #234) included Worship and Tribute on its "10 Essential Albums We’re Waiting For Follow Ups to." The issue also hyped the oncoming Head Automatica album. NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time".

Awards

Nominated for a Best Recording Package Grammy in 2003.

In 2007, Kerrang! named Worship and Tribute an "album you must own."

Track listing

All music written by Glassjaw; all lyrics written by Daryl Palumbo.

"Two Tabs of Mescaline" ends at 6:09. At 7:42, an untitled hidden track begins. The hidden track is kept on track 11, even on the Japanese version where the bonus track, "El Mark", follows. However, on the advance CD, "Two Tabs of Mescaline" is only 6:09, while the hidden track is placed at the end of "Convectuoso".

B-Sides

There are 7 B-sides from Worship and Tribute:

"Convectuoso" ends at 5:48. The hidden track follows it, beginning at 7:15.

The song "Neo Tokyon" was recorded for the album. The band played it live before the album came out and it hadn't been heard since. While the band did some 2016 touring, it made its way back into their setlist as "Neo".

Personnel

Daryl Palumbo - vocals

Justin Beck - guitar, bass

Todd Weinstock - guitar

Shannon Larkin - drums

Larry Gorman - backing vocals

Ross Robinson - production, piano