The Taking is the third studio album by American rock band Loaded. It was produced by Terry Date in Seattle, Washington, and was released on April 19, 2011 through Eagle Rock Entertainment. Writing for the album began in 2009, while the band were touring in support of Sick. It was the first Loaded release, since , without drummer Geoff Reading, who, after departing the band, was replaced by Isaac Carpenter in September 2009. A feature-length film about the album, as well as Loaded, by filmmaker and documentarian Jamie Burton Chamberlin has been filmed, with the album serving as the film's soundtrack.
In July 2009, singer and guitarist Duff McKagan announced, during Loaded's tour, that the band were writing new material for their next album. He said that they have some "great ideas and riffs" that the band wrote during their tour. Loaded parted ways with record labelCentury Media in February 2010 with the band continuing the work on new material. Prior to the beginning of recording, producer Terry Date approached the band and offered to produce the new album, with recording beginning, at Studio X, in August 2010, and completed by the beginning of September. On October 28, it was announced that the band had signed a deal with Eagle Rock Entertainment for the release of their album. In November, Blabbermouth.net announced the album's title, The Soundtrack, with a release date scheduled for March 22, 2011. It was later revealed in interviews with guitarist Mike Squires and filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin that the album title was changed to The Taking, and the release date was changed from March 22, to April 19, 2011.
Loaded began collaborating with filmmaker and documentarian Jamie Burton Chamberlin on a film based on the album in October 2010. Chamberlin stated that the film would be more "about designing a fictitious story line which will be a part of the larger project, and will be a contemporary version of, say, Hard Days Night meets Song Remains the Same, with aspects of documentary, music video, and live performance, all interconnected by an underlying motivation" and that the "album will serve as the soundtrack." The film was planned to feature a number of cameos from various musicians, including John Roderick of The Long Winters, Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America, Soundgarden members Ben Shepherd and Kim Thayil as well as Lemmy of Motörhead. Shooting locations for the film included Seattle, with the band planning to perform unannounced acoustic shows for filming, and Los Angeles. Chamberlin hoped to premier the film at the 2011 SXSW while a trailer for the film was released in January 2011. The film was eventually released in episodic format by Eagle Rock Entertainment on YouTube in 2012.
Release
The album was released in a number of versions with different bonus tracks, including Japanese version with three acoustic tracks and digital version with instrumental versions of the album's songs and non-album single "Fight On".
Critical reception
The Taking received generally positive reviews, scoring a 65 out of 100 on Metacritic based on five reviews. Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars stating that McKagan "turns in his hardest record in recent memory" and that the album "does make a brute impression playing with a vitality that almost compensates for how they fetishize the past." Kerrang! magazine stated that with the album, "Loaded sound like a proper band now." Revolver magazine's Kory Grow complimented its "big hooks and driving riffs" while noting punk influences on the album. Joseph Viney, reviewing for Sputnikmusic, gave the album a three-and-a-half out of five stars, noting a darker tone throughout the album, with songs such as “Lords Of Abbadon,” “Executioner’s Song” and “She’s An Anchor” earning comparisons to Down and Alice in Chains. Ultimate Guitar Archive commented that the album's music has "a bit of GN’R influence injected into it all, but there’s just as much a heavy helping of punk and even 70’s glam" while they also complimented the lyrics stating they have "some fantastic moments." David Jón Fuller of the Winnipeg Free Press stated "it's clear McKagan hasn't lost any of his musical swagger" and while "his vocals are little more than shouting the sound is powerful and bottom-heavy."
