The Martyr

The Martyr is the seventh studio album by British recording artist Alesha (eighth if you consider 2010's Last Judgment). It was first released on 10 January, 2011 by Holy Trinity Music Group. The album, written and produced by Alesha in its entirety, continues a trend of Alesha’s albums growing increasingly more alternative. Containing some of the darkest and most personal lyrics of Alesha’s career, The Martyr concerns itself with the dissolution of Alesha’s relationships with then-wife Neyssa and close friend Shell Ruin. Musically, the album contains alternative, electronica, folktronica and trip hop influences.

The album received mixed reviews from music critics, with responses noting its consistency, but general responses called the record "about Alesha” and found it confusing. Many critics lamented the lack of pop hooks. The Martyr peaked at number one with Alesha’s highest first-week sales at that time, but it was her first studio album to fail to achieve a diamond certification since 2005.

The Martyr was accompanied by the lead single “Silent Holocaust,” nominated for Best Single at the 20th Urapopstar Awards. “The Hunted” was the only number one single from the album. “Sister” continued a three-year top-two streak; a remix featuring Candi was also released. The album was re-released in July with the Putanovska duet “Alpha & Omega”. Alesha embarked on the Heathen Tour to promote the album.

Development
Alesha had announced her third pregnancy and her retirement from the music industry in 2010, intending to end her career with a celebratory onslaught of releases such as the greatest hits album Last Judgment and the double-platinum single “The Last Temptation”. However, just months later in late 2010, Alesha was persuaded to return by Putanovska. Alesha began working on a electro-pop concept album inspired by dystopian science fiction film Blade Runner, but writing sessions were unsuccessful (aside from “Blush (Response),” recorded by Emily Henning).

In October 2010, Alesha gave birth to twins Rafiki and Zazu Kurdadze. In November 2010, it was revealed that Alesha’s close friend and recurring collaborator Shell Ruin had faked her own death a year before, leading to a fall-out between Alesha and Ruin. Alesha was also dealing with the dissolution of her marriage to Neyssa; the pair had been together since 2005 and married since 2008. They had three children together. In a 2014 interview, Alesha revealed that she had suffered from severe postnatal depression during the creation of The Martyr, giving the album a noticeably more somber tone.

Music and lyrics
The album is the darkest and most alternative of Alesha’s career, incorporating alternative, electronica, folktronica and trip hop influences. Alesha cited Icelandic recording artist Björk as her greatest influence in creating the album. Inspiration also came from Bat for Lashes, Fever Ray and Putanovska’s Journey to the Black Sea.

Album opener “God Is Dead” is a “farewell” to the previous chapter in Alesha’s career, which was dominated by themes of religion. “Silent Holocaust” is the most expressive of Alesha’s postnatal depression and discuses the loss of power. “In Matrimony” discusses Alesha’s need for fame as something that gives her life significance. “Caesar” is about Alesha’s feud with Shell Ruin.

“Sister,” written about Alesha’s sister Maria and her sisterhood with Putanovska and Ruin, employs minimalist and trip hop influences and has more of a hook than the album’s other tracks. “Mother” discusses the struggles of raising children under scrutiny in the public eye. Second single “The Hunted” contains an interpolation of Björk’s “Hunter.” The song is about Ruin, the perils of fame and the superficiality of the music industry. The album ends with “Summer Skin,” a more hopeful, melodic track with only piano and vocals.

Critical reception
The Martyr received mixed reviews from music critics, holding a score of 66/100 on music review website Metacritic, based on 27 professional reviews. Billboard's Michael Paoletta noted the lyrical differences from past albums such as Bigger Than God positively, saying “The Martyr relies less on spiritual introspection and more on woman-in-the-mirror confrontation." Dimitri Ebrlich of Vibe magazine gave a positive review for The Martyr, saying that Alesha "stayed still" in the album, and commenting that "this may be the first time Alesha hasn't pushed herself to explore new ground, but at least she's chosen a good place to rest."

Johnny Davis from NME gave the album a rating of seven out of ten, saying that technically the album sounds good, but overall it felt like an unnecessary sequel to Alesha’s previous endeavors like Bigger Than God and Last Judgment. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that American Life is better for what it promises than what it delivers, and that it is better in theory than practice. James Hannaham from Spin also compared the album's introspective themes to her previous albums Bigger Than God and Last Judgment and noted Alesha spends much of The Martyr bemoaning the emptiness of celebrity culture.

The Martyr was nominated for Best Album at the 20th Urapopstar Awards, while “Silent Holocaust” was nominated for Best Single; Alesha also received nominations for Best Alternative/Rock, Best Female, Best Live and Best Overall Artist. Alesha was honored with the award for Best Songwriter (and Best Miscellaneous Art for a Prime Cut poster).

Commercial response
Upon its release, The Martyr entered the albums chart at number one, becoming Alesha’s eighth consecutive number one album. It gave Alesha her highest first-week sales frame at that time. Upon the release of “The Hunted,” the album returned to the top spot. The Martyr was certified triple platinum (indicating 900,000 units shifted), selling a total of 983,647 copies. Although it became Alesha’s first studio album to miss out on a diamond certification since 2005, the album was the tenth best-selling album of 2011.

Singles
The album was accompanied by lead single “Silent Holocaust”. Performed for the first time on the 2010 Christmas Chart Show, the song was released in January and ended Alesha's number one streak, but earned Alesha her seventeenth consecutive top two hit and was quickly certified platinum. "Silent Holocaust" ranks as Alesha's highest-selling number two to date, becoming the twelfth best-selling single of 2011 and the most commercially successful of the album's campaign. The song was nominated for Best Single at the 20th Urapopstar Awards.

Alesha hosted the 19th Urapopstar Awards with Putanovska and Just Ginger in February, winning five awards and performing at the ceremony with Putanovska and Shell Ruin (who Alesha had now reconciled with). Alesha released “The Hunted” as the album’s second single in March 2011. Promotion included a high-profile performance at the URAPS Legends concert. The single was soon followed by “Sister”, continuing a three-year streak of top-two hits. Alesha also appeared on newcomer Candi’s second single “Gold”; Candi appeared on a remix of "Sister" to return the favour. In July 2011, Alesha released “Alpha & Omega”/“Who Do You Think You Are” with Putanovska to promote their film ‘’Prime Cut’’ and its soundtrack.

Alesha was due to release “Summer Skin” together with “Sex Scene” from the ‘’Prime Cut’’ soundtrack in September 2011 but plans for the release were canceled. A greatest hits compilation ‘’God Save the Queen: The Best of Alesha’’ was released in August 2011 and remained Alesha’s last release until 2014.

Tour
On 28 February, Alesha launched the ‘’’Heathen Tour’’’, her fifth world tour in as many years. Support acts included Ace Rejects, Luke Ramada and Sandi Cohen in Europe, Genevere Johnson in North America, Helena Rossi in Africa/Asia/South America, and Becca Hayworth. The tour did not receive a televised broadcast or a home video release, causing many Alesha fans to call it “the lost tour.”

Track listing
All songs written by Alesha Kurdadze.


 * 1) “God Is Dead”
 * 2) “Silent Holocaust”
 * 3) “In Matrimony”
 * 4) “Caesar”
 * 5) “Sister”
 * 6) “Mother”
 * 7) “The Hunted”
 * 8) “Summer Skin”


 * Notes
 * “Silent Holocaust” contains a sample of Antony and the Johnson’s “Where Is My Power” in its middle-8.
 * “The Hunted” contains an interpolation of Björk’s “Hunter.”