The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull

The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull is the fifth full-length studio album by the band Earth. Earth embarked on a worldwide tour in support of the album.[9]

The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull
Studio album by Earth
Released	February 26, 2008
Recorded	Avast/Aleph Studios
Genre	Experimental rock, post-rock
Length	53:25
Label	Southern Lord (SUNN90)
Producer	Randall Dunn
Earth chronology
Hibernaculum (2007) The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (2008) Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (2011)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	A[2]
BBC	(favorable)[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10[5]
PopMatters	[6]
The Quietus	9/10[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[8]

Bill Frisell is a guest on the album, playing guitar on tracks one, four, and five.

The title is a reference to Judges 14:8 in the Bible. It tells the story of Samson, who tore apart a lion and when he returned, noticed a swarm of bees and some honey on the lion's carcass. The album continues the partial trend of Earth material being influenced by Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, with certain songs named after phrases from the book (for example, "Hung from the Moon" and "Engine of Ruin").[10][11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Omens and Portents I: The Driver"	9:06
2.	"Rise to Glory"	5:47
3.	"Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)"	8:01
4.	"Engine of Ruin"	6:28
5.	"Omens and Portents II: Carrion Crow"	8:04
6.	"Hung from the Moon"	7:44
7.	"The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull"	8:15
8.	"Junkyard Priest" (Vinyl bonus track)	7:13

Personnel

Per the liner notes[12]

Earth

• Dylan Carlson – electric guitars, amplifier
• Steve Moore – acoustic grand piano, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano
• Don McGreevy – bass guitar, double bass
• Adrienne Davies – drums, percussion

Guest musicians

• Bill Frisell – electric guitar on tracks 1, 4, and 5
• Milky Burgess - slide guitar on "Junkyard Priest"

Production

• Randall Dunn - basic tracks recorded at Avast, all other recording and mixing at Aleph Studios
• Sinister Kitchen - mastering
• Mell Detmer - mastering
• Arik Roper - artwork
• Seldon Hunt - layout

References

1. Jurek, Thom. The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull review allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2010-01-24.
5. Baron, Zach. The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull review pitchforkmedia.com. 2008-02-29. Retrieved on 2011-08-30.
8. The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull review tinymixtapes.com. Retrieved on 2010-01-24.
9. Earth news at LivingForMetal.com
10. Ambler, Charlie. "Talking to Earth About the Occult and Playing in a Doom Band When You're Happy". www.vice.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
11. "INTERVIEW: DYLAN CARLSON (EARTH)". burningambulance.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
12. Hunt, Seldon; Arik Roper (2008). The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (CD booklet in CD front cover). Earth. Southern Lord Records. pp. 1–10. sunn90.