| The King of Limbs | ||||
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| Released | 18 February 2011 | |||
| Recorded | May 2009 – January 2011 | |||
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| Length | 37:34 | |||
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| Producer | Nigel Godrich | |||
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The King of Limbs is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 18 February 2011 as a download, followed by a physical release on 28 March through XL Recordings internationally and TBD Records in North America.
Following the more conventional instrumentation of In Rainbows (2007), The King of Limbs saw Radiohead move further from standard song structures and recording methods. They developed it with their producer, Nigel Godrich, through sampling and looping. The singer, Thom Yorke, described it as "an expression of wildness and mutation". The artwork, by Yorke and his longtime collaborator Stanley Donwood, depicts nature and spirits inspired by fairy tales.
Radiohead released no singles from The King of Limbs, but released a music video for "Lotus Flower" featuring Yorke's dancing that inspired an internet meme. In 2012, they began an international tour, with several festival appearances. To perform the complex rhythms live, they enlisted a second drummer, Clive Deamer. The European tour was postponed after the temporary stage collapsed in Toronto's Downsview Park, killing the technician Scott Johnson and injuring three others.
Though its unconventional production and shorter length divided listeners, The King of Limbs was named one of the best albums of the year by publications including Rolling Stone, The Wire, NME and PopMatters. At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, it was nominated in five categories, including Best Alternative Music Album. The download version sold more than 300,000 copies in two months, and the vinyl became a bestseller in the UK. The retail edition debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart and number six on the US Billboard 200. The King of Limbs is the only Radiohead album not to achieve gold certification in the US. It was followed by the remix album TKOL RMX 1234567, the live video The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement and the non-album singles "Supercollider" and "The Butcher".