Hail to the Thief

Hail to the Thief (or The Gloaming), usually referred to without its alternative title as simply Hail to the Thief, is the sixth studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead. It was produced by Nigel Godrich and released on 9 June 2003. It was the last album released under Radiohead's six-album record contract with Parlophone. After two Radiohead albums incorporating electronica, jazz and 20th-century classical music influences, Hail to the Thief was seen as a return to a more conventional rock sound while maintaining electronic and jazz elements. Following difficult recording sessions for previous albums, the band worked deliberately quickly, employing a live, "spontaneous" approach, and cited the Beatles, the Pixies, Charlie Mingus, Can, New Order, Tubeway Army and Siouxsie and the Banshees as influences. George Orwell, Dante, and fairy tales influenced the lyrics, much of which were written in response to the "War on Terror" and the subsequent War in Afghanistan.