The Gravedigger's Song

Origin and recording

Lanegan wrote the song as early as late 2010. He stated that all songs on the new record were written right before or during the recording period. The track was recorded during the album's sessions at 11AD Studio in Hollywood, California in 2011 with producer Alain Johannes, who also contributed musically. The b-side "Burning Jacob's Ladder" was recorded alongside the song and had previously appeared on the trailer and soundtrack of the video game Rage in early 2011.

Release and reception

"The Gravedigger's Song" was released as a digital download on iTunes on December 5, 2011, a month after a press release from 4AD announcing Blues Funeral and the subsequent tour. On January 2, 2012, 4AD released the single on limited edition coloured 7" vinyl that included a new version of "Burning Jacob's Ladder." The single received little promotion and did not chart. Critical response was positive; Daniel Kreps of Spin noted Lanegan traded his one-man-growling-in-the-studio motif for a full-flavored sound and that his gloomy lyrics remained as feel-good as ever.

Stereogum described the song as a pounding, apocalyptic thousand-yard-stare rumble. "Burning Jacob's Ladder" was also received positively, with TwentyFourBit noting its sparse opening of banjo, Lanegan's gravelly voice, and droning organ, building to a noisy climax with the Screaming Trees frontman's full rock vocal range and a five-second guitar-driven caterwaul.