American Tragedy (album)
Encyclopedia
American Tragedy is the second studio album
by American rap rock
band Hollywood Undead
. Production for the album began following the induction of Daniel Murillo into the band in early 2010 and lasted until December. Don Gilmore and Ben Grosse
, who helped produce the band's debut album, Swan Songs
(2008), also returned to produce the album along with several other producers including Kevin Rudolf
, Sam Hollander
, Dave Katz
, Griffin Boice, Jeff Halavacs, and Jacob Kasher. The album is musically heavier and features darker lyrical content than the band's previous effort, also focusing largely on rock music
rather than rap. Originally set to release in March, American Tragedy was released on April 5, 2011 in the United States and was released on various other dates that month in other countries. A remix of the album, American Tragedy Redux
, is set to be released on November 21, 2011.
The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200
, selling approximately 67,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It also charted in a few other countries, including Canada and the UK, a first for the band. The album also had five singles: "Hear Me Now
", "Been to Hell
", "Coming Back Down
", "Comin' in Hot
", and "My Town
", with music videos being made for all of them except "Coming Back Down" as it was released on the same day as "Been to Hell". The band participated in three headlining tours: the Revolt Tour
, the Endless Summer Tour, and the World War III Tour, as well as other supporting tours throughout 2011 to promote the album. Upon release, American Tragedy received mixed to positive reviews. Critics consistently noted the darker and more serious tone of the album, but to mixed reception. Lyrics were widely criticized while the energy and instruments were praised in most reviews.
(2009), the band had begun writing material for their tentative second studio album. However, in early 2010, clean vocalist Aron "Deuce" Erlichman
was voted out of the group due to not arriving at the airport when the band was scheduled to leave for a tour, which left Erlichman and Hollywood Undead on poor terms. Erlichman then released a track, titled "Story of a Snitch", aimed at attacking the remaining members of Hollywood Undead. In late 2010, the band confirmed that former touring member Daniel "Danny" Murillo, who was an American Idol
contestant in its ninth season
and also the lead singer of the band Lorene Drive
, would take over as Erlichman's replacement, providing clean vocals.
Recording for the album began in summer 2010 and was originally set to release in fall of that year. Recording lasted until November and was mixed after Thanksgiving. James Diener, head of the band's record label, believed that it would launch the band into more mainstream success, making it a "big next step" for the group. This was proven correct following the commercial success of the album's number four debut in the United States. The band has also confirmed that producer Don Gilmore, who also worked on their debut album, had returned as executive producer for the album. On the recording process, J-Dog said in an interview, "[It had] been a long time, were out of the studio, done recording, beat the shit out of ourselves to make sure our second record is better than our first. It was hard but we finally finished it and we're excited our first track is out there."
On January 11, 2011, the band confirmed the title of the album, American Tragedy, and released a preview video of the album with an instrumental snippet of the then untitled track, "Been to Hell". In an interview, Johnny 3 Tears explained the meaning of the album's title. The "American Tragedy" refers to the concept that many American youth grow up believing in certain ideals which are discovered to be false upon entering adulthood. On January 19, the band released a photo of their new masks as well as new member Danny's mask. The band reasoned these because, "they represent [Hollywood Undead] as a band, and as a whole. We all felt it's years later since the first record and time to start a new chapter." In addition, the growing fan base of the group made Jerry Constantine, the band's molder, to point out that some of the fans masks started looking better than the band's. "So we stepped it up", J-Dog reported in a press release. Each member designed their own mask, with the new designs being much closer to the original concept the band envisioned than before. Johnny 3 Tears feels the masks are more sophisticated and reflect how different the new album is from their previous efforts.
Johnny 3 Tears described the album as being much heavier than their debut album, Swan Songs
(2008). "There is more rock, heavier sound and more pain in the songs", Johnny 3 Tears stated, relating this to the situation of the country at the time. "When you write songs, you're very sensitive to what is happening in the world, and I would say that we have incorporated into the song much more than what we see around us at this time. It is hard to write happy, cheerful songs, when 14 percent of the population [was] unemployed." On February 25, the band confirmed the official release date of the album as April 5, 2011. Speaking about the album as a whole, Johnny 3 Tears said that, "American Tragedy is the record I always hoped that Hollywood Undead would write, we couldn't be more proud. We hope all the fans love it as much as we do. Our fans mean everything to us, and we dedicate this record to them." On April 1, 2011, at Midnight, Hollywood Undead streamed the full album of American Tragedy for free listening on their Myspace
page. The release of the album also boosted sales for their debut album, Swan Songs, bringing it back into the Billboard 200.
". J-Dog said that the song is, "the truth about what really happens to people when they move to L.A., to be actors or models or God knows what other delusions people have... failure. It's all too true, but most people aren't there to see it first-hand. But we are, so it's our interpretation of it all." The track is followed by "Apologize", a track that directly addresses critics and states the band's defiance in the face of negative opinions, as evident by the chorus, "We don't apologize and that's just the way it is, but we can harmonize even if we sound like shit." Third is "Comin’ in Hot", a party song and the album's fourth single that uses humor to describe what happens in night clubs. "My Town
" is the fifth single and a mid-tempo
song talking about Los Angeles and Hollywood. Next is "I Don't Wanna Die", a song about the fear of death fueling the need to kill another person. "Hear Me Now
" was the lead single
from the album and is about the troubles each band member was going through at the time the song was written. The song's lyrics tell the story of a person who is depressed and hopeless, taking a very somber tone to the track. Despite this, the instruments and melodies contrast to make a uptempo track. Next is "Gangsta Sexy", a party anthem
song about heading to nightclubs and pursuing women. The following track, "Glory", is a metal
-inspired song which drew influence from war and fighting."Coming Back Down
", the third single released from the album, is a rock ballad song with acoustic guitar
s on the track. The lyrics describes about a story of an unknown loved one who has recently died, with the narrator having difficulty trying to live without them. "Bullet", the eleventh track from the album, is an uptempo pop song
about suicide. It is played in an upbeat tempo with energetic vocals, which gives contrast to the dark lyrical content. Rick Florino called the track, "heart-wrenching genius". "Levitate" is an uptempo discotheque song about sex, while the verses of the song talk about suicide and alcoholism. It was also featured in the Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed
trailer, "Autolog Drift Challenge", as well as on the game's soundtrack, where it was ranked eighth on ProGamists list of "Top ten songs featured in racing games".
"Pour Me", the last soft song on the album, is a dark ballad that has been often compared to Eminem
's "Stan
". Johnny 3 Tears stated that, "We were messing around with chord progressions and that came out like a more major chord
style than we were used to it. It's melodic and poppy sounding. We're talking about drinking obviously because all of us sometimes drink too much. It's one of those basic every day things that people go through but they don't know how to voice it or others around them don't know to voice it. It's almost like you're looked down upon, but no one actually talks about it." "Tendencies", which is the closing track for the standard edition of the album, is a high tempo alternative metal
song about murder. Johnny 3 Tears said, "When we wrote Tendencies, I wanted to make a song that kids would just go nuts to when we played it. Kids start moshpits at our shows. Not every song we have is the best mosh song, so I wanted to make a song kids could go crazy for."
The deluxe edition of the album opens with "Mother Murder", a song about a girl who stabs her boyfriend in the back after how much he took care of her. "Lump Ya Head", the second track off the deluxe edition, is a swing influenced song with rock and roll
elements. The lyrics suggest Hollywood Undead portrayed as organized gangsters in the 1930s or '40s. "Le Deux", French for "the second", is an electronic rock song that uses synthesizers. The deluxe edition ends with "S.C.A.V.A.", the last song on the deluxe edition of the album, is a rock anthem about the end of the world. Lyrically, it came about with the band contemplating if the world will really end in 2012
. While the band was touring with Avenged Sevenfold
, the guitarist Synyster Gates
said, "Holy shit, that's the craziest verse I've ever heard! The lyrics are insane."
, began on April 6 and spanned across the spring until May 27, playing with Drive-A, New Medicine
, 10 Years
, and others at various House of Blues
venues across North America. The second headlining tour for the album was the Endless Summer Tour with All That Remains
and Hyro Da Hero which began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and ended in Knoxville, Tennessee
. The third tour was the World War III Tour, which the band called the biggest tour they had done yet. The tour was co-headlined with Asking Alexandria
with support acts We Came As Romans
, D.R.U.G.S., and Borgore
, with different local openers for each location. For supporting tours, the band began with the Nightmare After Christmas Tour with headliners Avenged Sevenfold
and supporters Stone Sour
and New Medicine
on January 20, 2011, which was the first supporting tour for the album. Outside of official tours, the band played several festivals throughout 2011 including UFEST in Mesa, Arizona
, Rockfest, and Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. The band also played various holiday shows, such as a Cinco De Mayo
show in Salt Lake City, Utah
with Flogging Molly
and others.
The album spawned five singles in total. On December 8, 2010, the band released the artwork for the album's first single, titled "Hear Me Now
". The track was released on December 13 for radio and was made available online a week later on December 21. "Hear Me Now" was the album's most successful single, charting variously on the Billboard Heatseeker charts, Alternative charts, and the Rock charts. On March 22, the band appeared live on the late night talk show Lopez Tonight
as a musical guest where they performed the single "Hear Me Now" to promote the album. The band reportedly almost drank the entire bar behind the Turner Broadcasting System
set, with George Lopez
saying to J-Dog, "Drink all of it. Go ahead, I don’t care. But I've never seen anyone drink that much." The album's second and third official singles, "Been to Hell
" and "Coming Back Down
", were both released on March 15, 2011. "Been to Hell" was previously released as a promotional single with a lyric video on February 6, but was then released as a single with a music video, leading to it chart on Billboards Heatseeker and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts. Because "Coming Back Down" was released on the same day as "Been to Hell", the track did not get a music video. "Coming Back Down" previously surfaced due to a leak on February 18 and was later confirmed to be on the album and was produced by Kevin Rudolf. Brian Voerding noted that the song showed the band's strength in both singing and rapping while comparing the sound to Linkin Park
. The album's fourth single, "Comin' in Hot
", was released on April 9 with a music video to celebrate the album's release. Similar to "Been to Hell", "Comin' in Hot" was originally a free promotional single released on January 21, but was later released as an album single following the release of American Tragedy. The track was reviewed by Evigshed along with "Hear Me Now" after it was released as a promotional single, who gave both "Comin' in Hot" and "Hear Me Now" a perfect ten out of ten score, noting that "Comin' in Hot" was much more upbeat and was extremely catchy. On July 8, it was announced the fifth single for the album would be "My Town
". The band began shooting the music video in early July and announced that fans would be featured in the video if they recorded themselves performing the song in front of a famous landmark. The video has no release date as of yet.
"My Town" was featured in the Street Fighter x Tekken
trailer.
. When the official sales week ended, the album exceeded expectations and sold about 67,000 copies, but was outsold by Radiohead
's The King of Limbs
and so debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Weekly sales topped albums such as Wiz Khalifa
's Rolling Papers and Chris Brown's F.A.M.E.
, and was right behind Adele
's 21
, Britney Spears
's Femme Fatale
, and Radiohead's The King of Limbs. These opening week sales mark an 18-spot and 45,000-unit copy increase over the band's first-week debut for Swan Songs
(2008), which debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 with 21,000 copies sold in its first week. American Tragedy has earned the band their best single-week sales in the United States so far. Upon learning of the album's first-week sales, Charlie Scene jokingly remarked, "I gotta be honest with everyone: I was really looking forward to the opportunity to be on top of Britney this week, but being right behind her and Adele is a memory we’ll relish forever." The album also debuted at number one on the US Hard Rock charts, number two on the US Rock, Digital, and Alternative charts, and number 11 on the Tastemaker Albums charts. Outside of the US, American Tragedy charted number five in Canadian albums charts and number 43 in the UK albums charts.
As of November 25th, the album has sold around 242,000 copies in the US alone, catching up to the band's debut album, Swan Songs, which had sold over 900,000 copies in the US within the three years of its release. American Tragedy peaked on July 3 as the 76th best selling album of 2011, but has since dropped to the 99th-best-selling album of 2011 so far.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 59, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
Rick Florino of Artistdirect gave American Tragedy 5 out of 5, particularly praising the band's choice to avoid duplicating their debut album, Swan Songs
, and instead choosing to create a, "darker, deeper, and far deadlier ride this time around." Florino compared various elements of the album to the Wu Tang Clan and Nine Inch Nails
, particularly comparing the album's production (which was done by various producers with executive producer Don Gilmore) to Nine Inch Nails' second album The Downward Spiral
(1994). He also lauded the irony of the quality singing on, "Apologize", combined with the lyrics, "But we can harmonize, even if we sound like shit." Florino concluded that, "Hollywood Undead's genius lies—in that dangerous space between unforgettable and unsettling," pointing this out in the track, "Bullet", for it being the, "sunniest and catchiest tune on American Tragedy," while still telling, "a potent and poignant tale of longing for suicide." The other track Florino pointed out for being unforgettable is, "Pour Me", calling it, "an evil power ballad that everyone who hears it will feel."
Revolver magazine reviewer Jeremy Borjon gave the album four out of five in his review, calling American Tragedy, "one hell of an album that will leave fans’ heads buzzing long after the clubs have let out and the hangover sets in." Borjon complimented the shift in moods throughout the album and the lyrical quality compared to Swan Songs. He praised several tracks including "Been to Hell", "Apologize", "Comin' in Hot", "Bullet", "Levitate", and "Tendencies" as numerous outstanding points in the album. Borjon did criticize the slower songs, "Coming Back Down" and "Pour Me" but dismissed that that were, "easily forgotten among the album’s many undeniably addictive future hits."
Richard Solomon of The Minaret proclaimed that, "If you’re a Hollywood Undead fan, you'll love American Tragedy. As for people who didn’t care for Swan Songs, you'll probably still love American Tragedy." Instrumentally, Solomon noted one of his only complaints of the album, being that, "At times, the synthesizer seems a little too heavy handed, but it succeeds more often than not." Solomon complimented the album being different and further encouraged the Deluxe Edition tracks in addition to the album itself.
Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was more critical in his review. He praised the energy of the album, pointing out the, "Booming groove," of "Apologize", and the "disco-metal urgency," of "Levitate". Wood's biggest complaint of the album was that the band has, "filtered out any sense of humor from its music, which makes American Tragedy virtually impossible to listen to for longer than a few songs at a time." Alistair Lawrence of BBC Music said that the album is, "The result is that they’ve ditched some of the early, growling quirkiness that at least gave them an initial, oddball appeal." Lawrence finishes his review noting, "Hollywood Undead are content to deliver clichés – more out of a lack of imagination than cynical opportunism, but it still smacks of both. That’s why to seasoned ears or any genre fan requiring more than more of the same, they’re very, very boring."
Additional musicians
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rap rock
Rap rock
Rap rock is a cross-genre fusing vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock is often confused with rap metal and rapcore, subgenres that include heavy metal-oriented and hardcore punk-oriented bands, respectively....
band Hollywood Undead
Hollywood Undead
Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released their debut album, Swan Songs, on September 2, 2008, and their live CD/DVD Desperate Measures, on November 10, 2009. Their second studio album, American Tragedy, was released April 5, 2011...
. Production for the album began following the induction of Daniel Murillo into the band in early 2010 and lasted until December. Don Gilmore and Ben Grosse
Ben Grosse
Ben Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, who has worked on numerous albums. He currently works with a staff at his own studio, The Mix Room, in Burbank, California...
, who helped produce the band's debut album, Swan Songs
Swan Songs (Hollywood Undead album)
Swan Songs is the debut album by Hollywood Undead, released through Octone Records. The album was released on September 2, 2008. "Everywhere I Go" was the first single to be released, it was a web single and was available for download only on iTunes...
(2008), also returned to produce the album along with several other producers including Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf is an American singer-songwriter and record producer signed to Cash Money Records. Rudolf is mostly known for singing and producing rock/pop music...
, Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander is an American songwriter and record producer. He has written and/or produced hits for the likes of Train, Boys Like Girls, Gym Class Heroes, Good Charlotte, Carole King, Neon Trees, Cobra Starship, 3OH!3, Coheed and Cambria, All Time Low, Metro Station, We The Kings, O.A.R., Uncle...
, Dave Katz
Dave Katz
Dave Katz has co-written and/or produced songs for The Cab, Hey Monday, All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Gym Class Heroes, Kelly Rowland, The Academy Is..., Mandy Moore, Cobra Starship, Roger Daltrey, Coheed and Cambria, Metro Station, We The Kings, Blake Lewis, Hollywood Undead, and others.In 2005,...
, Griffin Boice, Jeff Halavacs, and Jacob Kasher. The album is musically heavier and features darker lyrical content than the band's previous effort, also focusing largely on rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
rather than rap. Originally set to release in March, American Tragedy was released on April 5, 2011 in the United States and was released on various other dates that month in other countries. A remix of the album, American Tragedy Redux
American Tragedy Redux
American Tragedy Redux is the first remix album by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, taking songs exclusively off the band's 2011 studio album, American Tragedy, and remixing them. The album was released on November 21, 2011 by A&M/Octone Records...
, is set to be released on November 21, 2011.
The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling approximately 67,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It also charted in a few other countries, including Canada and the UK, a first for the band. The album also had five singles: "Hear Me Now
Hear Me Now (song)
"Hear Me Now" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead, the first single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the sixth track on that album. It is the band's sixth overall single in their discography. It is also the first media released by the band without...
", "Been to Hell
Been to Hell
"Been to Hell" is a song by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, the second single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the first track on that album. It is the band's eighth overall single in their discography. The track was released as a free download on the band's...
", "Coming Back Down
Coming Back Down
"Coming Back Down" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead, the third single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the tenth track on that album. It is the band's ninth overall single in their discography. The track was released as a promotional single and free...
", "Comin' in Hot
Comin' in Hot
"Comin' in Hot" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead. It is the fourth single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the third track on that album. It is the band's tenth overall single in their discography...
", and "My Town
My Town (Hollywood Undead song)
"My Town" is a song by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, the fifth single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the fourth track on that album. It is the band's ninth overall single in their discography...
", with music videos being made for all of them except "Coming Back Down" as it was released on the same day as "Been to Hell". The band participated in three headlining tours: the Revolt Tour
Revolt Tour
The Revolt Tour was a tour by rap rock band Hollywood Undead, taking place in support of their second studio album American Tragedy, which was released on April 5, 2011. The tour began the day after the album's North American release on April 6, 2011...
, the Endless Summer Tour, and the World War III Tour, as well as other supporting tours throughout 2011 to promote the album. Upon release, American Tragedy received mixed to positive reviews. Critics consistently noted the darker and more serious tone of the album, but to mixed reception. Lyrics were widely criticized while the energy and instruments were praised in most reviews.
Background
Since the release of the live CD/DVD, Desperate MeasuresDesperate Measures (Hollywood Undead album)
-Disc Two :Live at the Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Marquee Theater, Tempe, Arizona-Chart positions:-Personnel:Hollywood Undead*Charlie Scene - vocals, lead guitar*Da Kurlzz – drums, percussion, screams, vocals Deuce- Lead vocals...
(2009), the band had begun writing material for their tentative second studio album. However, in early 2010, clean vocalist Aron "Deuce" Erlichman
Deuce (singer)
Aron Erlichman , better known by his stage name Deuce, is an American singer, rapper, record producer, and songwriter. Brought to fame as one of the co-founders and lead vocalist of rap rock band Hollywood Undead, Deuce has since branched into solo work and is preparing to release his label debut...
was voted out of the group due to not arriving at the airport when the band was scheduled to leave for a tour, which left Erlichman and Hollywood Undead on poor terms. Erlichman then released a track, titled "Story of a Snitch", aimed at attacking the remaining members of Hollywood Undead. In late 2010, the band confirmed that former touring member Daniel "Danny" Murillo, who was an American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant in its ninth season
American Idol (season 9)
The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was...
and also the lead singer of the band Lorene Drive
Lorene Drive
Lorene Drive is an American rock band from Victorville, California. They were formed in 2002. They were a part of the 2005 – 2007 Vans Warped Tour, 2006 The Bamboozle coast tour, and the 2005 Taste of Chaos tour...
, would take over as Erlichman's replacement, providing clean vocals.
Recording for the album began in summer 2010 and was originally set to release in fall of that year. Recording lasted until November and was mixed after Thanksgiving. James Diener, head of the band's record label, believed that it would launch the band into more mainstream success, making it a "big next step" for the group. This was proven correct following the commercial success of the album's number four debut in the United States. The band has also confirmed that producer Don Gilmore, who also worked on their debut album, had returned as executive producer for the album. On the recording process, J-Dog said in an interview, "[It had] been a long time, were out of the studio, done recording, beat the shit out of ourselves to make sure our second record is better than our first. It was hard but we finally finished it and we're excited our first track is out there."
On January 11, 2011, the band confirmed the title of the album, American Tragedy, and released a preview video of the album with an instrumental snippet of the then untitled track, "Been to Hell". In an interview, Johnny 3 Tears explained the meaning of the album's title. The "American Tragedy" refers to the concept that many American youth grow up believing in certain ideals which are discovered to be false upon entering adulthood. On January 19, the band released a photo of their new masks as well as new member Danny's mask. The band reasoned these because, "they represent [Hollywood Undead] as a band, and as a whole. We all felt it's years later since the first record and time to start a new chapter." In addition, the growing fan base of the group made Jerry Constantine, the band's molder, to point out that some of the fans masks started looking better than the band's. "So we stepped it up", J-Dog reported in a press release. Each member designed their own mask, with the new designs being much closer to the original concept the band envisioned than before. Johnny 3 Tears feels the masks are more sophisticated and reflect how different the new album is from their previous efforts.
Johnny 3 Tears described the album as being much heavier than their debut album, Swan Songs
Swan Songs (Hollywood Undead album)
Swan Songs is the debut album by Hollywood Undead, released through Octone Records. The album was released on September 2, 2008. "Everywhere I Go" was the first single to be released, it was a web single and was available for download only on iTunes...
(2008). "There is more rock, heavier sound and more pain in the songs", Johnny 3 Tears stated, relating this to the situation of the country at the time. "When you write songs, you're very sensitive to what is happening in the world, and I would say that we have incorporated into the song much more than what we see around us at this time. It is hard to write happy, cheerful songs, when 14 percent of the population [was] unemployed." On February 25, the band confirmed the official release date of the album as April 5, 2011. Speaking about the album as a whole, Johnny 3 Tears said that, "American Tragedy is the record I always hoped that Hollywood Undead would write, we couldn't be more proud. We hope all the fans love it as much as we do. Our fans mean everything to us, and we dedicate this record to them." On April 1, 2011, at Midnight, Hollywood Undead streamed the full album of American Tragedy for free listening on their Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page. The release of the album also boosted sales for their debut album, Swan Songs, bringing it back into the Billboard 200.
Music and lyrical themes
American Tragedy opens with the single "Been to HellBeen to Hell
"Been to Hell" is a song by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, the second single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the first track on that album. It is the band's eighth overall single in their discography. The track was released as a free download on the band's...
". J-Dog said that the song is, "the truth about what really happens to people when they move to L.A., to be actors or models or God knows what other delusions people have... failure. It's all too true, but most people aren't there to see it first-hand. But we are, so it's our interpretation of it all." The track is followed by "Apologize", a track that directly addresses critics and states the band's defiance in the face of negative opinions, as evident by the chorus, "We don't apologize and that's just the way it is, but we can harmonize even if we sound like shit." Third is "Comin’ in Hot", a party song and the album's fourth single that uses humor to describe what happens in night clubs. "My Town
My Town (Hollywood Undead song)
"My Town" is a song by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, the fifth single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the fourth track on that album. It is the band's ninth overall single in their discography...
" is the fifth single and a mid-tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
song talking about Los Angeles and Hollywood. Next is "I Don't Wanna Die", a song about the fear of death fueling the need to kill another person. "Hear Me Now
Hear Me Now (song)
"Hear Me Now" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead, the first single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the sixth track on that album. It is the band's sixth overall single in their discography. It is also the first media released by the band without...
" was the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from the album and is about the troubles each band member was going through at the time the song was written. The song's lyrics tell the story of a person who is depressed and hopeless, taking a very somber tone to the track. Despite this, the instruments and melodies contrast to make a uptempo track. Next is "Gangsta Sexy", a party anthem
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
song about heading to nightclubs and pursuing women. The following track, "Glory", is a metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
-inspired song which drew influence from war and fighting."Coming Back Down
Coming Back Down
"Coming Back Down" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead, the third single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the tenth track on that album. It is the band's ninth overall single in their discography. The track was released as a promotional single and free...
", the third single released from the album, is a rock ballad song with acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
s on the track. The lyrics describes about a story of an unknown loved one who has recently died, with the narrator having difficulty trying to live without them. "Bullet", the eleventh track from the album, is an uptempo pop song
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
about suicide. It is played in an upbeat tempo with energetic vocals, which gives contrast to the dark lyrical content. Rick Florino called the track, "heart-wrenching genius". "Levitate" is an uptempo discotheque song about sex, while the verses of the song talk about suicide and alcoholism. It was also featured in the Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed
Shift 2: Unleashed
Shift 2: Unleashed is a racing video game, the 17th title in the Need for Speed franchise. It was developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Electronic Arts...
trailer, "Autolog Drift Challenge", as well as on the game's soundtrack, where it was ranked eighth on ProGamists list of "Top ten songs featured in racing games".
"Pour Me", the last soft song on the album, is a dark ballad that has been often compared to Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
's "Stan
Stan (song)
"Stan" is the third single from The Marshall Mathers LP, by rapper Eminem featuring Dido. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits, performed with Eminem and Dido as well track 17 on Curtain Call: The Hits as a live Performance from...
". Johnny 3 Tears stated that, "We were messing around with chord progressions and that came out like a more major chord
Major chord
In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major triad...
style than we were used to it. It's melodic and poppy sounding. We're talking about drinking obviously because all of us sometimes drink too much. It's one of those basic every day things that people go through but they don't know how to voice it or others around them don't know to voice it. It's almost like you're looked down upon, but no one actually talks about it." "Tendencies", which is the closing track for the standard edition of the album, is a high tempo alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
song about murder. Johnny 3 Tears said, "When we wrote Tendencies, I wanted to make a song that kids would just go nuts to when we played it. Kids start moshpits at our shows. Not every song we have is the best mosh song, so I wanted to make a song kids could go crazy for."
The deluxe edition of the album opens with "Mother Murder", a song about a girl who stabs her boyfriend in the back after how much he took care of her. "Lump Ya Head", the second track off the deluxe edition, is a swing influenced song with rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
elements. The lyrics suggest Hollywood Undead portrayed as organized gangsters in the 1930s or '40s. "Le Deux", French for "the second", is an electronic rock song that uses synthesizers. The deluxe edition ends with "S.C.A.V.A.", the last song on the deluxe edition of the album, is a rock anthem about the end of the world. Lyrically, it came about with the band contemplating if the world will really end in 2012
2012 Doomsday prediction
The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar...
. While the band was touring with Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
, the guitarist Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
said, "Holy shit, that's the craziest verse I've ever heard! The lyrics are insane."
Singles and promotion
To promote the album, the band participated in three headlining tours and several other supporting tours. The first headlining tour, the Revolt TourRevolt Tour
The Revolt Tour was a tour by rap rock band Hollywood Undead, taking place in support of their second studio album American Tragedy, which was released on April 5, 2011. The tour began the day after the album's North American release on April 6, 2011...
, began on April 6 and spanned across the spring until May 27, playing with Drive-A, New Medicine
New Medicine
New Medicine is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2009. They signed to Photo Finish Records after forming the new Band . Their debut album, Race You to the Bottom was released September 18, 2010.-Studio albums:-Singles:...
, 10 Years
10 Years
10 Years is an American alternative metal band, formed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999.-Early Years, Into the Half Moon :10 Years was initially formed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999 with singer Mike Underdown, drummer Brian Vodinh, bassist Lewis Cosby, and guitarists Ryan "Tater" Johnson and Matt...
, and others at various House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
venues across North America. The second headlining tour for the album was the Endless Summer Tour with All That Remains
All That Remains (band)
All That Remains is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, which formed in 1998. They have released five studio albums, a live CD/DVD, and have sold nearly 800,000 records...
and Hyro Da Hero which began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and ended in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. The third tour was the World War III Tour, which the band called the biggest tour they had done yet. The tour was co-headlined with Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria are a British metalcore band from York, North Yorkshire. Founded in 2008 when Ben Bruce contacted his old companions upon returning to the UK after residing in Dubai...
with support acts We Came As Romans
We Came as Romans
We Came as Romans is an American rock band from Troy, Michigan. Formed in 2005, the band signed to Equal Vision Records in April 2009 and have released two EPs, Demonstrations and Dreams , and two full-length albums, To Plant a Seed and Understanding What We've Grown to Be...
, D.R.U.G.S., and Borgore
Borgore
Asaf Borger , known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli dubstep producer and disc jockey . He is the founder of Buygore Records and former drummer of Israeli death metal band Shabira. Known as Gorestep, his music incorporates triplet drum patterns with heavy metal influences. Some songs have...
, with different local openers for each location. For supporting tours, the band began with the Nightmare After Christmas Tour with headliners Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
and supporters Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
and New Medicine
New Medicine
New Medicine is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2009. They signed to Photo Finish Records after forming the new Band . Their debut album, Race You to the Bottom was released September 18, 2010.-Studio albums:-Singles:...
on January 20, 2011, which was the first supporting tour for the album. Outside of official tours, the band played several festivals throughout 2011 including UFEST in Mesa, Arizona
Mesa, Arizona
According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...
, Rockfest, and Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. The band also played various holiday shows, such as a Cinco De Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...
show in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
with Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
and others.
The album spawned five singles in total. On December 8, 2010, the band released the artwork for the album's first single, titled "Hear Me Now
Hear Me Now (song)
"Hear Me Now" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead, the first single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the sixth track on that album. It is the band's sixth overall single in their discography. It is also the first media released by the band without...
". The track was released on December 13 for radio and was made available online a week later on December 21. "Hear Me Now" was the album's most successful single, charting variously on the Billboard Heatseeker charts, Alternative charts, and the Rock charts. On March 22, the band appeared live on the late night talk show Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight was an American late-night television talk show hosted by comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The...
as a musical guest where they performed the single "Hear Me Now" to promote the album. The band reportedly almost drank the entire bar behind the Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
set, with George Lopez
George Lopez
George Lopez is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He is mostly known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including the Mexican American culture...
saying to J-Dog, "Drink all of it. Go ahead, I don’t care. But I've never seen anyone drink that much." The album's second and third official singles, "Been to Hell
Been to Hell
"Been to Hell" is a song by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, the second single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the first track on that album. It is the band's eighth overall single in their discography. The track was released as a free download on the band's...
" and "Coming Back Down
Coming Back Down
"Coming Back Down" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead, the third single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the tenth track on that album. It is the band's ninth overall single in their discography. The track was released as a promotional single and free...
", were both released on March 15, 2011. "Been to Hell" was previously released as a promotional single with a lyric video on February 6, but was then released as a single with a music video, leading to it chart on Billboards Heatseeker and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts. Because "Coming Back Down" was released on the same day as "Been to Hell", the track did not get a music video. "Coming Back Down" previously surfaced due to a leak on February 18 and was later confirmed to be on the album and was produced by Kevin Rudolf. Brian Voerding noted that the song showed the band's strength in both singing and rapping while comparing the sound to Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
. The album's fourth single, "Comin' in Hot
Comin' in Hot
"Comin' in Hot" is a song by American rock band Hollywood Undead. It is the fourth single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the third track on that album. It is the band's tenth overall single in their discography...
", was released on April 9 with a music video to celebrate the album's release. Similar to "Been to Hell", "Comin' in Hot" was originally a free promotional single released on January 21, but was later released as an album single following the release of American Tragedy. The track was reviewed by Evigshed along with "Hear Me Now" after it was released as a promotional single, who gave both "Comin' in Hot" and "Hear Me Now" a perfect ten out of ten score, noting that "Comin' in Hot" was much more upbeat and was extremely catchy. On July 8, it was announced the fifth single for the album would be "My Town
My Town (Hollywood Undead song)
"My Town" is a song by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead, the fifth single from their second full-length album, American Tragedy, and the fourth track on that album. It is the band's ninth overall single in their discography...
". The band began shooting the music video in early July and announced that fans would be featured in the video if they recorded themselves performing the song in front of a famous landmark. The video has no release date as of yet.
"My Town" was featured in the Street Fighter x Tekken
Street Fighter X Tekken
is an upcoming crossover fighting game being developed by Capcom. The game was announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International by Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono. The game is set to release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Vita sometime in March 2012. The game...
trailer.
Commercial performance
Prior to release, American Tragedy was projected by several publications to sell about 65,000 copies in the first week of release in the United States, and was expected to reach number three on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. When the official sales week ended, the album exceeded expectations and sold about 67,000 copies, but was outsold by Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's The King of Limbs
The King of Limbs
The King of Limbs is the eighth studio album by English rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. It was self-released on 18 February 2011 as a download in MP3 and WAV formats, followed by physical CD and 12" vinyl releases on 28 March, a wider digital release via AWAL, and a special...
and so debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Weekly sales topped albums such as Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
's Rolling Papers and Chris Brown's F.A.M.E.
F.A.M.E. (album)
F.A.M.E. is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Chris Brown, first released on March 18, 2011 by Jive Records. Brown worked with several record producers and songwriters for the album, including Kevin McCall, Jean Baptiste, Brian Kennedy, DJ Frank E, The Underdogs and The...
, and was right behind Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
's 21
21 (Adele album)
21 is the second studio album by English recording artist Adele. Released on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom and most of Europe, and on 22 February 2011 in North America, the album was named after the age of the singer at the time of its production...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
's Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...
, and Radiohead's The King of Limbs. These opening week sales mark an 18-spot and 45,000-unit copy increase over the band's first-week debut for Swan Songs
Swan Songs (Hollywood Undead album)
Swan Songs is the debut album by Hollywood Undead, released through Octone Records. The album was released on September 2, 2008. "Everywhere I Go" was the first single to be released, it was a web single and was available for download only on iTunes...
(2008), which debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 with 21,000 copies sold in its first week. American Tragedy has earned the band their best single-week sales in the United States so far. Upon learning of the album's first-week sales, Charlie Scene jokingly remarked, "I gotta be honest with everyone: I was really looking forward to the opportunity to be on top of Britney this week, but being right behind her and Adele is a memory we’ll relish forever." The album also debuted at number one on the US Hard Rock charts, number two on the US Rock, Digital, and Alternative charts, and number 11 on the Tastemaker Albums charts. Outside of the US, American Tragedy charted number five in Canadian albums charts and number 43 in the UK albums charts.
As of November 25th, the album has sold around 242,000 copies in the US alone, catching up to the band's debut album, Swan Songs, which had sold over 900,000 copies in the US within the three years of its release. American Tragedy peaked on July 3 as the 76th best selling album of 2011, but has since dropped to the 99th-best-selling album of 2011 so far.
Critical response
Upon its release, American Tragedy received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 59, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
Rick Florino of Artistdirect gave American Tragedy 5 out of 5, particularly praising the band's choice to avoid duplicating their debut album, Swan Songs
Swan Songs (Hollywood Undead album)
Swan Songs is the debut album by Hollywood Undead, released through Octone Records. The album was released on September 2, 2008. "Everywhere I Go" was the first single to be released, it was a web single and was available for download only on iTunes...
, and instead choosing to create a, "darker, deeper, and far deadlier ride this time around." Florino compared various elements of the album to the Wu Tang Clan and Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, particularly comparing the album's production (which was done by various producers with executive producer Don Gilmore) to Nine Inch Nails' second album The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released March 8, 1994, on Interscope Records. It is a concept album detailing the destruction of a man, from the beginning of his "downward spiral" to his climactic attempt at suicide...
(1994). He also lauded the irony of the quality singing on, "Apologize", combined with the lyrics, "But we can harmonize, even if we sound like shit." Florino concluded that, "Hollywood Undead's genius lies—in that dangerous space between unforgettable and unsettling," pointing this out in the track, "Bullet", for it being the, "sunniest and catchiest tune on American Tragedy," while still telling, "a potent and poignant tale of longing for suicide." The other track Florino pointed out for being unforgettable is, "Pour Me", calling it, "an evil power ballad that everyone who hears it will feel."
Revolver magazine reviewer Jeremy Borjon gave the album four out of five in his review, calling American Tragedy, "one hell of an album that will leave fans’ heads buzzing long after the clubs have let out and the hangover sets in." Borjon complimented the shift in moods throughout the album and the lyrical quality compared to Swan Songs. He praised several tracks including "Been to Hell", "Apologize", "Comin' in Hot", "Bullet", "Levitate", and "Tendencies" as numerous outstanding points in the album. Borjon did criticize the slower songs, "Coming Back Down" and "Pour Me" but dismissed that that were, "easily forgotten among the album’s many undeniably addictive future hits."
Richard Solomon of The Minaret proclaimed that, "If you’re a Hollywood Undead fan, you'll love American Tragedy. As for people who didn’t care for Swan Songs, you'll probably still love American Tragedy." Instrumentally, Solomon noted one of his only complaints of the album, being that, "At times, the synthesizer seems a little too heavy handed, but it succeeds more often than not." Solomon complimented the album being different and further encouraged the Deluxe Edition tracks in addition to the album itself.
Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was more critical in his review. He praised the energy of the album, pointing out the, "Booming groove," of "Apologize", and the "disco-metal urgency," of "Levitate". Wood's biggest complaint of the album was that the band has, "filtered out any sense of humor from its music, which makes American Tragedy virtually impossible to listen to for longer than a few songs at a time." Alistair Lawrence of BBC Music said that the album is, "The result is that they’ve ditched some of the early, growling quirkiness that at least gave them an initial, oddball appeal." Lawrence finishes his review noting, "Hollywood Undead are content to deliver clichés – more out of a lack of imagination than cynical opportunism, but it still smacks of both. That’s why to seasoned ears or any genre fan requiring more than more of the same, they’re very, very boring."
Track listing
All tracks are written and performed by Hollywood Undead, with specific writers detailed for each track.Musicians
Hollywood Undead- Charlie Scene – vocalsRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, clean vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Da Kurlzz – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, screamsScreaming (music)Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
, vocals, composer - Danny – clean vocals
- Funny Man – vocals, composer
- J-Dog – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals, screams, composer, additional productionSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Johnny 3 Tears – vocals, composer
Additional musicians
- Dean ButterworthDean ButterworthDean "Deano" Butterworth is a professional drummer. He played for popular singer Morrissey and was announced as the official drummer for the band Good Charlotte in March 2005 after they parted with their previous drummer, Chris Wilson in 2005...
– drums - Dorian CrozierDorian Crozier- Drummer :A session drummer whose credits include Pink, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, the film Rent, Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys, and David Cook...
– drums - Will HuntWill HuntWilliam Martin "Will" Hunt is an American musician who has served as drummer of the band Evanescence, Dark New Day, Skrape , ELI, Static-X and Black Label Society, just to name a few. Hunt was in Skrape until 2004 and Black Label Society until 2011. Both were signed to major record labels...
– drums - Daren Pfeifer – drums
- John 5 – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on "Lights Out" - Jacob Williams (Channel 12) – additional guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on "Been to Hell" - Matt Mayes – vocals
- Petra Christensen – vocals
- Nick Layer- vocals
- Jamie MuhoberacJamie MuhoberacJamie Muhoberac is a session keyboardist with numerous credits, including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones , Backstreet Boys, Aly & AJ, Bob Dylan, Goo Goo Dolls, Chris Cornell , My Chemical Romance, Paradise Lost, Girlfriend, Carmen Rizzo and Pet Shop Boys...
– keyboards - B.C. Smith – programming, keyboards
- Bart Hendrickson – programming
- Dave Katz – programming, guitar, composer
- Jeff Halavacs – composer
- Jacob Kasher – composer
Production
- Don Gilmore – production, composer
- Griffin Boice – production, engineering, mixing, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, programming, stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones... - Ben GrosseBen GrosseBen Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, who has worked on numerous albums. He currently works with a staff at his own studio, The Mix Room, in Burbank, California...
– production, engineering, mixing, keyboards, programming, composer - Jeff Halatrax – production, guitar
- Kevin RudolfKevin RudolfKevin Rudolf is an American singer-songwriter and record producer signed to Cash Money Records. Rudolf is mostly known for singing and producing rock/pop music...
– production, engineering, instrumentation, composer - S*A*MSam HollanderSam Hollander is an American songwriter and record producer. He has written and/or produced hits for the likes of Train, Boys Like Girls, Gym Class Heroes, Good Charlotte, Carole King, Neon Trees, Cobra Starship, 3OH!3, Coheed and Cambria, All Time Low, Metro Station, We The Kings, O.A.R., Uncle...
– production, programming, composer - Sean Gould – engineering, mixing, guitar, bass guitar, programming
- Ken Dudley – engineering
- Paul Pavao – engineering
- Mark Kiczula – engineering
- Jeremy Miller – assistant engineer
- Grant Michaels – assistant engineer, programming
- Graham Hargrove – assistant engineer
- Sean Curiel – drum engineering
- Dylan Dresdow – mixing
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- John Hanes – mixing
- Jaime Martinez – mixing assistant
- Tim Roberts – mixing assistant
- Jonas ÅkerlundJonas ÅkerlundJonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Jeff Janke – photography
- Rogelio Hernandez II – art directionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience... - James DienerJames DienerJames Diener is the CEO-President of A&M/Octone Records, a joint venture between Octone Records and Universal Music Group. Headquartered in New York City, A&M/Octone Records is home to worldwide multi-platinum pop-rock superstars Maroon 5, platinum modern-rock act Flyleaf, gold-selling modern...
– A&R
Weekly charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
5 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
43 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
4 |
| US Top Alternative Albums | 2 |
| US Top Digital Albums | 2 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums | 2 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums | 11 |
Chart precession and succession
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958... |
April 4, 2011 | Polydor Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... |
CD, Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
B004NTVMRY | |
| Deluxe edition CD Special edition The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including... and digital download |
B004QHBMZK | ||||
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
April 5, 2011 | A&M/Octone A&M/Octone Records A&M/Octone Records is an American record label and a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Octone Records, also known as OctoScope Music... |
CD, Digital download | 15275 | |
| Deluxe edition CD and digital download | 2762142 | ||||
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
April 8, 2011 | Universal Music Australia | 00602527621425 | ||
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
April 13, 2011 | Universal Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
CD, Digital download | UICA1058 | |
| Deluxe edition CD and digital download | UICA9031 | ||||