Angels & Devils
Encyclopedia
Angels & Devils is the fourth studio album
by American rock
band Fuel
. Released on August 7, 2007, it was their first studio effort since 2003's Natural Selection and was the last Fuel album to feature original songwriter/guitarist, Carl Bell
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie. It was also Fuel's only studio album to feature new vocalist Toryn Green
. With a new singer, the album also introduced a new Fuel logo.
Former Godsmack
drummer Tommy Stewart
was announced as the band's new drummer but was unable to perform on the album due to other commitments so Josh Freese
and Tommy Lee
performed drums in his place.
left the group as well, citing tensions and creative differences that had existed between him and guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
. According to Bell, some of the tensions with Scallions originated from his desire to contribute to the group, "He wanted to write more, and be [involved] a little bit in the writing, which was fine with me; I can’t stop somebody from writing." Bell had also stated that he was unhappy with Scallions voice, feeling that Scallions had lost some range; however, Scallions has stated that his voice had nothing to do with his decision to leave the group.
After Scallions' departure from the group was announced, rumors began to rise that American Idol
contestant Chris Daughtry
might be in line to replace Scallions as Fuel's frontman. Daughtry had performed a version of the band's 2000
Top 40 hit, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
" in one of his performances on the show and Bell has stated that several conversations occurred between Daughtry and the band reflecting the possibility of him joining the group, "[Daughtry] was saying ‘Hey if I don’t make this American Idol thing, maybe there is something that both of us can work out.'" Ultimately Daughtry would decline the opportunity to join the band, so Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie continued their search for a possible replacement for Scallions. Bell and Abercrombie felt that there were a paucity of singers in the Los Angeles
area, so they wound up allowing potential singers to send in their auditions through the internet. After going through a large amount of audition tapes that were sent in and auditioning other singers, Bell and Abercrombie chose Toryn Green
as the band's new frontman. Green was chosen as he had the image, preparation, and knew the lyrics to the songs he was singing during the audition.
For the recording of the album, Fuel hired on producer Scott Humphrey
, who had previously worked with Rob Zombie
and Mötley Crüe
. Bell liked working and recording in Humphrey's studio, as Humphrey kept the instruments and amps miked up at all times, which allowed them to go back and change and/or add parts to songs that were recorded previously. According to Bell, "Most studios, as soon as you do the drums they will tear down the drums... So with Scott’s setup, that alone adds a different level of what you can do with as far as the record goes and as far as production style goes."
Angels & Devils is the first Fuel album where outside collaborators are credited in the songwriting.
," and was followed by "Gone" on October 23. The video to "Wasted Time" was released on September 24, there has been no mention about the possibility of a video being produced for "Gone."
On August 10, the band performed "Wasted Time" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE) has used two songs off this album. "Gone" for their pay-per-view
event Vengeance: Night of Champions
, and "Leave the Memories Alone" for their tribute videos to the retiring wrestler Ric Flair
.
, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week. The album slid down the charts quickly after its debut, falling to #98 the second week, and #148 the week after, and has failed to sell as well as previous Fuel albums have.
While not many significant publications reviewed the album, critical response to Angels & Devils was largely marginal to negative. Many reviews echoed that the end result was solid but bland. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described the album as having decreased Fuel's heaviness, brightened up their production, and become more "generic" in having such a precise vocalist. He lamented, "The end result is pleasant but forgettable, something no rock band should be."
PopMatters
' Andrew Blackie described the album as "an ultimately frustrating listen, awash in exaggerated dynamics and production but with no soul, one hook-filled standout sandwiched between horrible, corny, outdated post-grunge." In addition to criticizing the overly depressing and pessimistic lyrics, Blackie considered songwriter Carl Bell "a man afraid to commit and trust." And while noting that some of Fuel's hallmarks are still intact, he regarded Angels & Devils "merely a solid rock album, when it really had the potential to be great."
The album did, however, receive a heavily positive response from LiveDaily
's Paul Gargano who claimed that it "succeeds because it doesn't try to be anything more than Fuel has ever been." Regarding vocalist Toryn Green, he noted the album "suffers none musically. . . In fact, in terms of sheer vocal ability, Fuel might be better served by the previously-unheard-of frontman." Gargano favorably highlighted numerous songs and repeatedly noted how Fuel's "middle-of-the-road arena rock" serves the band well.
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 rock
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...
band Fuel
Fuel (band)
Fuel is an American rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994...
. Released on August 7, 2007, it was their first studio effort since 2003's Natural Selection and was the last Fuel album to feature original songwriter/guitarist, Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie. It was also Fuel's only studio album to feature new vocalist Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
. With a new singer, the album also introduced a new Fuel logo.
Former Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
drummer Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
was announced as the band's new drummer but was unable to perform on the album due to other commitments so Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
and Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
performed drums in his place.
Background
Following the Natural Selection album and tour, longtime drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the group in 2004. In 2006 lead singer/guitarist Brett ScallionsBrett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
left the group as well, citing tensions and creative differences that had existed between him and guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
. According to Bell, some of the tensions with Scallions originated from his desire to contribute to the group, "He wanted to write more, and be [involved] a little bit in the writing, which was fine with me; I can’t stop somebody from writing." Bell had also stated that he was unhappy with Scallions voice, feeling that Scallions had lost some range; however, Scallions has stated that his voice had nothing to do with his decision to leave the group.
After Scallions' departure from the group was announced, rumors began to rise that 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 Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
might be in line to replace Scallions as Fuel's frontman. Daughtry had performed a version of the band's 2000
2000 in music
See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....
Top 40 hit, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
" in one of his performances on the show and Bell has stated that several conversations occurred between Daughtry and the band reflecting the possibility of him joining the group, "[Daughtry] was saying ‘Hey if I don’t make this American Idol thing, maybe there is something that both of us can work out.'" Ultimately Daughtry would decline the opportunity to join the band, so Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie continued their search for a possible replacement for Scallions. Bell and Abercrombie felt that there were a paucity of singers in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area, so they wound up allowing potential singers to send in their auditions through the internet. After going through a large amount of audition tapes that were sent in and auditioning other singers, Bell and Abercrombie chose Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
as the band's new frontman. Green was chosen as he had the image, preparation, and knew the lyrics to the songs he was singing during the audition.
Writing, recording, and production
Bell spent more than two years writing material for Angels & Devils, drawing inspiration from the departure of former members Miller and Scallions as well as from his own relationship troubles. Bell had most of the album written and demoed before Green joined the group.For the recording of the album, Fuel hired on producer Scott Humphrey
Scott Humphrey
Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed all of his records up until 2007's Zombie Live...
, who had previously worked with Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
and Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
. Bell liked working and recording in Humphrey's studio, as Humphrey kept the instruments and amps miked up at all times, which allowed them to go back and change and/or add parts to songs that were recorded previously. According to Bell, "Most studios, as soon as you do the drums they will tear down the drums... So with Scott’s setup, that alone adds a different level of what you can do with as far as the record goes and as far as production style goes."
Angels & Devils is the first Fuel album where outside collaborators are credited in the songwriting.
Promotion
The first single released off of the album was "Wasted TimeWasted Time (Fuel song)
"Wasted Time" is a song by Fuel and the lead single from their fourth studio album Angels & Devils, released on June 19, 2007. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, it is the first single by the band to feature new lead singer Toryn Green...
," and was followed by "Gone" on October 23. The video to "Wasted Time" was released on September 24, there has been no mention about the possibility of a video being produced for "Gone."
On August 10, the band performed "Wasted Time" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE) has used two songs off this album. "Gone" for their pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
event Vengeance: Night of Champions
Vengeance: Night of Champions
Vengeance: Night of Champions was the seventh annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment within its Vengeance chronology, and the last to be promoted with the Vengeance name until 2011. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The...
, and "Leave the Memories Alone" for their tribute videos to the retiring wrestler Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
.
Reception
The album debuted at #42 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...
, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week. The album slid down the charts quickly after its debut, falling to #98 the second week, and #148 the week after, and has failed to sell as well as previous Fuel albums have.
While not many significant publications reviewed the album, critical response to Angels & Devils was largely marginal to negative. Many reviews echoed that the end result was solid but bland. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described the album as having decreased Fuel's heaviness, brightened up their production, and become more "generic" in having such a precise vocalist. He lamented, "The end result is pleasant but forgettable, something no rock band should be."
PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
' Andrew Blackie described the album as "an ultimately frustrating listen, awash in exaggerated dynamics and production but with no soul, one hook-filled standout sandwiched between horrible, corny, outdated post-grunge." In addition to criticizing the overly depressing and pessimistic lyrics, Blackie considered songwriter Carl Bell "a man afraid to commit and trust." And while noting that some of Fuel's hallmarks are still intact, he regarded Angels & Devils "merely a solid rock album, when it really had the potential to be great."
The album did, however, receive a heavily positive response from LiveDaily
LiveDaily
LiveDaily was a music and entertainment site owned by Ticketmaster, created in 1998 and seen in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. It provided news updates, tour announcements, and ticketing information relative to Ticketmaster. Its news reports were used by media entities such as MTV...
's Paul Gargano who claimed that it "succeeds because it doesn't try to be anything more than Fuel has ever been." Regarding vocalist Toryn Green, he noted the album "suffers none musically. . . In fact, in terms of sheer vocal ability, Fuel might be better served by the previously-unheard-of frontman." Gargano favorably highlighted numerous songs and repeatedly noted how Fuel's "middle-of-the-road arena rock" serves the band well.
Track listing
^ In the digital booklet there was a link to exclusive acoustic videos for "Hemorrhage" and "Gone".Personnel
- Toryn GreenToryn GreenToryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
– vocals - Carl BellCarl Bell (musician)Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
– guitars - Jeff Abercrombie – bass guitar
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
– drums (Credited in album's liner notes, but did not participate in the recording)