I-Empire

I-Empire
Studio album by Angels & Airwaves
Released November 1, 2007 (2007-11-01)
Recorded January- September 2007
Studio Jupiter Sound
Genre Alternative rock, space rock
Length 52:54
Label Geffen, Suretone
1749436
Producer Tom DeLonge
Angels & Airwaves chronology
We Don't Need to Whisper
(2006)We Don't Need to Whisper2006		 I-Empire
(2007)		 Love
(2010)Love2010
Singles from I-Empire
  1. "Everything's Magic"
    Released: October 29, 2007
  2. "Secret Crowds"
    Released: February 4, 2008
  3. "Breathe"
    Released: June 20, 2008

I-Empire is the second studio album by alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was officially released worldwide on November 1, 2007 from the Angels & Airwaves website, where it was available for download. Then it was released on CD on November 5 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and on November 6 in the United States and Canada.

Production

Angels & Airwaves started work on I-Empire in the beginning of 2007. It was the first album ever recorded at Jupiter Sound (Macbeth's studio).

On May 20, 2007, in an interview with Alternative Radio, the band said that the album was 60-70% complete and that the record would be out in October or November 2007. DeLonge also stated that the album would continue the element of the first album, but "times ten" and that in a story, I-Empire would follow We Don't Need to Whisper; We Don't Need to Whisper being a "re-birth" of life, and I-Empire being an album about what you do after the rebirth. It has a slightly more mellow, ambient tone with lyrics focusing more on relationships and less about war and conflict.

On May 30, 2007, DeLonge stated in an interview with Kerrang! that the new album would be named I-Empire and "this is as exciting as rock 'n' roll gets!"

On July 29, 2007, as a part of the 'Everybody Hurts' tour, Angels & Airwaves played the studio versions of four new songs from I-Empire to their fans. The songs played were "Secret Crowds", "Sirens", "Lifeline", and "Everything's Magic", along with live acoustic performances of "Everything's Magic", "The Gift", "Good Day", "Do It for Me Now", and "The Adventure". These songs were all recorded and leaked onto the internet, giving fans their first glimpse of I-Empire, along with the acoustic set.

Release and promotion

Original release

On September 10, 2007, the group revealed the album's artwork.[1] "Everything's Magic" was made available for streaming via the group's Myspace account on August 29, 2007,[2] and was released to radio on September 18.[3] A music video was released for "Everything's Magic" on September 20.[4] The album was delayed multiple times before its official release. DeLonge originally stated that I-Empire would be released on October 16. The release date was later pushed back to October 23. The following day, I-Empire was fully leaked onto the internet, a week before its worldwide release. That same day DeLonge posted his response to the leak on the Angels & Airwaves MySpace.[5] The album was eventually released on November 6 through Geffen and Suretone Records.[1] On November 16, DeLonge announced on Modlife that the band were making a short film for the song "Breathe". The short film for the song was made shortly after, and was later released exclusively to premium Modlife members.

From late January to mid-March 2008, the band embarked on their headlining North American tour, playing sold-out theaters with Meg and Dia, Ace Enders and The Color Fred. "Secret Crowds" was chosen as the second single from I-Empire, although "Call to Arms" was also considered, after receiving lots of positive feedback and decent digital sales. The song impacted radio on February 5.[6] On February 25, "Secret Crowds" aired on MTV2, being the band's second single from the album to hit commercial heights with a music video. It has since gone onto Kerrang! TV and Scuzz in the UK. "Breathe" is the third single taken from the album, and the video was released on June 20, 2008.

Vinyl Release

In January 2016, DeLonge's media company, To The Stars inc., announced the release of a 180 gram clear first pressing of I-Empire, available only to paid members of the company's website. The vinyl edition features bonus acoustic tracks, "The Adventure" and "Good Day." The record was produced on vinyl by SRC Vinyl and Stan Ricker Mastering. In early February 2016, SRC Vinyl announced a 180 gram gold colored second pressing of the record, available exclusively on the SRC Vinyl website to the public.

On January 11th 2017, DeLonge and To The Stars inc. announced via social media and To The Stars official website that the entire Angels & Airwaves discography, which includes a re-pressing of "I-Empire", will be released in a new vinyl collection collectively called Angels & Airwaves 2017 HOPE vinyl collection. [7] Angels & Airwaves and To The Stars inc. also made the albums from the discography such as "I-Empire" and EPs available individually. The collection is only available on the To The Stars official website and became available for pre-order January 11th, 2017 and is expected to be officially released February 15th, 2017. This re-pressing of "I-Empire" as well as the other albums in the collection are 180 gram transparent LPs each with their own individual o-card slipcase that feature a double-sided die cut "AVA" logo. [8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic54/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk.net(44%) [10]
Allmusic [11]
Alternative Press [12]
Billboard [13]
IGN(77%) [14]
Kerrang!
NME [15]
PopMatters [16]
Punknews.org [17]
UnRated[18]

I-Empire debuted at #9 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, with just over 66,000 copies sold in its first week.[19] It went on to sell a further 20,000 copies in its second week. As of December, 2009, the album has sold 255,000 copies in the United States and 500,000 worldwide.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Tom DeLonge; all music composed by Angels & Airwaves.

No.TitleLength
1."Call to Arms"5:05
2."Everything's Magic"3:51
3."Breathe"5:34
4."Love Like Rockets"4:50
5."Sirens"4:19
6."Secret Crowds"5:03
7."Star of Bethlehem"2:08
8."True Love"6:08
9."Lifeline"4:16
10."Jumping Rooftops"0:45
11."Rite of Spring"4:22
12."Heaven"6:39
Total length:52:54

Personnel

Release history

Country Release date
Worldwide November 1, 2007
South Korea November 5, 2007
United Kingdom
Canada November 6, 2007
United States

Charts

Album
Chart (2007) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 9[21]
Top Canadian Albums 1
UK Albums Chart 29
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
2007 "Everything's Magic" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 104
U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 11
U.S. Pop 100 92
UK Singles Chart 103
2008 "Secret Crowds" U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 32

References


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