The Black Swan (Story of the Year album)

The Black Swan is the third studio album by American rock band Story of the Year.

The Black Swan
Studio album by
Story of the Year
ReleasedApril 22, 2008 (2008-04-22)
RecordedOctober–December 2007
GenrePost-hardcore, alternative metal, melodic hardcore
Length49:04
LabelEpitaph
ProducerJohn Feldmann, Michael Baskette
Story of the Year chronology
In the Wake of Determination
(2005)		 The Black Swan
(2008)		 The Constant
(2010)
Singles from The Black Swan
  1. "Wake Up"
    Released: February 19, 2008
  2. "The Antidote"
    Released: December 6, 2008
  3. "Terrified"
    Released: June 30, 2009

Background and recording

Story of the Year's second album In the Wake of Determination was released in October 2005 through major label Maverick Records.[1] By July 2006, the band had accumulated nine-and-a-half new tracks for their next album.[2] They spent the following five months working on a live DVD until February 2007, when work began on a new album in earnest.[3] During this time, Maverick Records folded[4] and was incorporated into another major label, who opted to drop the band from their contract.[5]

On October 29, 2007, it was announced that the band had signed to independent label Epitaph Records. In addition, it was mentioned that the band were in the studio with producer John Feldmann, aiming to release their next album in spring 2008.[6] Commenting on signing with Epitaph Records, lead singer Dan Marsala said "Making this record felt like starting over. We're like a brand new band. You can hear it in these songs, we're excited again. I think we've really stepped it up on this record."[7] The album was produced by John Feldmann, who had produced the band's debut Page Avenue (2003), and Michael Baskette.[8] The latter aided with the group's drum sound, knowing when to make a certain hit sound harder.[5] Recording was reportedly finished by the end of December.[9]

Composition

Marsala said it had the heavy tone of Determination and the melodic/poppy nature of Page Avenue,[10] drawing comparisons to Underoath,[11] Alexisonfire and BoySetsFire.[12] The album was named after Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, on unpredictable events and randomness. One theme found in a few of the songs ("Wake Up", "Terrified", and in particular "Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)") is the concept that human existence is insignificant in comparison to the universe as a whole, and that wars, fighting and killing seem pointless.[7]

Opener "Choose Your Fate" is an anti-George W. Bush track[13] that is reminiscent of Atreyu[14] with its breakdowns[15] and melodic-screamo bridge section.[14] It was similar in style to the band's "Divide and Conquer" (from Page Avenue) and "March of the Dead" (from Determination).[16] "Angel in the Swamp" takes influence from the Movielife,[15] touching on pop punk, and concluding with Queens of the Stone Age-esque guitar work.[14] Marsala wrote it in response to a message he received on Myspace. The sender relayed that she had been in an abusive household and was having problems; she mentioned that the only thing that was helping her was the group's music.[17]

"We're Not Gonna Make It" talks about a couple in a biracial-relationship;[13] its chorus recalled the Page Avenue single "Anthem of Our Dying Day".[15] The piano ballad "Terrified"[18] is a lo-fi track the channels Funeral for a Friend, specifically their song "History".[14] The track "Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)" was inspired by the famous photograph of the same name and features an excerpt from astronomer Carl Sagan's book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space read by its author.[7] "Welcome to Our New War" was compared to Bullet for My Valentine.[12]

Release

On January 26, 2008, The Black Swan was announced for release in April, and "Wake Up" was made available for streaming.[19] The album's artwork and track listing were revealed two days later.[20] "Wake Up" was released to radio on February 19.[21] On April 2, the music video for it premiered on MTV; it sees the band performing in an abandoned warehouse while people use spray-paint around them.[22] In early April, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival.[23] The Black Swan was released on April 22.[20] Between June and August, the band performed on the 2008 Warped Tour.[24] "Message to the World" was released to radio on July 1.[25] The group toured as part of the 2008 Taste of Chaos European tour in October.[26] A music video was released for "Terrified" on June 30, 2009;[27] it trails a soldier in Iraq as his wife and daughter await his return home. Clips of the soldier are intermixed with video diary-style footage of his family.[28]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk71%[15]
AllMusic[18]
Alternative Press3/5[29]
Chart AttackFavorable[11]
Cleveland SceneFavorable[13]
Gigwise[14]
Las Vegas Review-JournalA[16]
Melodic[12]
Metal.de8/10[30]
Rock Hard8/10[31]

Critical reception for The album was generally positive, and the album did fairly well commercially. It debuted on the UK rock charts at number 6 [32] and at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling about 21,000 copies in its first week.[33]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Dan Marsala and Adam Russell, all music composed by Story of the Year

No.TitleLength
1."Choose Your Fate"3:34
2."Wake Up"3:32
3."The Antidote"4:00
4."Tell Me (P.A.C.)"3:59
5."Angel in the Swamp"4:29
6."The Black Swan"3:45
7."Message to the World"4:04
8."Apathy Is a Deathwish"3:31
9."We're Not Gonna Make It"4:03
10."Cannonball"3:50
11."Terrified"4:00
12."Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)"1:06
13."Welcome to Our New War"5:11
Total length:49:04
International bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Never Let It Go"3:42
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."The Truth Shall Set Me Free"4:00
15."Never Let It Go" (pre-order only)3:42
Additional b-sides
No.TitleLength
1."The Virus" (from "The Antidote" single)3:51
2."Turn Up the Radio" (from "Terrified" single)3:52
3."Save One" (from "Wake Up" single)4:09

Personnel

Release history
Country Release Date Format
Worldwide April 19, 2008 (2008-04-19) Regular download
April 22, 2008 (2008-04-22) Regular Compact Disc

Chart positions
Chart Peak
position
The Billboard 200 18
Billboard Independent Albums 3
UK Album Chart 136
UK Rock Albums 6

References
  1. Roth, Kaj (July 22, 2005). "New Album With Story Of The Year This Fall". Melodic. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  2. "Story Of The Year Hate Bad Music, But Love Japan". Chart Attack. July 13, 2006. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  3. "Story Of The Year Finish Live DVD And Have New Album In The Works". Chart Attack. February 23, 2007. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. Hampp, Andrew (October 17, 2014). "Billboard Cover: Managers of U2, Pharrell, Madonna & More Unite to Revolutionize the Music Industry". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  5. Mateus, Luisa (June 5, 2008). "Choose Your Fate - Story of the Year". Gigwise. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  6. "Story Of The Year Sign To Epitaph". Alternative Press. October 29, 2007. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  7. "Story of the Year on Epitaph". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  8. Paul, Aubin (October 28, 2007). "Epitaph signs Story of the Year". Punknews.org. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  9. Roth, Kaj (December 29, 2007). "Story Of The Year Signed To Epitaph With New Album Finished". Melodic. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  10. Zemler, Emily (July 24, 2008). "Interview with Story Of The Year: Warped Tour Refugees". The Aquarian Weekly. p. 2. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  11. Chart Attack (April 22, 2008). "Story Of The Year — The Black Swan". Chart Attack. Channel Zero. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  12. Holmgren, Henrik (September 20, 2008). "Story of the Year - The Black Swan". Melodic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  13. Gallucci, Michael (December 17, 2008). "Story of the Year | CD Reviews". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  14. Mateus, Luisa (April 24, 2008). "Story Of The Year - 'The Black Swan' (Epitaph) Released 21/04/2008". Gigwise. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  15. Beringer, Drew (May 7, 2008). "Story of the Year - The Black Swan - Album Review". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  16. "Story of the Year's latest disc fresh yet familiar". Las Vegas Review-Journal. June 3, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  17. Gracie, Bianca (September 16, 2018). "Story of the Year & Producer John Feldmann Reflect on Debut Album 'Page Avenue' 15 Years Later: 'It Was A Magic Moment In Time'". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  18. Apar, Corey. "The Black Swan - Story of the Year | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  19. Roth, Kaj (January 26, 2008). "Story Of The Year Announce New Album Title". Melodic. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  20. Paul, Aubin (January 28, 2008). "Story of the Year announce Epitaph debut". Punknews.org. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  21. "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. February 12, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  22. John, Tracey (April 2, 2008). "New Video: Story of the Year, 'Wake Up'". MTV. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  23. "Blaqk Audio, Hot Water Music, H2O added to Bamboozle Left". Alternative Press. February 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  24. "Venues for Warped Tour 2008 revealed". Alternative Press. March 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  25. "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  26. White, Adam (July 26, 2008). "Atreyu, As I Lay Dying, Story Of The Year, HORSE The Band at Taste Of Chaos Europ". Punknews.org. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  27. Paul, Aubin (June 30, 2009). "Story of the Year: "Terrified"". Punknews.org. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  28. "Story Of The Year — "Terrified"". Chart Attack. July 2, 2009. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  29. O'Neil, Luke (June 5, 2008). "Story Of The Year". Alternative Press. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  30. Eschenbach, Heiko (April 13, 2008). "Story of the Year - The Black Swan" (in German). Metal.de. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  31. Schleutermann, Marcus (May 14, 2008). "Story of the Year - The Black Swan". Rock Hard (in German). Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  32. "UK Rock Charts". Archived from the original on 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  33. Katie Hasty, "Mariah Carey Remains Atop Billboard 200" Archived 2013-06-17 at the Wayback Machine, Billboard.com, April 30, 2008.
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