War Is the Answer

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War Is the Answer
Studio album by Five Finger Death Punch
Released September 22, 2009
Recorded April–June 2009
Genre Heavy metal, groove metal, alternative metal
Length 45:04
Label Prospect Park
Producer Kevin Churko
Five Finger Death Punch chronology
The Way of the Fist
(2007)		 War Is the Answer
(2009)		 American Capitalist
(2011)
Singles from War Is the Answer
  1. "Hard to See"
    Released: July 21, 2009
  2. "Walk Away"
    Released: November 2, 2009
  3. "Dying Breed"
    Released: November 16, 2009
  4. "No One Gets Left Behind"
    Released: March 8, 2010
  5. "Bad Company"
    Released: May 17, 2010
  6. "Far from Home"
    Released: September 16, 2010
Cover for the deluxe edition of War Is the Answer.
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
allmusic.com 3.5/5 stars
Metal Hammer 9/10 stars
Kerrang! 4/5 stars
Rock Sound (6/10)[1]
about.com 3.5/5 stars
Ultimate Guitar Archive (6.1/10)

War Is the Answer is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. It was released on September 22, 2009 through Prospect Park Records. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 selling approximately 44,000 copies in its first week. It is also their last album to feature bassist Matt Snell who was released from the band in late 2010 and announced in 2011.[2] "War Is the Answer" has been certified gold for U.S.,[3] with sales of 569,000.[4]

Contents

[edit] Writing and recording

War Is the Answer was announced as Five Finger Death Punch's second studio album in May 2009. The album was produced by Kevin Churko, who had previously produced Ozzy Osbourne's Black Rain, and mixed by Randy Staub, who has previously worked with Metallica and Stone Sour.[5] Guitarist Zoltan Bathory commented on the style of the album, stating "we've continued the journey we started on the first album, so there's a healthy balance of melody and aggression, and as always we concentrated on writing strong metal songs in the traditional sense."[5]

Bathory explained to Metal Hammer about the album title, "It's a phrase we've had up our sleeves for some time, and I've been talking about it a lot in interviews. In fact, somebody just asked me: 'If war is the answer, then what is the question?', and I guess the answer to that is "the meaning of life!" Because life IS war. Basically, you're fighting against one thing or another right from the start – you're fighting for survival with pretty much everything against you, you're fighting for social or political positions"[6]

[edit] Release

Although War Is the Answer was originally announced to be released on June 8, 2009, it was pushed back to October 6, 2009,[7] then pulled forward to September 22, 2009.[8] On August 10, 2009, they announced the first leg of their Shock and Raw Tour, which will promote the new album. The second leg was announced on August 17, 2009.

The two bonus tracks, "Succubus" and "Undone" were originally cut from their first album The Way of the Fist. A demo version of "Succubus" was leaked onto the Internet under the title "Hate Me". The band decided to re-record both songs and include them as bonus tracks on War Is the Answer.

[edit] Track listing

War Is the Answer
No. Title Length
1. "Dying Breed"   2:54
2. "Hard to See"   3:29
3. "Bulletproof"   3:16
4. "No One Gets Left Behind"   3:23
5. "Crossing Over"   2:54
6. "Burn It Down"   3:33
7. "Far from Home"   3:32
8. "Falling in Hate"   3:00
9. "My Own Hell"   3:35
10. "Walk Away"   3:42
11. "Canto 34" (Instrumental) 4:09
12. "Bad Company" (Bad Company cover) 4:22
13. "War Is the Answer"   3:18
Total length:
 45:04

[edit] Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Finnish Albums Chart[9] 14
US Billboard 200[10] 7
US Independent Albums[10] 5
US Rock Albums[10] 4
US Hard Rock Albums[11] 3

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
US Billboard 200 152[12]

[edit] Singles

Six singles have been released from the album, "Hard to See", "Walk Away", "Dying Breed", "No One Gets Left Behind", "Bad Company", and "Far from Home".

The first single from War Is the Answer, "Hard to See", began receiving radio play on July 13, 2009. The song was noted for having "undeniable melodies." According to Bathory, the song is about people being attached to opinions based on limited amounts of information.[7] It is also a playable track in the rhythm video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The second single, "Walk Away" was released on November 2, 2009 and appeared in Tap Tap Revenge 3 as one of their weekly free tracks and also was used as the theme song for TNA's 2010 PPV Lockdown. The next two singles, "Dying Breed" released on November 16, 2009[13] and "No One Gets Left Behind" released on March 8, 2010[14] were both released exclusively in the United Kingdom. They released their cover of Bad Company's song, "Bad Company" as the fifth single on May 17, 2010. "Far from Home" was released as the sixth single on September 16, 2010.[15] "Far from Home" was also featured as the incidental music over the closing scenes of the TV drama show Criminal Minds episode "What Happens at Home".

Year Title Peak chart positions
US
Alt.		 US
Main.		 US
Rock
2009 "Hard to See" 40 8 28
"Walk Away" 31 7 21
2010 "Dying Breed" — — —
"No One Gets Left Behind" — — —
"Bad Company" 26 2 8
"Far from Home" 29 4 16
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

[edit] Personnel

Five Finger Death Punch
Production

[edit] References

  1. ^ Burt, Jim (September 22, 2009). "Five Finger Death Punch 'War Is the Answer' Review". Rock Sound. http://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/article/five-finger-death-punch-war-is-the-answer. Retrieved October 16, 2009. 
  2. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (October 1, 2009). "Pearl Jam Is No. 1". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/arts/music/01arts-PEARLJAMISNO_BRF.html. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  3. ^ "Five Finger Death Punch To Host Second Annual 'Love Songs For Tough Guys' Special". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=153514. Retrieved March 10, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Evanescence, Lauren Alaina Targeting Billboard 200 Top 10". Billboard.co. http://www.billboard.com/news/evanescence-lauren-alaina-targeting-billboard-1005412352.story#/news/evanescence-lauren-alaina-targeting-billboard-1005412352.story. Retrieved October 16, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b "Five Finger Death Punch Guitarist Discusses Upcoming Album". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=120574. Retrieved August 1, 2009. 
  6. ^ "War Is The Answer Songfacts". Songfacts. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=16964. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  7. ^ a b "Five Finger Death Punch: New Single Available For Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=123431. Retrieved August 1, 2009. 
  8. ^ "Five Finger Death Punch Guitarist Interviewed On Australia's 'The Racket'; Audio Available". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=124436. Retrieved August 1, 2009. 
  9. ^ "Five Finger Death Punch: War Is the Answer" (in Finnish). IFPI.fi. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/virallinen-lista/artistit/five+finger+death+punch/war+is+the+answer. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  10. ^ a b c "War Is the Answer - Five Finger Death Punch". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/five-finger-death-punch/war-is-the-answer/1281795. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  11. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Billbyayoard; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
  12. ^ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-year-end/top-billboard-200?year=2010. Retrieved December 31, 2010. 
  13. ^ "FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH To Release 'Dying Breed' Digital Single". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=129692. Retrieved April 18, 2010. 
  14. ^ "FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH To Release New Single; New Mic Stand Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=135011. Retrieved April 18, 2010. 
  15. ^ Anderson, Sara D. (September 14, 2010). "Five Finger Death Punch, 'Far from Home' -- New Song". AOL. http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/09/14/five-finger-death-punch-far-from-home/. Retrieved October 3, 2010. 
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