I-Empire

Untitled

I-Empire is the second studio album by Alternative Rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was officially released world wide for the first time on the November 1, 2007 from the Angels & Airwaves website, where it was available for download. Then it was released on CD on the November 5 in the UK and the November 6 in the USA 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. Front man Tom 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 re-birth.

On May 30, 2007, Tom 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 4 new songs from I-Empire for 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.

Delay of release

The album was delayed multiple times before its official release. DeLonge originally stated I-Empire would be released on October 16th, 2007. Then, DeLonge delayed the release another week, making the date October 23rd. Later, a message on AVA's MySpace said it would be released on November 6th. Soon after, AVA announced it would be available on their official website November 1st, 2007.

Promotion and advertising

In October 2007 a bulletin from Angels & Airwaves was posted on Myspace advertising a pre-order pack with the album and other items. The pack includes the album I-Empire, a special edition AVA/Macbeth Studios T-shirt, AVA stickers and a 15% off voucher for future purchases. Comercials and adverts have been transmitted on both the internet and tv worldwide since the release date.

Leak

On October 24th, 2007, I-Empire was fully leaked onto the internet, 7 days before its worldwide release. That same day Tom DeLonge posted his response to the leak on the Angels & Airwaves Myspace.

Years ago on a tour in Australia, Joe Strummer from the Clash bought me a gift. He handed me a cartridge, meant for the use of rolling "smokable items", and said these words, "I used to walk around saying 'Fuck you, I'm in The Clash, Fuck you, I'm in The Clash!'..well now that I think about it, The Talking Heads were pretty fucking cool." Unbeknownst to me, he and his son were quite the big fans.

It was a small lesson that changed everything for me. As a kid I used to live and breathe only punk rock music, truthfully, and somewhat myopically. But the advice was simple, open your eyes, appreciate honest art, because honest art can change the world. So the very next day I flew back to the US, away from Mr. Strummer, and the conversation with the now late Clash front man was forever echoing in the back of my mind.

As a teenager, it was far too easy to judge music and rank bands unfairly against others. And most often it was done most ignorantly. But every once in a while, someone comes along with a bit of well-oiled experience and hints of the ever changing temperature right at the step of our door. As when the great Pete Townsend once did, as he personally compared my band to his (The Who), in front of a crowd of thousands in San Diego. And as he quieted the large crowd to a ghostly whisper, he explained we represented a new and electrifying generation of youth, "to my son, Blink-182 is THE WHO...." Now that’s a bit of a line to swallow, but he said it, and I shall choose to brag about it.

I think as you get older you shed the burden of who is cooler, and the question is who is honest, because that's what in the end is truly cool.

Angels and Airwaves created "We Don't Need to Whisper" two years ago, amongst a lot of unanswered questions. To be searching for the new and correct path in life while I personally was losing my mind, well, it was quite a marathon to say the least, and also a drastic understatement.

The stress came in part from my decision to quit my band Blink-182, to start a new band, a new family and choosing to do it while being spun out on pain killers for a shattered disk in my back. All of which started as a young teenager, and exists in an even worse condition to this day. Many years of treatment have turned into quite a euphoric ride, one that almost killed me during the launch of the first Angels and Airwaves record. Well, truthfully, it ended up painting an odd picture to the world, and the press alike... even if we were getting the most incredible reviews I have ever gotten.

"Its potential is a force to be reckoned with... " - Billboard

"The songs are every bit the anthems he wants them to be..." - NY Post

These were all life changing events.....But it was the truth, the message behind this band, that inevitably made me practice what I was preaching...if you can just see yourself differently in the world around you, then the world around you will change, and possibly the world itself.

I- empire is the second half of our first album. It reflects an idea that the world is yours for the taking, and all that exists, exists inside you. It can be something as trivial as a personal struggle, or as grand as the inescapable idea of world peace.

To help the story along, the cover was commissioned and painted by the brilliant Drew Struzan, the artist best known for his work with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. He can sum up a complicated story in a few beautifully planned brush strokes.

The drums are by Atom Willard, from the critically acclaimed Rocket From the Crypt. He has always felt to me like the single largest score in music. He is a loyal, honest and humble friend, but an even better showman.

Rhythm guitarist David Kennedy, is the one person I can always rely on to keep us doing what ever it is we believe in, regardless of the outside temperature. None of this would exist today without him, and none of this would feel quite as cool. I call him the James Dean of Punk Rock, as he is often spotted on his café-racer motorcycle unifying the coasts of the mainland US.

Matt Wachter, on bass guitar, is our last, but invaluable addition. He hails from the much-revered 30 Seconds to Mars, and was the final missing ingredient to our group. He naturally understands music can and should be communicated through multiple forms and shapes, like cinema, graphic arts, new-media etc...

Please take a short 55 minutes to enjoy the album. Listen to it blasting from your car, maybe on a hill over-looking a city...and all the while, pretend that the city, as it stretches far beyond the horizon, is all yours for the taking.

— Tom DeLonge. Angels and Airwaves

Track listing

1. "Call to Arms" - 5:05
2. "Everything's Magic" - 3:51
3. "Breathe" - 5:34
4. "Love Like Rockets" - 4:51
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

Bonus tracks

• "It Hurts" (Live at Del Mar) (UK and Indie Exclusive Bonus Track) - 4:21
• "The Adventure" (Live at Del Mar) (Indie Exclusive Bonus Track) - 5:18
• "The Gift" (Acoustic) (iTunes Bonus Track) - 3:48
• "The Adventure" (Acoustic) (Target Bonus Track) - 3:18
• "Good Day" (Acoustic) (Target Bounus Track) - 2:46
• "Everything's Magic" (Acoustic) (Best Buy Bonus Track) - 3:04
• "Do It for Me Now" (Acoustic) (Best Buy Bonus Track) - 3:46

Personnel

• Tom DeLonge — Vocals, Lead Guitar
• David Kennedy — Rhythm Guitar
• Matt Wachter — Bass Guitar
• Atom Willard — Drums

Other contributors

• Tom DeLonge — Producer
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr. - Keyboards
• Tom Lord-Alge — Mixer
• Drew Struzan — Cover Art

Demos and working titles

• No Anger ~ Heaven
• Cosmonaut ~ Love Like Rockets
• Gifty ~ Unknown Track Title
• My Only Fear ~ Call To Arms
• Fed-Ex ~ Call To Arms
• The Love Song ~ Breathe
• The Rising ~ Secret Crowds
• Life As A Kid ~ Rite Of Spring
• Tremble ~ Lifeline

Trivia

• In the I-Empire album booklet, Matt Wachter is incorrectly labeled as "Matt Watcher"
• In the I-Empire album booklet, the lyrics to "Secret Crowds" are incorrect. During the second pre-chorus, the lyrics are written as "If I had my own world, I'd Building you an Empire."

External links

• Official Angels and Airwaves Website
• Angels and Airwaves's Myspace
• I-Empire on Geffen Records
• Angels and Airwaves profile on Suretone
• Soundfires.com review of 'Everything's Magic'