I-Empire

Infobox Album
Name = I-Empire
Type = Album
Artist = Angels & Airwaves

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Length = 57:22
Producer = Tom DeLonge
Reviews =
*AbsolutePunk.net 44% [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=281012 Link]
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://wm10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:f9fyxzrhldhe link]
*Amazon.com (Editorial) Rating|4|5 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VZAV08 link]
*Billboard Rating|4|5 [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ia9c51f5ef29150aaf71137a1f36502c1 link]
*IGN 77% [http://music.ign.com/articles/834/834567p2.html link]
*Kerrang! Rating|3|5
*MEN Rating|3|5 [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/album_reviews/s/1024079_angels__airwaves__iempire_island link]
*NME 3/10 [http://www.nme.com/reviews/angels-and-airwaves/9217 link]
*The Onion (A.V. Club) Rating-10|7.5 [http://www.avclub.com/content/music/angels_amp_airwaves link]
*Patrol Magazine 6.7/10 [http://www.patrolmag.com/index.php?id=114 link]
*PopMatters Rating-10|7.5 [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/angels-airwaves-i-empire/ link]
*Punknews.org Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.punknews.org/review/6800 link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|2.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/17122097/review/17140190/iempire?rating=11 link]
*Ultimate Guitar Rating|8|10 [http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/angels_and_airwaves/i-empire/index.html link]
Released = flagicon|World November 1, 2007
flagicon|United Kingdom November 5, 2007
flagicon|United States flagicon|Canada November 6, 2007
Recorded = Jupiter Sound 2007
Genre = Alternative rock
Label = Geffen
Last album = "We Don't Need to Whisper"
(2006)
This album = "I-Empire"
(2007)
Misc = Singles
Name = I-Empire
Type = Studio
single 1 = Everything's Magic
single 2 = Secret Crowds
single 3 = Breathe
single 4 =
single 5 =
single 1 date = October 29, 2007
single 2 date = February 4, 2008
single 3 date = June 20, 2008
single 4 date =
single 5 date =

"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 UK and November 6 in the USA and Canada.

Track listing

#"Call to Arms" – 5:05
#"Everything's Magic" – 3:51
#"Breathe" – 5:33
#"Love Like Rockets" – 4:50
#"Sirens" – 4:19
#"Secret Crowds" – 5:02
#"Star of Bethlehem" – 2:07
#"True Love" – 6:08
#"Lifeline" – 4:15
#"Jumping Rooftops" – 0:44
#"Rite of Spring" – 4:22
#"Heaven" – 6:38

Bonus tracks

* "It Hurts" (Live from Del Mar) (UK and Indie) – 4:21
* "The Adventure" (Live from Del Mar) (Indie) – 5:18
* "The Gift" (Acoustic) (iTunes) – 3:48
* "The Adventure" (Acoustic) (Target) – 3:18
* "Good Day" (Acoustic) (Target) – 2:46
* "Everything's Magic" (Acoustic) (Best Buy) – 3:04
* "Do It for Me Now" (Acoustic) (Best Buy) – 3:46

Personnel

*Tom DeLonge – vocals, guitar
*David Kennedy – guitar
*Matt Wachter – bass
*Atom Willard – drums

Other contributors

*Tom DeLonge – producer
*Critter – co-producer, recorder, sonic manipulation, percussion
*Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – keyboards
*Tom Lord-Alge – mixer
*Drew Struzan – cover art
*Brian Gardner – mastered by
*Doug Reesh – guitar & bass technician

Album notes

* In the "I-Empire" album booklet, Matt Wachter is incorrectly labeled as "Matt "Watcher".
* "True Love" and "Star of Bethlehem" were originally one song.
* At the start and finish of the song "Heaven", extracts of songs from their first album, "We Don't Need to Whisper", can be heard. Extracts from which include "Valkyrie Missile", "The Adventure", and "Start the Machine".
* The cover art of I-Empire was created by Drew Struzan, the artist who created the "Star Wars" artwork.

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 re-birth.

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 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 that "I-Empire" would be released on October 16, 2007. The release date was later pushed back to October 23, and then November 6, 2007. The record was made available on the band's official website on November 1, 2007, however.

On October 24, 2007, "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. [ [http://www.myspace.com/angelsandairwaves Official MySpace] ]

"I-Empire" debuted at number 9 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, with just over 66,000 copies sold in its first week. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003672227 "Jay-Z Leapfrogs Eagles, Britney For No. 1 Debut"] ] It went on to sell a further 20,000 copies in its second week. As of July 31, 2008, the album has sold 240,000 copies in the US.

Touring and promotion

On November 16, 2007, 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.

On January 30, 2008, the band embarked on their headlining North American tour, playing sold-out theaters with Meg and Dia, Ace Enders and The Color Fred. The tour was completed on March 15, 2008.

"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.

On February 25, 2008, "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 I-Empire album, and the video was released on June 11, 2008.

Use in popular media

"Call to Arms":* Featured in some FOX NFL Sunday highlight clips.:* Clips used on the Seven Network for their coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games."Everything's Magic":* Used on MLS PrimeTime Thursday as an intro to the game and during the player introduction graphics during the Chicago Fire/New England Revolution game.:* Used in a commercial for the DVD release of "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium".:* Used on an episode of One Tree Hill.:* Used alongside the song "Lifeline" on the soundtrack of the German movie "Keinohrhasen" ("Noearrabbit")."Secret Crowds":* Used on FOX for an NFL Playoff game.:* Featured on an episode of "The Hills".:* Featured on the soundtrack of the game "Tony Hawk's Proving Ground"."True Love":* Used on the episode The Next Move is Yours of television series "The Hills".:* Appears on the soundtrack to "Gossip Girl".:* Clips from the song were used on the Seven Network for their coverage of the 2008 Australian Open."Heaven":* Appeared in an episode from MTV's Life of Ryan.:* Used on Network Ten for its news program Sports Tonight.:* Used in a commercial for the upcomming Discovery Channel program [http://www.www.dsc.discovery.com/tv/project-earth/project-earth.html Discovery Project Earth] :* Clips used on the Seven Network for their coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.:* Clips from the song were used on the Seven Network for their coverage of the 2008 Australian Open."Rite of Spring":* Used on the "Warped Tour 2008 Tour Compilation".

References

External links

* [http://modlife.com/angelsandairwaves Official Angels and Airwaves Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/angelsandairwaves Angels and Airwaves's Myspace]
* [http://www.geffen.com/artist/releases/default.aspx/pid/2524/aid/407 I-Empire on Geffen Records]
* [http://www.suretone.com/artists/1.aspx Angels and Airwaves profile on Suretone]
* [http://www.soundfires.com/reviews/140 Soundfires.com review of 'Everything's Magic']
* [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003672227 Billboard article]