| I-Empire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1, 2007 (2007-11-01) | |||
| Recorded | January – September 2007 | |||
| Studio | Jupiter Sound | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:54 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Tom DeLonge | |||
| Angels & Airwaves chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I-Empire | ||||
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I-Empire is the second studio album byalternative rock bandAngels & Airwaves. It was officially released worldwide on November 1, 2007 from the Angels & Airwaves website, where it was available for download. It was then released on CD on November 5 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on November 6 in the United States and Canada. It is their first album to featureMatt Wachter on bass.
Angels & Airwaves started work onI-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 followWe Don't Need to Whisper;We Don't Need to Whisper being a "re-birth" of life, andI-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 withKerrang! that the new album would be namedI-Empire and "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 fromI-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 ofI-Empire, along with the acoustic set.
On September 10, 2007, the group revealed the album's artwork.[1] "Everything's Magic" was made available for streaming via the group'sMyspace 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 thatI-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 & AirwavesMySpace.[5] The album was eventually released on November 6 throughGeffen andSuretone Records.[1] On November 16, DeLonge announced onModlife 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 withMeg and Dia,Ace Enders andThe Color Fred. "Secret Crowds" was chosen as the second single fromI-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 ontoKerrang! TV and Scuzz in the UK. "Breathe" is the third single taken from the album, and the video was released on June 20, 2008.
In January 2016, Tom DeLonge's media company,To the Stars, announced the release of a 180-gram clear vinyl edition ofI-Empire, available exclusively to paid members of the company's website.[7] Limited to 775 copies, the pressing was mastered for vinyl with lacquers cut by Stan Ricker and produced by SRC Vinyl; it included bonus acoustic tracksThe Adventure andGood Day on side D.[8][9][10] Signed copies by DeLonge were offered for an additional fee, with autographs in gold marker on the cover.[7] The edition was housed in a matte-finish gatefold jacket with an 11" x 22" insert.[9]
In early February 2016, SRC Vinyl announced a second pressing on 180-gram opaque gold vinyl, limited to 775 copies and available exclusively through their website.[8] A third pressing on clear with white smoke vinyl followed in June 2016, limited to 1,000 copies.[8]
On January 11, 2017, DeLonge and To the Stars announced via social media and the company's website theAngels & Airwaves 2017 Hope Vinyl Collection, a comprehensive reissue of the band's full discography on 180-gram transparent clear vinyl, includingI-Empire.[11][12][13] The collection encompassed five full-length albums (We Don't Need to Whisper,I-Empire,Love Parts 1 & 2,The Dream Walker, andStomping the Phantom Brake Pedal) and three EPs (...Of Nightmares,Chasing Shadows, andTo the Stars... Demos, Odds and Ends), totaling twelve LPs.[11] TheI-Empire pressing in the set was limited to 500 copies on 180-gram transparent clear vinyl, housed in a limited-edition o-card slipcase with a double-sided die-cut "AVA" logo.[14] Pre-orders opened immediately, with the collection shipping on February 15, 2017, exclusively through To the Stars.[11][12]
Subsequent pressings ofI-Empire on vinyl have included a fourth edition in December 2018 (1,000 copies on orange with maroon haze), a fifth in March 2022 (1,000 copies on "tin" vinyl), and a sixth in May 2025 as part of the Interscope Vinyl Collective (IVC) subscription series (3,000 numbered copies on black & blue opaque mix vinyl, cut at 45 RPM by Levi Seitz at Blackbelt Mastering, with alternate blue color-shift cover art, custom sleeves, new center labels, a bonus acoustic "Everything's Magic", and a 4-pack of collector's photo cards).[8][15]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 54/100[16] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk.net | 44%[17] |
| AllMusic |   [18] |
| Alternative Press | [19] |
| Billboard | [20] |
| IGN | 77%[21] |
| Kerrang! | |
| NME | 3/10[22] |
| PopMatters | 7.5/10[23] |
| Punknews.org |  [24] |
| UnRated | [25] |
I-Empire garnered generally mixed reviews frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage of 54, based on 13 reviews.[16]
Evan Sawdey fromPopMatters said that despite the lyricism of the tracks feeling generic, he praised DeLonge for creating "grandiose pop-rock with a healthy dash of New Wave" that's far away from the aesthetics of his project's debut effort. He concluded that, "WhereWhisper came off like an ego-driven side project,I-Empire paints the Angels as a fully-fledged band. Give them time: you may even forget that this was the guy who wrote "All the Small Things" to begin with."[23]Aubin Paul ofPunknews.org praised the scaling back of length throughout the track listing that allowed for immediacy in its hooks and melodies, saying that it makes for "a better album, and Angels & Airwaves [is] a better band."[24]AllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine called it "an easier record to like thanWe Don't Need to Whisper," commending DeLonge for giving his tracks more catchy hooks and immediate attention to the listeners but felt he was in a musical growing phase when crafting more mature content, concluding that "it marks a very small, very tentative progression toward [DeLonge] realizing that he can expand his sonic and emotional horizons without abandoning the pop songcraft that remains his greatest strength."[18] Scott Evil ofNME said of the album as a whole: "Angels & Airwaves labour under the illusion that ‘mature’ equals ‘worthwhile’; and that means long, directionless songs swathed in echo pedals and factory-set keyboards."[22]
The album debuted at number 9 on the USBillboard 200 chart, with just over 66,000 copies sold in its first week.[26]
All lyrics are written byTom DeLonge; all music is composed byAngels & Airwaves.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "It Hurts" (live from Del Mar) | 4:20 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "It Hurts" (live from Del Mar) | 4:20 |
| 14. | "The Adventure" (live from Del Mar) | 5:18 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "The Gift" (acoustic) | 3:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "The Adventure" (acoustic) | 3:18 |
| 14. | "Good Day" (acoustic) | 2:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Everything's Magic" (acoustic) | 3:04 |
| 14. | "Do It for Me Now" (acoustic) | 3:46 |
Adapted credits from the liner notes ofI-Empire.[27]
Angels & Airwaves
Artwork
| Production
|
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] | 31 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[29] | 11 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] | 77 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] | 70 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[32] | 29 |
| USBillboard 200[33] | 9 |
| Year | Title | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Everything's Magic" | USBillboard Hot 100 | 104 |
| USModern Rock Tracks | 11 | ||
| USPop 100 | 92 | ||
| UK Singles Chart | 107 |
| Country | Release date |
|---|---|
| Various | November 1, 2007 |
| South Korea | November 5, 2007 |
| United Kingdom | |
| Canada | November 6, 2007 |
| United States |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)