Issues (Issues album)

Issues (written as "•issues•" on the album's cover) is the self-titled debut studio album by American metalcore band Issues. Released on February 18, 2014 on Rise Records, the album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200, selling over 22,000 copies in its first week.[6] The album was produced by Kris Crummett, Matt Malpass, and the group's keyboardist and disc jockey Tyler "Scout" Acord.

Issues
Studio album by Issues
Released	February 18, 2014 November 28, 2014 (deluxe re-issue)
Recorded	Late summer 2013[1]
Genre	Metalcore[2] R&B[3] pop[4] nu metal[5]
Length	43:44
Label	Rise
Producer	Kris Crummett Ty "Scout" Acord Matt Malpass
Issues chronology
Black Diamonds (2012) Issues (2014) Diamond Dreams (2014)
Singles from Issues
"Stingray Affliction" Released: December 18, 2013 "Never Lose Your Flames" Released: May 1, 2014 "Mad at Myself" Released: October 10, 2014

Background and recording

The album's initial release was originally in November 2013, however had been pushed back to February 2014. It is the band's first release with current drummer Josh Manuel after Case Snedecor's departure in early 2013. The band released a teaser for the track, "Stingray Affliction" on November 19, 2013. The official track listing was released on December 7, 2013. The album's first single, "Stingray Affliction" was released on December 18, 2013,[7] along with the album's artwork.[8]

The album was released as a music download, CD and as an LP through Rise Records.[9]

On November 18, 2014 the deluxe edition was released, featuring the Diamond Dreams.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Alternative Press	[11]
Sputnikmusic	[12]

At Alternative Press, Brian Kraus rated the album four stars out of five stars as he praised the album's DJ-based breakdowns and called the album a mixture of metalcore and post-hardcore with elements of nu metal.[11] Gregory Heaney of AllMusic gave the album a considerably lower score as he criticized the album's sound as the two genres (being metalcore and mainstream pop) saying, "can be a little hard to wrap your head around" and called it a new variant of the old nu metal genre. However, he praised its efforts on some tracks.[10] Sputnikmusic's Robert Lowe expressed negativity against the album, giving it the lowest rating. He criticized the album's use of throwing in random genres with metalcore, including R&B, hip hop and nu metal and stated this failed miserably, calling it a mixture of Limp Bizkit and Justin Bieber elements, and even went as far as to say, "it could be the worst album ever."[12] The album was included at number 16 on Rock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.[13] The album was included at number 43 on Kerrang!'s "The Top 50 Rock Albums Of 2014" list.[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sad Ghost"	4:31
2.	"Mad at Myself"	3:50
3.	"Life of a Nine"	3:14
4.	"The Langdon House"	3:57
5.	"Late"	3:33
6.	"Old Dena"	1:35
7.	"Stingray Affliction"	3:38
8.	"Never Lose Your Flames"	3:41
9.	"Personality Cult"	3:53
10.	"Tears on the Runway Pt. 2"	3:57
11.	"The Settlement"	2:32
12.	"Disappear (Remember When)"	5:23

Deluxe edition bonus disc: Diamond Dreams

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hooligans" (reimagined)	4:06
2.	"Disappear" (reimagined)	3:41
3.	"King of Amarillo" (reimagined)	3:02
4.	"Princeton Ave" (reimagined)	3:45
5.	"Diamond Dreams"	2:26
6.	"Never Lose Your Flames" (reimagined) (featuring Ben Barlow of Neck Deep)	3:36
7.	"Tears on the Runway" (reimagined) (featuring Nylo)	3:28
8.	"The Worst of Them" (reimagined)	3:30

Personnel

Issues[15] Tyler Carter – clean vocals, additional unclean vocals on "Life of a Nine", "The Langdon House" and "Disappear (Remember When)" Michael Bohn – unclean vocals AJ Rebollo – guitars Tyler "Scout" Acord – turntables, keyboards, synthesizers, programming Josh Manuel – drums, percussion Skyler Acord – bass Additional artists[15] Heather Acord – choir Jimmie Herrod – choir Sonya Kaye – choir Veronica Moss – choir Nylo – vocals on track 10

Artwork[15] Peter Schreve – artwork, design Caitlin Brookins – photography Production[15] Issues – composer Kris Crummett – executive producer, producer, engineer, mixing, mastering[16] Matt Malpass – executive producer, producer Nylo – production

References

Citations

1. "ISSUES – Home finally. Settled in, resting for a couple..." Facebook. n.d. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
2. https://itsalldead.com/2014/02/17/issues-issues/
3. https://musicmayhemmagazine.com/issues-self-titled-album-review/
4. https://www.christcore.net/reviews/album-reviews/issues/
5. https://richardthinks.org/2014/02/17/album-review-issues-self-titled/
6. Caulfield, Keith (February 26, 2014). "'Frozen' Earns Most Weeks at No. 1 For A Soundtrack Since 'Titanic'". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
7. "Issues announce debut LP, release new song "Stingray Affliction"". Alternative Press. n.d. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
8. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bbzo89WIMAAXqY4.jpg
9. "Issues release details". AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
10. Heaney, Gregory. "Overview of Issues". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
11. Kraus, Brian (2014). "Issues – Issues". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. March 2014 (308): 88. ISSN 1065-1667. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
12. Lowe, Robert. "Issues – Issues review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
13. Bird, ed. 2015, p. 27
14. Emily (March 18, 2015). "The Top 50 Rock Albums Of 2014". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
15. "Issues credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
16. "Portland, Oregon Recording Studios – Interlace Audio". Retrieved May 1, 2016.

Sources

• Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2015). "Top 50 Albums of the Year". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (195). ISSN 1465-0185.

External links

• Issues at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)