''All American Nightmare'' is the third studio album by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
. Released on December 7, 2010 by
Universal Republic Records
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an i ...
, it is the band's successor to ''
Take It to the Limit'', which was released in 2008. ''All American Nightmare'' is significantly heavier in sound than either of the band's previous two records.
Production
Hinder began recording the album in early 2010 with producer
Kevin Churko
Kevin Gregory Churko (born 19 January 1968) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician best known for his work with artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Papa Roach, Hinder, Modern Science, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, In This ...
. The band had originally selected
Howard Benson
Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008.
Early life and education
Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadel ...
to produce the album, but Churko was later hired for the role.
According to singer Austin Winkler, he and drummer Cody Hanson wrote around 60 songs for the album, of which 10 were recorded for the standard release, and an additional two which are on the deluxe version of the album. The writing process was different from what the band had done in the past; Winkler said that "We normally do whatever the label wants. But for this record, we had to do something different. We had to mix it up a little bit."
The album was recorded in two parts; all music was recorded at Hanson's personal studio, while vocals, performed by Winkler, were recorded at his studio in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
Winkler said that he was pleased with the album, saying that "I'm ecstatic about the album...I've never been more proud of a record than I have with this one."
"I kinda went at it with the approach that I am a little hungrier, and took a more personal approach," Winkler told Alternative Addiction in a 2010 interview. "We went a little darker and a little heavier with this record, it's a little more real.".
Songs
Winkler said that the band had intentionally modified the sound of the music on the album, intending for it to sound like "Southern rock with a twist, but still heavy."
He said further that many of the songs on the album are dissimilar to one another, with "some unique songs on there."
According to a writer from
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
's ''
The Vindicator
''The Vindicator'' is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio, United States and the Mahoning County region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. ''The Vindicator'' was established in 1869. As of September 1, 2 ...
'', the songs ranged from "the rocking title track, the album's lead single, as well as the popish 'Hey Ho' and the ballad 'What Ya Gonna Do.'"
In addition to Winkler and Hanson, the band asked other musicians to be involved with the writing of several songs.
Winkler said that "We went around and wrote with anybody we could think of, just to see what would happen and to get a different vibe. We knew we needed a different flavor and some different influences in there."
The song "Waking Up the Devil" was released on the ''
Saw 3D
''Saw 3D'' (also known as ''Saw: The Final Chapter'') is a 2010 American 3D horror film directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sequel to 2009's ''Saw VI'' and seventh installment in the ''Saw'' ...
'' soundtrack in October 2010.
Release
While early reports said only that the album was to come out in the second half of 2010,
and it was subsequently scheduled to be released on December 14,
the album was then released on December 7.
The first single, the
title track of the album, was released on September 14, 2010 and made available for
digital download on October 5.
The band released
music videos
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for two songs, "All American Nightmare" and "What Ya Gonna Do."
The album's cover art was released on November 3, 2010,
featuring model Jesse Lee Denning on the cover, who also performed in the music video for "All American Nightmare." Jesse Lee Denning is a tattoo/fashion model and is dating Brian Deneeve (songwriter and former guitarist for "
From Autumn to Ashes
From Autumn to Ashes is a post-hardcore band based in Long Island, New York. The group formed in 2000 under the name Who's to Blame. While the band had gone through many line-up changes, the members include Francis Mark (lead vocals, drums), S ...
"). The band has been quoted as jokingly saying that all anyone talks about is Jesse Lee as opposed to their songs.
It was announced on October 10, 2011 that "The Life" would be released as the album's third single.
Reception
Initial reactions to the album were mixed; a reviewer for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
called the album "resolutely a re-creation of rock & roll past," and gave it a rating of one and a half stars out of five.
In a favorable review, Hard Rock Haven said the album "stands out" among other modern rock albums, and gave it an eight out of ten rating.
Track listing
All songs written by Austin Winkler, Cody Hanson and
The Warren Brothers
The Warren Brothers are an American country music duo composed of brothers Brett Warren (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, piano) and Brad Warren (background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar). The duo has released three ...
, except where noted.
The following is the track listing for ''All American Nightmare'':
Deluxe Edition
Personnel
*Austin Winkler - lead vocals
*Joe Garvey - lead guitar, backing vocals
*Mark King - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
*Mike Rodden - bass
*Cody Hanson - drums
Sales
The album sold 35,000 copies during its first week on sale in the United States, and debuted on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 37.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:All-American Nightmare, The
Hinder albums
2010 albums
Universal Records albums
Albums produced by Kevin Churko