''Days of the New'' (also known as the ''Red'' album or ''Days of the New III'') is the self-titled third and final studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Days of the New Days of the New is an American rock band from Charlestown, Indiana, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians. They are best known for the hit singles "Touch, Peel and Stand", " ...

. It was released in 2001 and was originally scheduled for late 2000, but Interscope enlisted

Ron Aniello Ron Aniello is an American songwriter, record producer, composer and musician who has enjoyed a diverse career working with Bruce Springsteen, Matthew Koma, Shania Twain, Wanting Qu, Gavin DeGraw, Lifehouse, Patti Scialfa, Barenaked Ladies, Gus ...

to help the band re-record and remix several songs for the record. The songs "Hang On to This," "Die Born," and "Once Again" were also added during this process. Reinforcing the Days of the New album color theme, the CD case to ''Red'' is translucent red. This is their only album with a "

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

" label.

Overview

In February 2000, Meeks returned to the studio with a new band. This album incorporated aspects of the previous two; much of the energy from the first album had returned, combined with

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

interlude Interlude may refer to: *a short play or, in general, any representation between parts of a larger stage production *''Entr'acte'', a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production *a section in a movement of a musical piece, se ...

s similar to the second album. ''Red'' also continues the upbeat vibe as emphasized on ''Green'' with more emphasis on

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, namely in the opening track "Hang On to This". The album encompasses several tracks written in 2001 as well as some of Meeks' earliest compositions, such as "Words" and "Fighting With Clay." The original version of the album was completed in 2000. At the record label's request, the album was retooled with producer Ron Aniello enlisted to remix tracks and record several new songs. During the 2001 recording sessions, Meeks' cocaine use escalated. After the album's release that September, he also started using

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

and lost an extreme amount of weight. The tour for the album became chaotic as a result of his use of both drugs.

Reception

The first single, "Hang On to This," charted fairly well and was the most added song on rock radio the week it was released. However, the album was released two weeks after the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...

and, with very little promotion, only sold 90,000 copies. The band maintained a profile touring with the likes of

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

and 3 Doors Down. The songs "Dirty Road", "Hang on to This", and "Die Born" were included on ''Classic Rock Historys list of "Top 10 Days Of The New Songs" at nos. 10, 7, and 5, respectively.

Track listing

Original track listing

*On digital versions of the album, the untitled hidden track is a separate song on track 13.

Outtakes

* "Surface Skimming" * "Choke Hold" – 5:01

Personnel

;Days of the New *

Travis Meeks Travis Shane Meeks (born April 27, 1979) is an American musician and the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for acoustic rock band Days of the New. At age 17, Meeks was signed to Geffen Records, and from 1997 to 2001 his band of rotating musici ...

– lead vocals, guitar *Mike Huettig – bass *Ray Rizzo – drums, percussion ;Additional *Sam Anderson – choir conduction *Roy Horton – trombone *John Ray – choir conduction *Roger Soren – bassoon, contrabassoon *Wendy Doyle, Louise Harris – cello *Doug Buchanan, Julie Edwards – viola *John Chisholm – violin *Trevor Johnson – English horn, oboe *Scott Staidle – violin *Marcus Ratzenboeck – violin *Michael Anthony King – guitar, vocals *

– keyboards, production *

Mike Shipley Michael Shipley (6 October 1956 – 25 July 2013) was an Australian mixing engineer, audio engineer, and record producer. Shipley's music career spanned more than 30 years – mostly working in Los Angeles. At the Grammy Awards of 2012 he ...

– mixing *Robert Edwards – percussion

Charts

Singles - Billboard (North America)

References

{{Authority control 2001 albums Albums produced by Ron Aniello Days of the New albums