''Enemy of the World'' is the fourth 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

Four Year Strong Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jake Massucco. They have released seven studio al ...

. It is the final album to feature keyboardist Josh Lyford prior to his departure from the band in April 2011.

Release

On December 18, 2009, it was announced that the band had signed to

Universal Motown Records Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the " urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

and that their next album, ''Enemy of the World'' would be released in three months' time. "It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now" is the album's first single, released in the iTunes Store on December 21, 2009. "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)" became available for streaming on AbsolutePunk on February 11. It was announced be the album's second single, and was released on February 9, 2010. In January and February 2010, the band embarked on a US tour with support from

the Bled The Bled was an American post-hardcore band from Tucson, Arizona, formed in 2001. They released four albums ('' Pass the Flask'', '' Found in the Flood'', ''Silent Treatment'' and '' Heat Fetish'') before disbanding in 2012. History Format ...

, This Time Next Year, Title Fight and

Strike Anywhere Strike Anywhere is an American punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is cha ...

. "What the Hell Is a Gigawatt?" was made available for streaming on

Purevolume PureVolume (formerly Unborn Media) was a website for uploading and streaming of music files, the first independently run of its type. PureVolume was created by Unborn Media, Inc; Mitchell Pavao; Brett Woitunski; and Nate Hudson, all from the Univer ...

on February 27, 2010. In February and March 2010, the band performed at Soundwave festival in Australia. The vinyl edition of the album was made available to pre-order on March 2. ''Enemy of the World'' was made available for streaming through Myspace on March 4, 2010, before it was released through

Decaydance DCD2 Records, formerly known as Decaydance Records, is an independent record label owned by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners, based in New York City. It was founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen. The first band Wentz ...

and

on March 9, 2010. In March and April, the band went on a US tour alongside

Every Time I Die Every Time I Die was an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. For most of the band's career, the line-up was centred on brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), as well as rhythm guitarist Andy Williams wit ...

Polar Bear Club Polar Bear Club was an American post-hardcore band from Rochester and Syracuse in upstate New York. Formed in 2005, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with vocalist Jimmy Stadt and lead guitarist Chris Browne as the only consistent me ...

and

Trapped Under Ice Trapped Under Ice is an American hardcore punk band from Baltimore, Maryland that was formed in 2007. Since then they have released an EP and three full-length albums. Taking influence from New York hardcore, the band has toured all over the wor ...

. "Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday)" was released to radio on May 11. A deluxe version of the album made available for streaming through

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

's website on June 21, 2010, before was released on June 25, 2010. It features "Bad News Bearz" alongside acoustic versions of four of the album's tracks. "Bad News Bearz" and the acoustic versions of "Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday)" and "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)" were posted online ahead of the reissue. A music video was released for "Tonight We Feel Alive (On a Saturday)" on August 9. The group performed on the

Kerrang! Tour ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-o ...

in the UK in February 2011. In October 2022, the band announced that a fully re-recorded version of the album is set to be released on February 17, 2023.

Reception

AbsolutePunk reviewer Drew Beringer was extremely positive in his review, saying ''Enemy of the World'' "is a pop-punk juggernaut" and tops their previous album '' Rise or Die Trying'' by far. The album sold over 12,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' 200. "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)" was nominated at the

Kerrang! Awards The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...

for Best Single, but lost to "

Liquid Confidence "Liquid Confidence" is the third single by British rock band You Me at Six, taken from their second studio album, '' Hold Me Down''. The single was added to BBC Radio 1's A-list during April 2010. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 86 upo ...

" by

You Me at Six You Me at Six are an English rock band from Weybridge, Surrey. The band consists of lead singer Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes and drummer Daniel Flint. Formed in 2004, the name for the group origi ...

. ''Dead Press!'' featured it as number 15 on their best albums of the year list. The album was included at number 39 on ''Rock Sound''s "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time" list.

Track listing

Original release

All songs written by Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, except where noted. ;Bonus tracks

It's Not the Size of the 7-inch... It's How You Use It (EP)

Song titles

*"It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now" comes from a comment made by Scott Heisel of ''Alternative Press'' in a review of the Set Your Goals album ''

This Will Be the Death of Us ''This Will Be the Death of Us'' is the second studio album by American rock band Set Your Goals, released on July 21, 2009, on Epitaph Records. Following the release of their debut album '' Mutiny!'' in 2006, the group discovered they were no ...

''. *"What the Hell Is a Gigawatt?" is a line from the film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''. *"Flannel Is the Color of My Energy" is a reference to the chorus of the

311 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

song "

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...

". *The title of the bonus track "Listen, Do You Smell Something?" is a line in the film ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

''.

Chart performance

Personnel

*Alan Day – lead vocals,

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

and

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

*Dan O'Connor – lead vocals,

and

*Joe Weiss –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

*Jake Massucco – drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

*Josh Lyford –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, synthesizer,

unclean vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for the ...

;Additional personnel * Jay Pepito (of Reign Supreme) – additional vocals on "What the Hell Is a Gigawatt?" ;Production * Machine – producer *

John Feldmann John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger. Early life Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...

– mixing * Bradon Paddock & Erik Ron – mix assistants * Joe Gastwirt – mastering *

Will Putney Fit for an Autopsy is an American deathcore band from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 2008. The band consists of guitarists Pat Sheridan, Will Putney and Tim Howley, drummer Josean Orta, vocalist Joe Badolato, and bassist Peter "Blue" Spinaz ...

, Machine – engineer * Clinton Bradley – additional synth programming * Jeremy Comitas, Bill Purcell – editing/Pro Tools *

Pete Wentz Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician best known as the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy since 2001. Before Fall Out Boy, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lea ...

– A&R for

Decaydance Records DCD2 Records, formerly known as Decaydance Records, is an independent record label owned by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners, based in New York City. It was founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen. The first band Wentz s ...

* Shep Goodman – A&R for

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company tha ...

* Elizabeth Vago – A&R coordination * Cliff Rigano – product manager * Ken Kelly – illustrations * Joe Spix – art direction & design

References

; Citations ;Sources *

External links

''Enemy of the World''
at

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(streamed copy where licensed) {{DEFAULTSORT:Enemy Of The World 2010 albums Four Year Strong albums Albums with cover art by Ken Kelly (artist) Decaydance Records albums Universal Motown Records albums Albums produced by Machine (producer)