''From Chaos'' is the sixth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

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 ...

, released on June 19, 2001. In 2000, before this album was recorded and released they left

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

and switched to

Volcano Entertainment Volcano Entertainment (sometimes referred to as Volcano Records) was an American all-round music record label founded in 1996 which released albums by Tool, 311, Size 14, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic. (The latter two were former Scotti Bros. ...

as their permanent label. Singles from this album include "

You Wouldn't Believe "You Wouldn't Believe" is a single by the band 311 that was first released on their album ''From Chaos'' in 2001, which has a music video featuring Shaquille O'Neal. The song appeared on Canadian MuchMusic Top 30 chart. "You Wouldn't Believe" al ...

", "

I'll Be Here Awhile "I'll Be Here Awhile" is a single by alternative rock band 311. It is the 12th and closing track on their album ''From Chaos''. Lead singer Nick Hexum originally wrote it when he was twenty, hence the line in the refrain "Twenty years of age, " t ...

", and "

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 Ma ...

". The latter was the most popular single from the album, and it still remains 311's most popular single to date. ''From Chaos'' is the first album to ever be recorded in 311's current recording studio The Hive in

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...

. ''From Chaos'' is an

enhanced CD Enhanced CD is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players. Formats that fall under the "enhanced CD" ca ...

, featuring interviews with the band. Shortly after the album was mixed, lead singer Nick Hexum had his tonsils removed. "Bomb the Town," "Will the World," "We Do It Like This," and "Dreamland" are

b-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

from this CD. They can be heard on the bonus disc included with Enlarged to Show Detail 2.

Background

Much of the album ''From Chaos'' was written by the band while on tour in 2000 promoting their fifth studio album 'Soundsystem.' The album name 'From Chaos' was inspired by the band’s situation with their previous record label of seven years, Capricorn Records. According to singer Nick Hexum, they "had a lot of disagreements with Capricorn over the years and it was just time to end our relationship." The band sued Capricorn, voided their contract and signed with

Volcano records Volcano Entertainment (sometimes referred to as Volcano Records) was an American all-round music record label founded in 1996 which released albums by Tool, 311, Size 14, Survivor and "Weird Al" Yankovic. (The latter two were former Scotti Bros. ...

. The band was going through stress of legal trouble, which brought a negativity environment where albums do not get made; they did not want to make an album surrounding that subject, so most of the album is born out of "relationships and appreciating life" according to Hexum, who takes pride in being up-beat and positive.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from various music critics. Steve Appleford of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' writes "

he album He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

"From Chaos" is mostly a repeat of proven

formulas (even with strange new flashes of prog-rock flavor), but singers ''

Nicholas Hexum Nicholas Lofton Hexum (born April 12, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter and rapper, currently the vocalist and guitarist for the multi-platinum alternative rock band 311 and The Nick Hexum Quintet. Early life Born in Madison, Wisconsin, t ...

'' and S.A. Martinez are earnest, energetic MC's, crooning, rapping, shouting across a thundering blend of rock, reggae, hip-hop and psychedelia. Still fresh and funky." Angelique Campbell from ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' in Ohio writes, "

stays with its formula of combining funk, rock and reggae with a dash of catchy pop sensibility on From Chaos."Campbell, Angelique. "Recordings on Review." ''

''. Jun 29 2001. Jacob Lunders, a contributor 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 ...

'' writes, "From Chaos astonishes and impresses with considerable energy and focus, proving itself as the album

has always been capable of making."
Lunders, Jacob. "From Chaos." ''

''.com April 10, 2013. However, Paul Massari of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' criticized the album, writing "

tries to demonstrate that it is still relevant in the era of the loud, angry rap-metal band. The death-rock power chords on tracks like "Full Ride" are plodding, and the tone of the gangsta raps is absurdly inflated."
Massari, Paul. "

from Chaos Volcano Entertainment." ''

'' Jul 12 2001. Kathryn McGuire of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' adds, "

slings melodramatic metal riffs and whiny verses every which way, and their once-novel fusion seems unfocused and flat.".McGuire, Kathryn. "From Chaos". ''

''. Aug 02 2001. Kristen Koba, founder of ''

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

''.com wrote, "The whiny white boy rap, almost funky bass lines, and grinding guitar riffs just couldn’t hold up in a city that offers so much innovative hip-hop and truly vital rock."
Koba, Kristen. "311: From Chaos". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

''.com.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes. ;311 *

Nick Hexum Nicholas Lofton Hexum (born April 12, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter and rapper, currently the vocalist and guitarist for the multi-platinum alternative rock band 311 and The Nick Hexum Quintet. Early life Born in Madison, Wisconsin, to ...

– vocals , guitar, programming, additional engineering * Chad Sexton – drums, percussion, programming, additional engineering * SA Martinez – vocals , turntables * Tim Mahoney – guitar * Aaron "P-Nut" Wills – bass ;Production * 311 – producer *

Ron Saint Germain Ron Saint Germain (alternate spellings Ron St. Germain, Ron Saint-Germaine and similar) is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer born in post-war Frankfurt, Germany, into a career Air Force family. Prior to his career in music p ...

– producer, engineer, mixing * Alex Rivera – additional engineering, Hive Studio tech and engineer * Mike Terry – tracking assistant * Geoff Walcha – mixing assistant * Scotch Ralston – technical assistance *

Joe Gastwirt Joe Gastwirt is an American audio engineer, known for digitally remastering hundreds of CDs and LPs for famous artists, including the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Helen Reddy, Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The B ...

– mastering * Matt Hunter – Hive Studio drum tech * Ruff Stewart – Hive Studio guitar tech

Charts

Album Singles

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 311 (band) albums 2001 albums Volcano Entertainment albums Albums produced by Ron Saint Germain