One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours

''One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours'' is the second studio album by British post-hardcore band Fightstar, released on 24 September 2007 through Institute Recordings, itself a subsidiary of independent label Gut Records. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Matt Wallace and was preceded by the free downloadable single, " 99" and first official single, " We Apologise for Nothing". As with the bands debut album, Daniel Conway digitally painted the albums artwork.

The tracks "Unfamiliar Ceilings" and "H.I.P. (Enough)" are both representations of Fightstar's continued interest in the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise. The former song title comes from a line that the protagonist, Shinji Ikari, speaks during the series. The latter is an acronym for "Human Instrumentality Project", the goal of the fictional secret society "Seele". The third single, "Deathcar", also contains two b-sides; namely "Nerv/Seele" (named after the 2 factions from the ''Evangelion'' series) and the track "Shinji Ikari", after the aforementioned character of the same name. Bass Player Dan Haigh is primarily responsible for bringing the influence of Evangelion to Fightstar.

It was announced in June 2009 that the album was being re-released as a deluxe edition, containing a bonus CD including b-sides from the original recording sessions and live versions of "99" and "Deathcar". The new edition was released on 6 July 2009 in the United Kingdom and 11 August for the United States release via Edsel Records, who specialise in repackaged albums.

The album, re-issued in vinyl format, appeared on Amazon as a pre-order in late September.

Background, writing and recording

The album was written and demoed in Northampton at Alex Westaway's barn and then recorded in Los Angeles with producer Matt Wallace, Satchel, Deftones) in Spring 2007. Recording took place in the studios next to Metallica, who at the time were in the early stages of production on their ninth album ''Death Magnetic''.

Lyrically, the album is more of a "personal record" according to frontman Charlie Simpson, as opposed to ''Grand Unification'', which was written as more of a social commentary with a concept based on the Japanese anime series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''.

He stated that the end of his seven-year relationship whilst writing the album was the reason for this and songs "Deathcar" and "Unfamiliar Ceilings" were directly about the breakup. The track "Floods" was in reference to global warming and "One Day Son" was written about war and the consequences it may have on future generations. "99" was given its name because when Simpson was trying to rename the demo of the track he dropped his laptop down the stairs and the only key that worked was the 9.

Speaking about the general meaning behind the album title, Simpson stated:

Release and promotion

"99" was the first new material promoted from the album. Kerrang! Radio premiered the song on 4 April 2007 announcing it would be download-only and would be available online. The band put a temporary microsite online as of 11 May where fans could sign up and download the single and accompanying video for free. In May and June, the band went on a US tour alongside Emanuel, Madina Lake and Firescape. For the remainder of June, the band toured with Alexisonfire, Funeral for a Friend and Emanuel.

"Floods" was intended to be the first official single, but was later changed to " We Apologise For Nothing" in light of the recent flooding in Britain. On 23 November, a music video was released for "Deathcar". "Deathcar" was the band's next single, which was the first record on the VinylDisc format to be released in the UK. The band supported Coheed and Cambria on the Kerrang! Tour in the UK in January and February 2008. "Floods" was finally released as the third official single on 3 March 2008. The band released a music video for "I Am the Message" on their website on 7 June. "I Am the Message" was released as the fifth and final single on 16 June, before the band begin working on new material.

Reception

The album received strong reviews upon its release, further increasing the band's respect and popularity within the UK's alternative rock/metal scene. The release saw the band expand their sound and push further into both lighter and heavier territories, with a mixture of more melodic soundscapes and heavier metallic styles.

HMV described the album as "a harder effort than previous album ''Grand Unification'', this album is a thrilling mixture of alt. rock and post-hardcore". Joe DeAndrea of AbsolutePunk.net scored the album at 83%, and praised the diversity of songs on offer:

If you like the direction One Day Son takes with "Deathcar", you'll surely enjoy "H.I.P. (Enough)" and "Tannhauser", the tracks that are no doubt the hardest the band's ever written. ''One Day Son'' closes with the relaxing "Unfamiliar Ceilings", featuring soft female vocals and a kick drum while lacking the big guitar riffs that are present in almost all of the songs in this album.

Robert Jackman of the BBC
...