''The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack'', often referred to as simply ''The Heroin Diaries'', is the debut

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 ...

by Sixx:A.M., a side project of

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

bassist

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...

. The band also features lead vocalist

James Michael James Andrew Michael is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, singer, sound engineer and mixer. He is currently the lead singer of the rock band Sixx:A.M. Early life He took piano lessons while growing up and sang in Holland High ...

and guitarist

DJ Ashba Daren Jay Ashba (born November 10, 1972) is an American musician, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is currently the lead guitarist in Sixx:A.M. He is also known for his work with hard rock bands BulletBoys, Beautif ...

. The

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

serves as the companion

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to Sixx's autobiography, '' The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star'', and is about Sixx's severe

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addiction in 1987. The first single, "

Life Is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...

," debuted at number 26 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart.

Concept

Designed to be an accompaniment to '' The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star'', the autobiography of

bassist

co-written by Sixx and Ian Gittens that details his severe heroin addiction in 1987, ''The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack'' is a

that captures Sixx's basic story of his life during that time, although the album can stand alone. The story begins with the reasons for Sixx starting his diary, followed by his first (albeit temporary) abstinence from heroin, his relapse and mental and physical decline, his near-fatal overdose and

out-of-body experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly use ...

, and finally, his emotional recovery, which eventually led to long-term sobriety. The 13 tracks on the album each correspond to one month of his diary, which he kept from December 1986 to December 1987. Some of the tracks feature spoken word featuring Sixx himself reading some lines from the book.

Release

", the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

off the album, was originally posted on Sixx's MySpace page; after "

icking Icking is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria in Germany. People * Anita Augspurg, lived in Icking from 1916 until she fled the Nazis * Dieter Borsche, actor, lived in Icking in the beginning of the '60s. * Bern ...

up momentum," it debuted at #26 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

rock singles chart. It peaked at number 2 on the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. The album was released on August 21, 2007. It has sold 344,000 copies to date in the U.S. as of May 2011.

Deluxe edition

A deluxe edition of ''The Heroin Diaries'' was released on November 25, 2008, exclusively on sale through

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

. The deluxe edition features the original album and a bonus live EP, entitled '' Live Is Beautiful''. This EP was recorded from several performances over their summer 2008 tour on ''

Crüe Fest ''Crüe Fest'' was a summer 2008 tour by Mötley Crüe, which commenced on July 1, 2008 and concluded on August 31, 2008. It featured Mötley Crüe themselves, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt. ''Crüe Fest'' was said to be "the Lo ...

''. The EP is also sold separately for those who already have the original album.

10th Anniversary Edition

On October 26, 2017, the band released the 10th anniversary edition of the album, which features additional tracks; re-recordings in alternate arrangements of "Life is Beautiful", "Accidents Can Happen", and "Girl with Golden Eyes".

Track listing

Reception

''The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack'', noted by many for showcasing a more emotional sound than, and a musical departure from Sixx's other band,

, has been received very positively. Jim Kaz of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

, praising the emotional lyrics of the album, called it "not really an album but rather a musical book. It is almost impossible to recommend any specific songs over others."

Personnel

–

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 use ...

–

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 featur ...

, backing vocals *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

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 ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, programming

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heroin Diaries, The 2007 debut albums Sixx:A.M. albums Concept albums Book soundtracks Eleven Seven Label Group albums