''Threes'' is the third 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 ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

. The album was released on October 24, 2006, and peaked at number 83 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It is their first album with new guitarist

Keeley Davis Keeley Davis (born January 4, 1976) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and graphic designer. He is best known as a member of the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, with whom he has recorded one studio album, '' In•ter a•li•a' ...

, previously of

Engine Down Engine Down was an American rock band from Richmond, Virginia, active from 1996 to 2005. They were a part of the Washington, D.C. area post-hardcore movement, along with bands like The Dismemberment Plan, Q and Not U, and Faraquet. The lineu ...

and

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...

. The album was made available for streaming several days before its release on the band's MySpace site. A leaked copy of the album surfaced on the internet as well during early October 2006. Initial reviews were mixed, ranging from average to excellent (see reviews section). The album is generally considered to be darker and more complex than previous offerings, differing greatly from previous material in some places with callbacks in others. Jim Ward explains the meaning of ''Threes''. "Threes is a reference to the number 3 being important in my life. A lot of intersections happen involving that number, this record was a big changing point for me. The artwork is left to be interpreted by the viewer, you get a lot of interesting ideas form icfolks, I like it

On April 9, 2008 an official blog was posted on Sparta's Myspace page announcing the release of ''Threes'' on double vinyl after being in development for some time. It is limited to 1,000 copies with 3 different colors, and features the tracklisting in a different order, including the bonus tracks split up amongst various versions of the CD release. 200 copies on peach vinyl with black splatter, 300 copies on white vinyl, 500 copies on black vinyl with peach splatter. Orders can be placed throug
Vinyl Collective
the company distributing the double LP, and are expected to ship April 19, 2008.

Promotion

Prior to the release, the band released a variety of statements, videos and other information for fans.

Podcasts

Podcasts by the band, released at irregular intervals and featuring a variety of homemade footage of them in studio and at other locations were made available to fans. They can be seen on thei
website
but were usually released on thei
MySpace
page.

Personal message

The band released a message to fans prior to the release of the album, thanking them for their support and kind words. It is currently available for viewing on the Spart
MySpace

Music videos

The music video for the single "Taking Back Control" was released on Yahoo Music in mid-October 2006. It can still be viewed for free on thi
website
The music video for the second single, "Erase It Again", can be viewed through the band's website.

Website redesign

An entirely redesigned website was launched just prior to the release of ''Threes''. The site starts with a splash screen incorporating elements from the Eme Nakia film, Threes, and the individual band members. Sections included on the site include News, Tour, Media, Store, Contact and links to the fan run community Without a Sound as well as a signup page for the Sparta mailing list.

Album versions

According to their official website, several different versions of the album were made available, depending on where they were purchased. Albums bought from Best Buy include a DVD with the short film Eme Nakia. Many independent record stores gave away limited edition Lithograph posters with painted portraits of Jim, Matt, Tony and Keely. FYE albums included a bonus CD with an unreleased Sparta track titled "As Far As We Go" with each purchase. Purchasing the entire album on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

also includes a bonus track titled "Blood Spills".

Track listing

#"Untreatable Disease" – 3:19 #"Crawl" – 3:54 #"Unstitch Your Mouth" – 3:07 #" Taking Back Control" – 3:41 #"Erase It Again" – 3:37 #"Atlas" – 4:30 #"The Most Vicious Crime" – 6:20 #"False Start" – 3:51 #"Weather the Storm" – 4:43 #"Red.Right.Return. (Straight in Our Hands)" – 4:30 #"Without a Sound" – 3:18 #"Translations" – 4:33 Bonus tracks * "Blood Spills" (iTunes/Japan bonus track) – 3:44 * "As Far as We Go" (FYE/Japan bonus track) – 3:37 * "Born and Buried" (European bonus track) – 3:03

Double vinyl edition

Side A: #"The Most Vicious Crime" #"Born and Buried" #"Crawl" #"Red.Right.Return. (Straight In Our Hands)" Side B: #"Weather the Storm" #"Without a Sound" #"Erase It Again" #"False Start" Side C: #"Untreatable Disease" #"Taking Back Control" #"Blood Spills" #"As Far As We Go" Side D: #"Unstitch Your Mouth" #"Translations" #"Atlas" * Although not stated as an actual track, in the details about who sings background vocals, the song "We've Already Lost" is stated, without any prior mention of this song on either the Vinyl/LP or CD version.

Personnel

Musicians

– primary artist *

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song " Gimme S ...

– background vocals on "Atlas" and "Translations" * Chris Henrich – pedal steel guitar *

– guitar, vocals *

Tony Hajjar Tony Hajjar (born August 17, 1974) is a Lebanese American drummer, best known for playing in At the Drive-In and Sparta. As of 2016, he is playing in the reformed At The Drive-In, as well as the new group, Gone Is Gone. Tony also produced and dru ...

– drums * Matt Miller – bass, backup vocals * Jim Ward – guitar, vocals

Technical personnel

* Liz Smith – guitar technician *

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

– engineer *

Mike Major Mike Major is an American football coach. Major was the defensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky from 1997 through 2000 under head coach Hal Mumme. During Major's tenure the Wildcats played in the 1999 Outback Bowl and the 1999 Music ...

– mixing * Alan Yoshida – mastering *

Dave Bassett David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City a ...

– producer, engineer *

Gregg Keplinger Gregg Keplinger is an American drummer, drum maker, and drum tech from Seattle, Washington. As a drummer Keplinger began playing the drums at the age of 14, and has played in a large variety of bands ranging across many different styles, from Ja ...

– drum technician * Ray Wallace – paintings *

Jared Kvitka Jared is a given name of Biblical derivation. Origin In the Book of Genesis, the biblical patriarch Jared (יֶרֶד) was the sixth in the ten pre-flood generations between Adam and Noah; he was the son of Mahalaleel and the father of Eno ...

– assistant engineer * George Gumbs – engineer *

Erik Ron Erik Ron (born July 4, 1985) is an American producer, mixer, and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He has worked with artists such as Panic! at the Disco, Set It Off, Issues, New Years Day, Too Close to Touch, I the Mighty, Motionless In Wh ...

– digital editing * Geert Teuwen – cover photo

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Threes (Album) 2006 albums Sparta (band) albums Hollywood Records albums Anti- (record label) albums Albums recorded at Robert Lang Studios