''World War III'' is the third studio album by American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band Madina Lake, released on September 13, 2011. The first single from the album is "Hey Superstar", and the second one is "Imagineer" produced by

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

. This is their first album after leaving

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

and signing with

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

Track listing

Notes

* "Across 5 Oceans" and "Hey Superstar" were used as downloadable tracks in '' Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''. * "Hey Superstar" was their first single and it was released on October 3, 2011, but was used as the theme song for

TNA Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promoti ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

event in January. * Four music videos were released, "Hey Superstar" on August 30, 2011, "Imagineer" on September 13, 2011, "Across 5 Ocean" right before starting "Lila, The Divine Game" tour on September 27, 2012, and "They're Coming For Me" during hiatus between it and Farewell tour in 2013.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews upon its release. From IGN's 90% rating to Rock Sound's 70%, the album has been well received. Chad Grischow 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 ...

said "Regardless of whether you have followed the tale from the start or this is your first taste of Madina Lake, ''World War III'' proves to be a satisfying conclusion to the tale and stands up well on its own as simply a great rock album." Kerrang! rated the album 4 Ks out of 5 and stated that "There is much to like about ''World War III'', both in terms of its energy and its exuberant and determined quality."

Personnel

;Madina Lake * Nathan Leone –

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 ...

* Mateo Camargo –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, backing vocals * Matthew Leone –

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 * Dan Torelli –

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 ...

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. Exc ...

, backing vocals ;Production *Mateo Camargo -

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, mixing,

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– production on "Imagineer" * Chris Lord-Alge - Mixing *John Naclerio - Mastering ;Guest Vocals *Dave Casey - "Take Me Or Leave" *Maria Jose Camargo - "Heroine", "They're Coming For Me" and "What It Is To Wonder"

Release history

References

2011 albums Madina Lake albums Razor & Tie albums {{2010s-alt-rock-album-stub