Swan Songs (Hollywood Undead album)

Swan Songs is the debut studio album by American rap rock band Hollywood Undead. It was released through Octone Records and Polydor Records on September 2, 2008.[2] "Everywhere I Go" was the first single to be released, it was a web single and was available for download only on iTunes.[3] The band released four music videos for four songs on the album, "No. 5", "Undead", "Young", and "Everywhere I Go."[3] When purchased through Amazon.com and at some other retailers, the album includes a bonus track and an option to unlock music videos.[2] Swan Songs is the only studio album to feature vocalist Deuce, excluding the half-studio album Desperate Measures.

Swan Songs
Studio album by Hollywood Undead
Released	September 2, 2008
Recorded	January–May 2008
Studio	Hammer & Sickle Studios, Hollywood, California Castle Renholdër, Laurel Canyon, California Perfect Circle Studios, Hollywood, California NRG Studios, North Hollywood, California
Genre	Rap rock[1]
Length	49:35
Label	Octone Polydor
Producer	Don Gilmore Danny Lohner Jimmy Yuma Deuce (exec.)
Hollywood Undead studio album chronology
Swan Songs (2008) American Tragedy (2011)
Singles from Swan Songs
"No. 5" Released: March 18, 2006 "Undead" Released: August 26, 2008 "Young" Released: April 13, 2009 "This Love, This Hate" Released: Late 2009 "Everywhere I Go" Released: July 29, 2009 "Black Dahlia" Released: September 13, 2010

Background

Swan Songs was supposed to be released on the band's original label, MySpace Records in 2007, however it was postponed by the record label when they requested to have some of the songs removed and others censored. The band declined and switched labels to Octone which wouldn't require them to censor their songs.[4] The album peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and sold 21,000 copies on its debut week.[5] Swan Songs was released by Polydor Records on May 18, 2009 in the United Kingdom with two bonus tracks.[6] After 64 weeks, the album fell off of the Billboard Top 200, but returned four weeks later at No. 154. Swan Songs ended up spending 82 weeks in total on the Billboard 200. In 2009, it was certified gold by the RIAA. On January 18, 2013, it reached the Platinum sales mark.[7]

The song "Undead" is featured in the video games UFC Undisputed 2009 and Madden NFL 09.[3] The song "Young" is featured as downloadable content for Rock Band 2.[8] According to an e-mail sent out to fans from the official website April 4, 2011, the album has been re-released on iTunes as a Collector's Edition. This features all the tracks available on the original Swan Songs plus Swan Songs B-Sides EP, Swan Songs Rarities EP, and the Black Dahlia Remixes EP.

Critical reception

Swan Songs received mostly mixed reviews. Dave Donnelly of AllMusic gave the album a 2 out of 5 stars, saying that the lyrics were uninteresting and that the album was "given over to ironic frat-boy party rap" (using the singles "Everywhere I Go" and "No. 5" as examples).[9]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Rock Sound	[10]
Ultimate Guitar

Track listing

All tracks are written and performed by Hollywood Undead, with specific writers detailed for each track.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Undead"	Matthew Busek Jorel Decker George Ragan Aron Erlichman Jordon Terrell	Erlichman Danny Lohner	4:25
2.	"Sell Your Soul"	Erlichman Decker Ragan Lohner	Erlichman Lohner	3:14
3.	"Everywhere I Go"	Erlichman Terrell	Don Gilmore	3:30
4.	"No Other Place"	Erlichman Dylan Alvarez	Erlichman	3:16
5.	"No. 5"	Erlichman Alvarez Matthew Busek Ragan Terrell	Erlichman	3:05
6.	"Young"	Erlichman Lohner Ragan	Lohner	3:16
7.	"Black Dahlia"	Erlichman Decker Ragan	Erlichman	3:46
8.	"This Love, This Hate"	Erlichman Jimmy Yuma	Erlichman	3:57
9.	"Bottle and a Gun"	Alvarez Erlichman Terrell	Erlichman	3:22
10.	"California"	Erlichman Decker Ragan	Gilmore	3:17
11.	"City"	Erlichman Ragan Terrell	Erlichman Lohner	3:34
12.	"The Diary"	Erlichman Ragan	Erlichman	4:35
13.	"Pimpin'"	Erlichman Decker Ragan Terrell	Erlichman	3:07
14.	"Paradise Lost"	Erlichman Gilmore Ragan	Gilmore	3:11
Total length:				49:35

Japanese and UK bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Pain"	Erlichman Ragan Terrell	Erlichman	2:41
16.	"Knife Called Lust"	Erlichman Decker Jeffrey Phillips Terrell	Erlichman	2:59
Total length:				54:35

Indie Store bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"The Loss"	Busek Decker	3:15
Total length:			52:50

Smartpunk bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"The Natives"	Alvarez Busek Decker Ragan Terrell	3:40
Total length:			53:15

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Pain"	Erlichman Ragan Terrell	Erlichman	2:41
Total length:				52:16

Collector's edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Pain" (Swan Songs B-Sides)	Erlichman Ragan Terrell	Erlichman	2:41
16.	"The Natives" (Swan Songs B-Sides)	Alvarez Busek Decker Ragan Terrell		3:40
17.	"Knife Called Lust" (Swan Songs B-Sides)	Busek Decker Jeffrey Phillips Terrell	Erlichman	2:59
18.	"The Loss" (Swan Songs B-Sides)	Busek Decker		3:15
19.	"Bitches" (Swan Songs Rarities)	Alvarez Busek Decker Ragan Terrell		3:30
20.	"The Kids" (Swan Songs Rarities)	Decker Erlichman Phillips		3:01
21.	"Circles" (Swan Songs Rarities)	Erlichman Ragan		3:33
22.	"Black Dahlia" (Buffalo Bill remix)	Decker Ragan		3:50
23.	"Black Dahlia" (Lo Fidelity Allstars remix)	Decker Ragan		4:32
24.	"Black Dahlia" (The Pharmacy remix)	Decker Ragan		3:46
Total length:				84:27

Personnel

Credits for Swan Songs adapted from Allmusic.[9]

Hollywood Undead

• Aron "Deuce" Erlichman – lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, executive production, engineering (tracks: 1–2, 4–9 and 11-13, bonus tracks 15-21), programming (tracks: 1–2, 4–9 and 11-13, bonus tracks 15-21), mixing (track: 13, bonus tracks 15-21), guitar (track 8)
• Jordon "Charlie Scene" Terrell – vocals (tracks: 1, 3–5, 7, 9-11, and 13, bonus tracks 15-19), guitars (on all tracks except on track 8)
• Jorel "J-Dog" Decker – vocals (tracks: 1-2, 5–7, and 9-11, bonus tracks 16-20), keyboards (tracks: 1, 6-7, and 11, bonus track 20)
• George "Johnny 3 Tears" Ragan – vocals (tracks: 1-2, 5-7, and 9-14, bonus tracks 15-16, 18-19, and 21)
• Dylan "Funny Man" Alvarez – vocals (tracks: 1, 4–5, 9, and 13, bonus tracks 16 and 19)
• Matthew "Da Kurlzz" Busek – vocals (tracks: 1-3, 5-6, and 9-11, bonus tracks 16-17 and 19), drums (tracks: 5, 7, 9, and 11, bonus tracks 16-19), percussion (tracks: 5, 7, 9, and 11, bonus tracks 16-19)

Additional musicians Josh Freese – drums (tracks: 1, 6 and 11) Danny Lohner – guitars (tracks: 2, 8 and 14), engineering, production Paul Palavo – guitar (track 6) Dean Saenz – drums (track 2) Shady Jeff – vocals (bonus tracks 17 and 20)

Production

Don Gilmore – production Billy Howerdel – engineering Mark Kiczula – assistant Ben Grosse – mixing

Jonas Åkerlund – art direction, photography Jason Goad – illustrations Fox Phelps – assistant Jimmy Yuma – assistant, production

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008–09) Peak position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 90 Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] 99 UK Albums (OCC)[13] 85 US Billboard 200[14] 22 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[15] 5 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 3 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 8 Chart (2011) Peak position US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[18] 13

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Billboard 200[19] 66 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] 21

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog	Ref
United States	September 2, 2008	A&M/Octone	CD, Digital download	001133102	[21]
			CD with Bonus Tracks	001199002	[22]
Japan	May 6, 2009		CD, Digital download	B001133102	[23]
European Union	May 18, 2009	Polydor Group		B002436WEE	[24]
Germany	July 31, 2009	A&M/Octone
European Union	December 1, 2009	Polydor Group	Vinyl	B002M81UA2	[25]
United States	May 11, 2018	A&M/Octone		B0027938-01	[26]

References

1. Grierson, Tim. "Top 10 Essential Rap-Rock Songs". About.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
2. "Swan Songs: Hollywood Undead". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
3. "Hollywood Undead Official Website". Hollywoodundead.com. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
4. "ARTISTdirect Interview: Hollywood Undead". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
5. "Young Jeezy Nets Second Album Chart-Topper.". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
6. "Buy Hollywood Undead - Swan Songs online at Play.com and read reviews. Free delivery to UK and Europe!". Play.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
7. "Photo by mattykurlzzhu • Instagram". Instagram.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
8. Official song listing Archived December 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine for the Rock Band series.
9. Dave Donnelly. "Swan Songs — Hollywood Undead". Allmusic.
10. Lewis, Faye (June 2009). "Hollywood Undead – Swan Songs." Rock Sound (123): 83. ISSN 1465-0185.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Hollywood Undead – Swan Songs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
14. "Hollywood Undead Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
15. "Hollywood Undead Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
16. "Hollywood Undead Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
17. "Hollywood Undead Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
18. "Hollywood Undead Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
20. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
21. "Overview: Swan Songs - Hollywood Undead". Allmusic. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
22. "Overview: Swan Songs (Bonus Tracks) - Hollywood Undead". Allmusic. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
23. "Swan Songs (CD) - Hollywood Undead - HMV Online Shopping & Information Site". HMV Online Japan. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
24. "Swan Songs: Hollywood Undead: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon (UK). Retrieved May 15, 2011.
25. "American Tragedy (Deluxe Edition): Hollywood Undead: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon (UK). Retrieved May 15, 2011.
26. "Hollywood Undead - Swan Songs 10th Anniversary 2LP - Limited Edition Blue Vinyl". uDiscover. Retrieved August 14, 2018.