No Pleasantries

Last updated
No Pleasantries
NoPleasantries.jpg
Studio album by U.P.O.
Released May 30, 2000
Genre Post-grunge, Alternative rock
Length50:12
Label Epic, Sony
Producer Rick Parashar, U.P.O.
U.P.O. chronology
No Pleasantries
(2000)
The Heavy
(2004)

No Pleasantries is the debut album of American post-grunge band U.P.O. Released on May 30, 2000, the album broke U.P.O. into the mainstream rock scene and was their most successful release. It was made available on iTunes on September 22, 2004. [1]

Post-grunge is a rock music subgenre that emerged in the 1990s. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label bands such as Bush, Candlebox and Collective Soul that emulated the original sound of grunge.

U.P.O. was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997. The band's line-up originally included Shawn Albro, Chris Weber (guitar), Ben Shirley (bass) and Tommy Holt (drums). Shirley and Holt left and were replaced by Zoltan Bathory and Philippe Mathys shortly before the band's breakup in 2004.

iTunes media player and library software

iTunes is a media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application developed by Apple Inc. It was announced on January 9, 2001. It is used to play, download, and organize digital multimedia files, including music and video, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems. Content must be purchased through the iTunes Store, whereas iTunes is the software letting users manage their purchases.

Contents

In promotion of No Pleasantries, U.P.O. toured throughout 2000 with popular acts such as Linkin Park, Nickelback, Godsmack, and 3 Doors Down. July saw the group joining Slipknot, Slayer, and Metallica on the Tattoo the Earth Tour. U.P.O. played two more shows in 2001 before their brief hiatus. [2]

Linkin Park American alternative rock band

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Nickelback Canadian rock band

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Godsmack heavy metal band from the United States

Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released seven studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, one compilation album, and one live album.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

No Pleasantries boasted two chart-placing singles; "Godless" climbed to #5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and “Feel Alive” reached #25. The album managed to sell over 100,000 copies.

David Reamer of Allmusic noted, "With a sound similar to Badmotorfinger -era Soundgarden and featuring vocal distortion like that employed by Travis Meeks of Days of the New fame, the album is nothing revolutionary, but it is full of quality tracks that will please all but the most jaded alternative fans." He also claimed that U.P.O. obviously "knows what it's doing" and enjoys making music. Vocalist Shawn Albro's varied delivery has also been compared to The Cult's Ian Astbury.

<i>Badmotorfinger</i> 1991 studio album by Soundgarden

Badmotorfinger is the third studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on September 24, 1991, through A&M Records. Soundgarden began the recording sessions for the album with new bassist Ben Shepherd in the spring of 1991. The album maintained the band's heavy metal sound while featuring an increased focus on songwriting as compared with the band's previous releases. AllMusic considered the album's music to be "surprisingly cerebral and arty"; alternative tunings and abnormal time signatures were present on several of the album's songs, and lyrics were intended to be ambiguous and create imagery.

Soundgarden American grunge rock band

Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's full-time drummer in 1986, while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990. The band dissolved in 1997 and re-formed in 2010. Following Cornell's death in 2017, the band said it couldn’t possibly continue, and so has likely dissolved for the last time.

Travis Shane Meeks is an American musician, and is the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for acoustic rock band Days of the New. In recent years he has been battling drug addiction causing the break up of his 2014 reunion with Days Of The New shortly after it began for the second time. Since then he has been arrested several times for possession of narcotics and paraphernalia, served jail time and as of 2018 still struggling with substance abuse issues.

Song appearances

"Godless" was included on MTV's Return of the Rock Vol. 2. Tattoo The Earth: The First Crusade included A live rendition of "Dust." "Feel Alive" was included on the soundtrack to Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 . A track entitled "Now You Want Me," which may be from the No Pleasantries sessions, was featured on the ECW Anarchy Rocks! compilation. Nash Bridges and ESPN Under the Helmet also bared tracks from No Pleasantries.

<i>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2</i> 2000 film by Joe Berlingeri

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is a 2000 American psychological horror film, directed and co-written by Joe Berlinger and starring Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Barker Turner, Kim Director, Erica Leerhsen and Tristine Skyler. The film was immediately greenlit upon pitch due to the surprising success of its predecessor, the wildly successful 1999 film The Blair Witch Project. Stylistically different from the first film, the plot revolves around a group of people fascinated by the mythology surrounding The Blair Witch Project film; they go into the Black Hills where the original film was shot, and experience supernatural phenomena and psychological unraveling.

<i>Nash Bridges</i> television series

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Track listing

All lyrics written by Shawn Albro; all music composed by Shawn Albro and Chris Weber.

Chris Weber is an American musician best known as the guitarist and founder of the groups U.P.O. and Hollywood Rose. With U.P.O., he released two albums, No Pleasantries (2000) and The Heavy (2004), while the Hollywood Rose demos, recorded in 1984, were released in 2004 titled The Roots of Guns N' Roses.

No.TitleLength
1."Circle of Life"3:24
2."Freaks and Pigs"3:42
3."Feel Alive"3:59
4."Godless"4:14
5."Shame"4:32
6."My Life"4:07
7."Dust"3:45
8."Catch the Sun"4:06
9."Shut Up"4:48
10."Autumn Grey"4:51
11."The Hurt"4:20
12."Dead"4:17
Total length:50:12

Personnel

U.P.O.
Additional personnel

Chart positions

Album

YearChartPosition
2000Top Heatseekers19

Singles

YearSingleChartPosition
2000"Feel Alive"Mainstream Rock Tracks25 [4]
2000"Godless"Mainstream Rock Tracks6

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References

  1. iTunes UPOMusic.com (September 22, 2004). Retrieved 1-25-09.
  2. Past Tour Dates UPOMusic.com. Retrieved on 1-23-09.
  3. Allmusic review
  4. U.P.O. Chart History - Singles Billboard.com. Retrieved on 1-22-09.