Foiled is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blue October, released on April 4, 2006, by Universal Records. The album debuted at number 29 on the US Billboard 200, marking the band's first entry on the chart. The album was certified gold in the United States on August 9, 2006, and on February 22, 2007, was certified platinum. The album was also a success in Canada, where it has also achieved platinum status. It was supported by four singles: "Hate Me", "Into the Ocean", "She's My Ride Home", and "X Amount of Words".

Foiled
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 4, 2006
RecordedEarly 2005
GenreAlternative rock
Length57:57
LabelUniversal
Producer
Blue October chronology
Argue with a Tree...
(2004)
Foiled
(2006)
Foiled for the Last Time
(2007)
Blue October studio album chronology
History for Sale
(2003)
Foiled
(2006)
Approaching Normal
(2009)
Singles from Foiled
  1. "Hate Me"
    Released: January 24, 2006
  2. "Into the Ocean"
    Released: October 16, 2006
  3. "She's My Ride Home"
    Released: May 22, 2007
  4. "X Amount of Words"
    Released: 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Billboard(favorable)[2]
IGN5.9/10[3]
Sputnikmusic[4]
The Tune4.7/5[5]

Background

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The album was recorded during the summer of 2005. Most of the songs on the album are older Blue October and 5591 songs, except for "Into the Ocean" and "Hate Me", which were written in early 2005 while Justin Furstenfeld was living in Los Angeles and recording the early demos for the album. Foiled was originally going to be titled Beyond the Sadness and was to be released October 11, 2005. During the fall of 2005, the working title was changed to Living Just to Watch It All Go By, which is a lyric from the song "It's Just Me". The eventual album title Foiled was coined by Justin Furstenfeld and Jeremy Furstenfeld's father, Dan Furstenfeld, as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the album's numerous delays. Two promotional spin-offs, Foiled Again and Foiled for the Last Time, were released in 2007. Foiled was listed at number 150 among Billboard's top 200 albums of 2007.[6]

Singles

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"Hate Me" was the first single from the album. A video for the song appeared on VH1, and the song peaked at number two on the Modern Rock charts.

The second single, "Into the Ocean", was also successful on radio, and the video peaked at number one on VH1.

The track "Congratulations" features guest vocals by Imogen Heap. The track "Into the Ocean" features guest vocals from Zayra Alvarez (best known for her appearance on Rock Star: Supernova). Other guest singers appear on the song "Overweight", but are not named in the album credits.

"Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek" was also included on the Saw III soundtrack and features guest vocals by Kirk Baxley. It is the "heaviest" track on the album because of its masochistic themed lyrics.

Release and promotion

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The version of the album released in Europe contains the bonus tracks "Independently Happy" and "Chameleon Boy", from Consent to Treatment and History for Sale, respectively, but does not contain the hidden track "It's Just Me". Later versions of the album feature a re-recorded version of the song "Calling You" as the final track. Foiled was Blue October’s final album to be released on cassette, and also their last to not be released on vinyl.

A premium version of the album, Foiled for the Last Time, was released on September 25, 2007, which includes fourteen of the Live at Stubb's tracks as well as a new version of "Calling You" and two remixes of "X Amount of Words".

Foiled remains Blue October's best-selling and most popular album, with the two hit singles "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean" being Blue October's most popular and recognizable songs, which have become rock radio and concert staples for the band. Although Blue October had been touring and releasing albums for eleven years prior to the release of the album, Foiled put them on the map and resulted in a surge in popularity for the band. For the next ten years, each of the band's subsequent albums would chart in the top 20, and the band continues to perform sold out tours.

In 2020, Blue October's tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 17, 2020, frontman Justin Furstenfeld performed two sold-out back-to-back online concerts on Stageit, in which he performed the Foiled album in its entirety.[7]

Track listing

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All tracks written by Justin Furstenfeld except for tracks 1, 10, and 13, co-written by Matt Noveskey, Patrick Sugg, and C.B. Hudson, respectively.

No.TitleLength
1."You Make Me Smile"4:21
2."She's My Ride Home"4:41
3."Into the Ocean"3:59
4."What If We Could"4:03
5."Hate Me"6:20
6."Let It Go"4:03
7."Congratulations" (featuring Imogen Heap)4:01
8."Overweight"4:24
9."X Amount of Words"4:14
10."Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek"4:32
11."Sound of Pulling Heaven Down"4:42
12."Everlasting Friend"4:05
13."18th Floor Balcony"4:32
14."It’s Just Me (Hidden Track)"4:40

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[15] Platinum 1,000,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Platinum 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Billboard review[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "IGN review". Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
  4. ^ Sputnikmusic review
  5. ^ The Tune review
  6. ^ "Best of 2007 Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  7. ^ Andrew Wendowski (April 19, 2020). "Blue October Takes Fans Back to 2006 'Foiled' Era During Impressive Virtual Concert". musicmayhemmagazine.com.
  8. ^ "Blue October Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "Charts.nz – Blue October – Foiled". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "Blue October Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Blue October Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  12. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  15. ^ "American album certifications – Blue October – Foiled". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Blue October – Foiled". Music Canada. Retrieved September 16, 2023.