TAKE FALL OUT BOY TO YOUR GRAVE

 By: Hayley Connolly

Photo Credits: Fall Out Boy Wiki

Fall Out Boy’s Take This to Your Grave might be the most influential album to their career. Take This To Your Grave is the debut album of pop-punk band Fall Out Boy and was produced by Sean O’Keefe. Released May 6, 2003, the cover features all the bandmates sitting on a broken futon with a blue tint washed over. The cover is supposed to be reminiscent of an old jazz record with a pop-punk twist and was actually the second choice for the cover after the first was discarded. The album includes 11 songs, three of which are singles. 

When the band was signed under Island Records they employed this peculiar strategy which allowed the band access to sign under Fueled by Ramen for their debut. In turn, Fall Out Boy for their second album continued to officially be signed by Fueled by Ramen. The following year, the band participated in Vans Warped Tour which skyrocketed their career and placed them into the public eye. The album was even certified gold by the Recording Industry Association with 634,000 copies as of August 2008. 

Singer Patrick Stump originally wrote the lyrics for the album. Taking them lightly at the time before bassist Pete Wentz meticulously picked them apart. This rather exhausting process led to many arguments about the album. The original cover was rejected by the label resulting in the second choice of the iconic blue cover.

In regards to lyricism and the contents of the songs, it is easy to see why so many regard this as a masterpiece. The mix of Stump’s passive aggressive delivery and Wentz’s genius lyricism, the tones of teenage angst and hardcore will surely bump through your headphones. Alternative press labeled this album a vital blueprint for pop punk music. According to the Fall Out Boy wiki, Alternative press states, “subcultural touchstone [...] a magical, transcendent and deceptively smart pop-punk masterpiece that ushered in a vibrant scene resurgence with a potent combination of charisma, new media marketing and hardcore-punk urgency.” Fall Out Boy has gone on to release nine long play albums as of 2021 and 1 remix album. The band was even featured in Disney movies such as “Big Hero Six” and “Ghostbusters”. It is definitely safe to say long time fans will be taking this record to their grave.