title: Ancient astronauts

text: The first part of the apocryphal Book of Enoch expands and interprets Genesis 6:1: that the "sons of God" were a group of 200 "angels" called "Watchers", who descended to Earth to breed with humans. Their offspring are the Nephilim, "giants" who "consumed all the acquisitions of men". When humans could no longer sustain the Nephilim, they turned against humanity. The Watchers also instructed humans in metallurgy and metalworking, cosmetics, sorcery, astrology, astronomy, and meteorology. God then ordered the Watchers to be imprisoned in the ground, and created the Great Flood (or the numerous Deluge myths) to rid Earth of the Nephilim and of the humans given knowledge by the Watchers. To ensure humanity's survival, Noah is forewarned of the oncoming destruction. Because they disobeyed God, the book describes the Watchers as "fallen angels".


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Some ancient astronaut proponents argue that this story is a historical account of extraterrestrials visiting Earth, called Watchers because their mission was to observe humanity. Some of the extraterrestrials disobeyed orders; they made contact with humans, cross-bred with human females, and shared knowledge with them. The Nephilim were thus half-human-half-extraterrestrial hybrids.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman argue that modern UFOs carry the fallen angels, or offspring of fallen angels, and that "Noah's genealogy was not tarnished by the intrusion of fallen angels. It seems that this adulteration of the human gene pool was a major problem on the planet earth".


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Von Däniken also suggests that the two angels who visited Lot in Genesis 19 were ancient astronauts, who used atomic weapons to destroy the city of Sodom.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Marc Dem reinterprets the Book of Genesis by writing that humanity started on another planet and that the God of the Bible is an extraterrestrial.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: In the Old Testament, Chapter 1 of the Book of Ezekiel recounts a vision in which Ezekiel sees "an immense cloud" that contains fire and emits lightning and "brilliant light". It continues: "The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures". These creatures, called cherubim, are described as winged and humanoid, they "sped back and forth like flashes of lightning" and "fire moved back and forth among the creatures". The passage goes on to describe four shiny objects, called ophanim, each appearing "like a wheel intersecting a wheel". These objects could fly and they moved with the creatures: "When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose".


title: Ancient astronauts

text: In Chapter 4 of "Chariots of the Gods?", entitled "Was God an Astronaut?", von Däniken suggests that Ezekiel had seen a spaceship or spaceships; this hypothesis had been put forward by Morris Jessup in 1956 and by Arthur W. Orton in 1961. A detailed version of this hypothesis was described by Josef F. Blumrich in his book "The Spaceships of Ezekiel" (1974).


title: Ancient astronauts

text: The characteristics of the Ark of the Covenant and the Urim and Thummim have been said to suggest high technology, perhaps from alien origins.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Robert Dione and Paul Misraki published books in the 1960s describing the events in the Bible as caused by alien technology. Barry Downing, a Presbyterian minister, wrote a book in 1968 arguing that Jesus was an extraterrestrial, citing John 8:23 and other biblical verses as evidence.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Some ancient astronaut proponents such as Von Däniken and Barry Downing believe that the concept of hell in the Bible could be a real description of the planet Venus brought to Earth by extraterrestrials showing photos of the hot surface on Venus to humans. Proponents of the hypothesis state that 'God' and 'Satan' were aliens that disagreed on whether or not human beings should be allowed the information that is offered by the tree of knowledge. David Childress, a leading proponent of ancient astronaut creation hypothesis, compares this story to the Greek tale of Prometheus, who gave mankind the knowledge of fire. Ancient Astronaut proponents believe the biblical concept of Satan is based on a misunderstood visit by extraterrestrials. Erich von Däniken posited that the descendants of extraterrestrials had children with hominids, and this was referred to in the Bible as the "Original sin." Von Däniken believes that the biblical great flood was punishment after an extraterrestrial 'God' discovered that earthbound, fallen angels were mating with ape-like early humans.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Childress and others have written that the passage in the Book of Invasions describing the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann in Ireland, records "the arrival of aliens in spacecraft with cloaking devices" at Slieve Anierin. The text states “so that they were the Tuatha De Danand who came to Ireland. In this wise they came, in dark clouds. They landed on the mountains of Conmaicne Rein in Connacht and they brought a darkness over the sun for three days and three nights".


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Ancient astronaut proponents believe Hopi cave drawings of Kachinas (spirit beings) found in the desert link the origins of the Hopi and Zuni tribes with "star people". They point to similar etchings elsewhere as evidence that extraterrestrials visited many different ancient civilizations.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Other artistic support for the ancient astronaut hypothesis has been sought in Palaeolithic cave paintings. Wondjina in Australia and in the Rock Drawings in Valcamonica, in Italy (seen above) are said to bear a resemblance to present day astronauts. Supporters of the ancient astronaut hypothesis sometimes argue that similarities such as dome shaped heads, interpreted as beings wearing space helmets, prove that early man was visited by an extraterrestrial race.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: More support of this hypothesis draws upon what are said to be representations of flying saucers and other unidentified flying objects in medieval and renaissance art.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: The ancient Nazca Lines are hundreds of huge ground drawings etched into the high desert of southern Peru. Some are stylized animals and humanoid figures, while others are merely straight lines hundreds of meters long. As the figures were made to be seen from a great height, they have been linked with the ancient astronaut hypothesis. In the 1970s, the pseudohistorical writer Erich von Däniken popularized a notion that the Nazca lines and figures could have been made "according to instructions from aircraft" and that the longer and wider lines might be runways for spacecraft. According to archaeologist Kenneth Feder, Von Däniken's extraterrestrial interpretation is not supported by any evidence. Feder wrote that "the lines are interpreted by archaeologists as ceremonial pathways of the ancient Nazca people; they were used precisely in this way in the fairly recent past."


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Joe Nickell of the University of Kentucky re-created one of the figures using only wooden stakes and string.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Proponents of the ancient astronauts idea say some artifacts discovered in Egypt (the Saqqara Bird) and Colombia-Ecuador (Quimbaya artifacts) are similar to modern planes and gliders. These artifacts have been interpreted by mainstream archaeologists, however, as stylized representations of birds and insects.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Proposed evidence for ancient astronauts includes the existence of ancient monuments and megalithic ruins such as the Giza pyramids of Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru, or Baalbek in Lebanon, the Moai of Easter Island and Stonehenge of England. Supporters say that these stone structures could not have been built with the technical abilities and tools of the people of the time and further argue that many could not be duplicated even today. They suggest that the large size of the building stones, the precision with which they were laid, and the distances many were transported leaves the question open as to who constructed these sites.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: These ideas are categorically rejected by mainstream archeology. Some mainstream archeologists have participated in experiments to move large megaliths. These experiments have succeeded in moving megaliths up to at least 40 tons, and part have speculated that with a larger workforce larger megaliths could be towed with the use of known ancient technology.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Von Däniken states that ancient Egypt, with its great structures of the Giza pyramid complex such as the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza, became a "fantastic, ready-made civilization" suddenly and without transitions and development. Ancient astronaut proponents suggest that sites like the pyramids of Giza were instead constructed by extraterrestrials. However, archaeological evidence demonstrates not only the long cultural trajectory of prehistoric Egypt but also the developmental processes the ancient Egyptians underwent. Egyptian tombs began with important leaders of villages being buried in the bedrock and covered with mounds of earth. Eventually, the first pharaohs had tombs covered with single-story, mud-brick, square structures called mastabas. The stepped pyramid developed out of multiple mastabas being stacked on each one in one structure. This led to the construction of pharaoh Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara, which is known from records to have been built by the ancient Egyptian architect and advisor Imhotep. It was pharaoh Sneferu who had his pyramid transitioned from a stepped to a true pyramid like the well-known pyramids of Giza. A papyrus document like a logbook kept by an official called inspector Merer has also been discovered with records of the construction of the Great Pyramid.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: The Moai statues of Easter Island were moved miles from the Rano Raraku quarry to their current locations, and archaeologists have wondered how massive statues such as these could have been transported. The folklore of the native Rapa Nui people says that chiefs and priests used mana to make the statues of the island walk. In 1982, Czech engineer Pavel Pavel and a group of sixteen people used a replica concrete moai to test a method that could have transported the statues. They tied ropes to it and in two groups pulled and twisted it back and forth, making it move forward in a walking motion. They called it the "refrigerator method" and demonstrated that the massive statues could be easily moved by a small group of people.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: A number of ancient cultures, such as the ancient Egyptians and some Native Americans, artificially lengthened the skulls of their children. Some ancient astronaut proponents propose that this was done to emulate extraterrestrial visitors, whom they saw as gods.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Among the ancient rulers depicted with elongated skulls are pharaoh Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The depiction of Akhenaten and his family with traits like elongated skulls, limbs, underdeveloped torsos, and gynaecomastia in Amarna art is hypothesized to be the effect of a familial disease. Marriage between family members, especially siblings, was common in ancient Egyptian royal families, elevating the risk of such disorders. Studies on the remains of the ruling family of 18th Dynasty Egypt have found evidence of deformities and illnesses. Proposed syndromes of Akhenaten include Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Marfan's syndrome, Frohlich syndrome, and Antley-Bixler syndrome. Akhenaten worshipped the sun disk god Aten and it is suggested that such worship could point to a disease that is alleviated by sunlight.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: Ancient astronauts have been addressed frequently in science fiction and horror fiction in many different media. In a 2004 article in "Skeptic" magazine, Jason Colavito writes that von Däniken borrowed many of the book's concepts from "Le Matin des Magiciens" ("Morning of the Magicians"), that this book in turn was heavily influenced by the Cthulhu Mythos, and that the core of the ancient astronaut hypothesis originates in H. P. Lovecraft's works "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness". Colavito later expanded on this idea in his book "The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture".


title: Ancient astronauts

text: The idea that aliens visited Earth in the past is frequently seen in works of fiction. For example, the comic book "Thor" considers that all the Norse mythology is based on actual beings living in other dimensions, who were worshipped as gods by the Vikings and who reappear on Earth in modern times. Däniken's work, however, inspired several works and franchises over time, such as "Eternals", "Stargate", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Prometheus" and "The X-Files". All those works do not take the idea seriously, but merely use it as a narrative device. Another angle may be to leave the aliens out of the story, and focus instead on devices they left behind, as in the novels "Scarlet Dream", "Galactic Derelict", "World of Ptavvs", "Toolmaker Koan", and "A Fire Upon the Deep". Aliens may also appear as an elder race that created or shepherded humans in their early times; and may or may not be present in the work's present day.


title: Ancient astronauts

text: "Ancient Aliens" is a television series that features proponents of the ancient astronaut hypothesis, such as Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, David Childress, Erich von Däniken, Steven M. Greer, and Nick Pope.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: Empire of the Sun are an Australian electronic music duo formed in 2007. The duo is a collaboration between Luke Steele, of alternative rock band The Sleepy Jackson, and Nick Littlemore, of electronic dance band Pnau.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: Empire of the Sun's 2008 debut album, "Walking on a Dream", brought the duo international success and has been certified double platinum in Australia and gold in the United Kingdom. The album provided a number of internationally charting singles including "Walking on a Dream", which peaked at number ten on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and reached number sixty four on the UK Singles Chart, and "We Are the People", which peaked at number fourteen on the UK Singles Chart. The band's second album, "Ice on the Dune", was released in June 2013, preceded by lead single "Alive" on 16 April. The band are signed to EMI Music Australia/Virgin. As a live band, they have performed internationally and are known for their flamboyant appearance and elaborate stage sets.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The duo have won a number of Australian music awards, with "Walking on a Dream" receiving 11 nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009, winning seven, including Album of the Year.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore met in 2000 after being introduced by Steele's A&R executive, Simon Moor, in a bar in Sydney. Both were at the time signed to EMI and had already been working on different projects. Over the years that followed, the two collaborated on a number of occasions. Littlemore helped write the song "Tell the Girls That I'm Not Hangin' Out", which appeared on The Sleepy Jackson's 2003 debut album, "Lovers", and Steele had some artistic input in Littlemore's 2006 art-rock project Teenager. After a falling out over the song on "Lovers" the co-operation ceased for a while, with Littlemore commenting "I'm a very intense person and I take things to heart".


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The two reconvened in 2006 to work on two songs for the "Pnau" album that was released in late 2007. They collaborated on the tracks "Freedom" and the opener "With You Forever" where Steele supplied the vocal. This prompted a change in direction for the band who began to craft a work more vocally-centered album featuring guest performances. A track-by-track analysis of the album "Pnau" revealed that writing of "With You Forever" with Luke Steele inspired Littlemore's band to begin work on a collaborative project. Littlemore said, "We fell in love with music again with [With You Forever]; I think this is [Pnau's] first great song." The release of "Pnau" brought an interest from Elton John, who signed Littlemore to his management company.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The new project began to develop under the working title of "Steelemore" as a collaboration between Steele and Littlemore, with Pnau partner Peter Mayes listed as a producer and occasional co-writer. As Steele was living in Perth and Littlemore was in Sydney the two spent time writing songs separately while meeting occasionally in Sydney to decide on the musical direction and style. When they had accumulated enough material Mayes and duo began to record the album throughout 2007 with the assistance of Jonathan Sloan.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: While the record had been largely recorded and mixed throughout 2007, the self-titled Pnau album took precedence for Littlemore and Mayes in the first half of 2008. The duo put out the title-track "Walking on a Dream" in anticipation of the album's release. It appeared in digital format on 30 August 2008, and received airtime on Australian radio and reached number ten on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. A second single, titled "We Are the People", was released on 30 September and peaked at number twenty-four in Australia. The album "Walking on a Dream" appeared on 3 October 2008 and debuted at number eight on the ARIA Albums Charts, peaking at number six. The duo embarked on an international promotional tour in support of the album that was released in Europe in February/March 2009 followed by a North American release in April of the same year. While the project had initially been conceived as studio-only, the growing success brought "an audience [to which] we felt a duty to be good to them". Upon their return to Australia Steele began to prepare for a live debut of the band at Parklife Festival in September and October 2009. The headlined three shows, described as a visual "overload [where] giant graphics swam and spun over the stage as costumed dancers writhed to the beat and Steele on a pedestal onstage, [wearing] a gigantic metallic headpiece and his usual 'Ming The Merciless' robe". A third single, "Standing on the Shore" was released in June 2009 however promotion was scaled back when Steele suffered from exhaustion. A remixed version "Without You" was released as the album's fourth single the following September.Littlemore decided to opt out of performing with the band live, citing 'I’ve always felt that once you make a record it's not yours anymore'. Steele gave the impression that his partner left the band in September 2009, however, Littlemore resurfaced in the following month, citing his production work and a project with Cirque du Soleil as the reason for the lack of communication. He divided his time between the UK and Montreal while working on other creative commitments. Steele continued to perform live with the band at a number of Australian outdoor events. Towards the end of 2009, the band received a number of ARIA Awards for "Walking on a Dream", including Best Album of the Year.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The band performed as a co-headliner at the touring Future Music Festival around Australia in February/March 2010. The band made their international debut at the Vive Latino Festival in Mexico City in April of that same year. They moved to Europe for the summer festival season where they performed at among others Glastonbury and Rock Werchter. The band made their American debut at the Lollapalooza festival. In October 2010, "We Are the People" was used as the soundtrack for a Vodafone TV commercial in Germany and subsequently topped the German Singles Chart. In November 2010, Littlemore indicated that he had "talked to Luke (Steele) the other day; we're doing a new record. We've already written a couple of tunes. You know when it's right I guess". In July 2011, Littlemore announced that the band had gone into the studio at the end of June to begin working on a second Empire of the Sun album while he confirmed would "come on board this time, actually come together and tour". As recording continued, Littlemore continued to have Pnau related commitments, releasing the album "Soft Universe" in 2011 and the Elton John remix album "Good Morning to the Night" in 2012.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: For much of 2012, the duo and their collaborators spent time recording material while Steele and the band retired from touring. On 11 March 2013, the band revealed a trailer for their second album entitled "Ice on the Dune" directed by J. D. Dillard and confirmed the release date as June 2013. The lead single "Alive" was released on 16 April and on the same day, the album was made available for pre-order on iTunes. The single had moderate success in Australia and Europe. On 18 April 2013, the Farrelly brothers announced that the band would score "Dumb and Dumber To". "Ice on the Dune" was released on 14 June 2013 in Australia and New Zealand. Steele would later describe the lack of success of the album as part of their progression as a band.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: Steele received global media attention following an interview he completed with music publication "NME" in August 2013 at the Sziget Festival in Budapest. During the interview, Steele compared "Ice on the Dune" with Daft Punk's 2013 album release "Random Access Memories", stating: "They had a great marketing campaign, but we’ve got better songs." In 2014 the band performed at the Coachella Festival, headlining the Sahara Tent.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: "Alive" was used in the introduction video for Google I/O 2013. It was also played within the introduction video of the new Yahoo! logo on 5 September 2013, played over the end credits of the 2013 film "Paranoia", and featured in the movie "Dumb and Dumber To". "Alive" was also a featured song on the soundtrack of EA Sports game, "FIFA 14".


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In December 2014, Empire of the Sun released two songs, "Tonight" and "Wandering Star", which were written for the Farrelly brothers film, "Dumb and Dumber To". For much of 2015, the duo were writing and recording of their third album in Hawaii and Los Angeles. By the end of the year, Steele noted that the new release was "75 percent there".


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The band continued to perform live in the second half of 2015, including a show at the Hollywood Bowl.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In January 2016, the band's 2008 album title track "Walking on a Dream" was featured in a national commercial titled "The Dreamer" in the United States for the Japanese automaker Honda to promote the 2016 Honda Civic. The song finally led to the US chart breakthrough for the band, peaking at number 3 on "Billboard"s Alternative music charts, topping the dance music charts, and peaking at number 40 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In August 2016, it was announced that the third album "Two Vines" was set for release on 28 October 2016. The album was co-produced by Peter Mayes and features contributions by Lindsey Buckingham, Wendy Melvoin, and former David Bowie collaborators Henry Hey and Tim Lefebvre. The 15-track album includes a remix of the song "Walking on a Dream" and was partly recorded in Hawaii. Littlemore explained the inspiration behind the title as "this image of a modern city overtaken by jungle". The first single "High and Low" was released on 24 August. "High and Low" was also featured in the EA Sports game, "FIFA 17".


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In an interview with Billboard in August 2017, Steele announced that he and Littlemore had recently started working on their fourth album in Japan, and that a music video for "Way to Go" was also shot in Japan. He spoke of how he loves Japanese music, and that a koto player came in for a day.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In September 2017, DS Automobiles released a video featuring a new exclusive Empire song, "On Our Way Home", starring the Ukrainian actress and model Alina Kovalenko.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In a podcast interview with "The Plug with Neil Griffiths" on October 6, 2021, Littlemore said that the band had been struggling to write new music remotely over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assured fans that new music was being composed.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: In February 2022, Luke Steele announced a debut solo studio album, "Listen to the Water" and released its lead single, "Common Man", on 11 February 2022.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: Although the name of the project has been attributed to the 1984 novel of the same name by J. G. Ballard, Littlemore denied this and offers an explanation, saying, "the name comes more from the idea of ... the fact that we're traveling around the world going to all the places of empires of the civilization where the sun has been a theme of worship. It's not based on the Ballard novel nor the Spielberg film of the same name."


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The band employs elaborate stage sets and headdress (such as wearing kabutos, war bonnets and war paint), which reflects the duo's background in visual art. Littlemore explained that "we did see Alejandro Jodorowsky's "Holy Mountain" and it influenced the way we could think about visualization". The band has worked with a number of designers, including Jessica Huerta. Steele described the inspiration for the visual aspect as "the vision of this band, it's built on imagination, so it comes from studying the samurais in art school to digital graphics, to topography, to filming under the ocean, to oil paintings, anything really."


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The ARIA Music Awards of 2009 nominations were announced on 8 October 2009. Empire of the Sun received the most nominations of any artist, with a total of eleven. The winners were announced on 26 November 2009 with Empire of the Sun winning in seven categories.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The nominations for the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 were announced on 28 September 2010 and the winners were announced on 7 November 2010. The final nominees for the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 were announced on 14 October, as well as the nominees and winners for the Fine Arts Awards and Artisan Awards.


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).


title: Empire of the Sun (band)

text: The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. They commenced in 2013.


title: Staind

text: Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki. The lineup has been stable outside of the 2011 departure of Wysocki, who was replaced by Sal Giancarelli. Staind has recorded seven studio albums: "Tormented" (1996), "Dysfunction" (1999), "Break the Cycle" (2001), "14 Shades of Grey" (2003), "Chapter V" (2005), "The Illusion of Progress" (2008), and "Staind" (2011). The band's activity became more sporadic after their self-titled release, with Lewis pursuing a solo country music career and Mushok subsequently joining the band Saint Asonia, but they have continued to tour on and off in the following years. In 2016, Lewis reiterated that the band had not broken up, and would possibly create another album, but that his then-current focus was on his solo career. The band reunited more permanently in 2019 for several shows, continuing with live appearances in 2020. Many of their singles have reached high positions on U.S. rock and all-format charts as well, including "It's Been Awhile", "Fade", "Price to Play", "So Far Away", and "Right Here".


title: Staind

text: In 1993, vocalist Aaron Lewis and guitarist Mike Mushok met at a Christmas party in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mushok introduced drummer Jon Wysocki while Lewis brought in bassist Johnny April to form the band in 1995. Their first public performance was in February 1995, playing a heavy, dark, and introspective style of metal. Extensive touring in the Northeast helped Staind acquire a regional following over the next few years.


title: Staind

text: The band started covering Korn, Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Tool, and Alice in Chains, among others, and played at local clubs (most commonly playing at Infinity, a live music venue located in Springfield) for a year and a half. Staind self-released their debut album, "Tormented", in November 1996, citing Tool, Faith No More, and Pantera as their influences. In October 1997, Staind acquired a concert slot through Aaron's cousin Justin Cantor with Limp Bizkit. Just prior to the performance, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst was appalled by Staind's grotesque album cover and unsuccessfully attempted to remove them from the bill. Durst thought that Staind were Theistic Satanists. After being persuaded to let them perform, however, Durst was so impressed that he signed them to Flip Records by February 1998.


title: Staind

text: On April 13, 1999, Staind released their major label debut "Dysfunction" on Flip Records. The album, which was co-produced by Fred Durst and Terry Date (who also produced acts like Soundgarden, Deftones, and Pantera), received comparisons to alternative metal giants Tool and Korn. In particular, Aaron Lewis was lauded for his vocals, which were likened to those of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.


title: Staind

text: The album achieved slow success, reaching the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Heatseeker Charts almost six months after its debut. In the same week, the record jumped to No. 74 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Charts. The nine-track LP (with one hidden track, "Excess Baggage") produced three singles, "Just Go", "Mudshovel", and "Home". "Mudshovel" and "Home" both received radio play, cracking the Top 20 of Billboard's Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. In promotion of "Dysfunction", Staind went on several tours, including the Family Values Tour with acts like Limp Bizkit and The Crystal Method, as well as opening for Sevendust's headlining tour.


title: Staind

text: Staind toured with Limp Bizkit for the Family Values Tour during the fall of 1999, where Aaron Lewis performed an early version of "Outside" with Fred Durst at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Staind released their third studio album, "Break the Cycle", on May 22, 2001. Propelled by the success of the first single, "It's Been Awhile", the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Album charts, selling 716,000 copies in its first week. The record's first-week sales were the second highest of any album that year, behind Creed's "Weathered".


title: Staind

text: "Break the Cycle" saw the band retaining the nu metal sound from their previous album. Despite this, the album saw the band going further into a post-grunge sound which is evident in the smash hit song "It's Been Awhile", and the song led critics to compare the band to several other post-grunge bands at the time. The record spawned the singles "It's Been Awhile" (which hit the Billboard Top 10), "Fade", "Outside", "For You", and the acoustic ballad "Epiphany". "It's Been Awhile" spent a total of 16 and 14 weeks on top of the modern and mainstream rock charts respectively, making it one of the highest joint numbers of all time. In 2001, "Break the Cycle" sold four million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling albums that year. "Break the Cycle" would go on to sell seven million copies worldwide, making this Staind's bestselling album.


title: Staind

text: In early 2003, Staind embarked on a worldwide tour to promote the release of the follow-up to "Break the Cycle", "14 Shades of Grey", which sold two million copies and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. The album saw a departure from their previous nu metal sound as it mostly contained a lighter and more melodic post-grunge sound. "14 Shades of Grey" produced two mainstream hits, "Price to Play" and "So Far Away", which spent 14 weeks on top of the rock chart. In addition, two other singles were released: "How About You" and "Zoe Jane". The band's appearance at the Reading Festival during their 2003 tour had another impromptu acoustic set, this time due to equipment failure. The singles "So Far Away" and "Price to Play" came with two unreleased tracks, "Novocaine" and "Let It Out", which were released for the special edition of the group's subsequent album "Chapter V", which came out in late 2005. In 2003, Staind unsuccessfully sued their logo designer Jon Stainbrook in New York Federal Court for attempting to re-use the logo he had sold to the band. They re-opened the case in mid-2005.


title: Staind

text: Staind's fifth album, titled "Chapter V", was released on August 9, 2005, and became their third consecutive album to top the "Billboard" 200. The album opened to sales of 185,000 and has since been certified platinum in the U.S. The first single, "Right Here", was the biggest success from the album, garnering much mainstream radio play and peaking at number 1 on the mainstream rock chart. "Falling" was released as the second single, followed by "Everything Changes" and "King of All Excuses". Staind went on the road when the album came out, doing live shows and promoting it for a full year, including participating in the Fall Brawl tour with P.O.D., Taproot, and Flyleaf; they also had a solo tour across Europe and a mini-promotional tour in Australia for the first time. Other live shows included a cover of Pantera's "This Love", a tribute to Dimebag Darrell. Staind appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" on August 10, 2005 to promote "Chapter V". They performed acoustic renditions of the single "Right Here" and Beetlejuice's song "This is Beetle". In early November 2005, Staind released the limited edition 2-CD/DVD set of "Chapter V". On September 6, 2006, they performed an acoustic show in the Hiro Ballroom, New York City, that was recorded for their singles collection. The band played sixteen songs, including three covers: Tool's "Sober", Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", and Alice in Chains's "Nutshell".


title: Staind

text: The collection "" was released on November 14, 2006. It included all the band's singles, the three covers performed at the New York show, and a remastered version of "Come Again" from Staind's first independent release "Tormented".


title: Staind

text: On August 19, 2008, Staind released their sixth album, "The Illusion of Progress". Prior to the album's release, the track "This Is It" was available for download on the iTunes Store, as well as for "Rock Band". The album debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200, No. 1 on the Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums Chart, No. 1 on the Top Digital Albums Chart, and also No. 1 on the Top Internet Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 91,800 units. The first single on the album, "Believe", topped Billboard's Top 10 Modern Rock Tracks on September 5, 2008. The band also supported Nickelback on their 2008 European tour. The second single was "All I Want", and came out on November 24. The single also became Staind's 13th top 20 hit on the rock charts. In Europe, the second single was "The Way I Am", released on January 26, 2009. The final single released from the album, "This Is It", was sent to radio stations across the country on May 4, 2009. The track was also included on the successful "" released in late June 2009. The same year, Staind embarked on a fall tour with the newly reunited Creed.


title: Staind

text: In March 2010, Aaron Lewis stated the band would start working on their seventh studio album by the end of the year. Lewis had finished recording his country music solo EP and had started a nonprofit organization to reopen his daughter's elementary school in Worthington, Massachusetts. Guitarist Mike Mushok stated in a Q&A session with fans that the band was looking to make a heavy record, but still "explore some of the things we did on the last record and take them somewhere new for us". In a webisode posted on the band's website, Lewis stated that eight songs were written and that "every one of them is as heavy or heavier than the heaviest song on the last record".


title: Staind

text: In December 2010, Staind posted three webisodes from the studio, which featured the band members discussing the writing and recording process of their new album. They announced that as of April 20, they had completed the recording of their seventh and would release it later that year.


title: Staind

text: On May 20, 2011, Staind announced that original drummer Jon Wysocki had left the band. Drummer Will Hunt filled in for a few dates, while Wysocki's drum tech Sal Giancarelli filled in for the rest of the tour. Three days later, it was reported that Staind's new album would be a self-titled release. It was released on September 13, 2011. The first single, "Not Again", was released to active radio stations on July 18. The song "The Bottom" appeared on the "" soundtrack. On June 30, Staind released a song called "Eyes Wide Open" from their new record. "Eyes Wide Open" would later be released on November 29 as the album's second single.


title: Staind

text: In November 2011, the band announced through their YouTube page that Sal Giancarelli was now an official member. The band continued to perform into 2012, embarking on an April and May tour with Godsmack and Halestorm, and they played the Uproar Festival in August and September with Shinedown and a number of other artists.


title: Staind

text: It was announced in July 2012 that the band was to be taking a hiatus. In an interview with Billboard, Aaron Lewis stated that "We're not breaking up. We're not gonna stop making music. We're just going to take a little hiatus that really hasn't ever been taken in our career. We put out seven records in 14 years. We've been pretty busy." Lewis also had plans to release his first solo album "The Road". During this time, Mike Mushok auditioned, and was selected, to play guitar for former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted's new band Newsted. He featured on their debut album "Heavy Metal Music".


title: Staind

text: Staind played their first show in two years at the Welcome To Rockville Festival on April 27, 2014. They also played the Carolina Rebellion and Rock on the Range festivals in May 2014.


title: Staind

text: In late 2014, the band went on a hiatus. Aaron Lewis continued to play solo shows and work on his next solo album. He also confirmed that the hiatus would last "for a while". Mike Mushok teamed up with former Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier, former Finger Eleven drummer Rich Beddoe, and Eye Empire bassist Corey Lowery to form Saint Asonia.


title: Staind

text: On August 4, 2017, the band performed for the first time since November 2014 for an acoustic performance at Aaron Lewis' 6th annual charity golf tournament and concert when bassist Johnny April and drummer Sal Giancarelli joined Aaron Lewis and Mike Mushok to perform "Outside", "Something to Remind You", and "It's Been Awhile". Three days later, Lewis announced that Staind would never tour extensively again, with Lewis explaining:


title: Staind

text: In April 2019, the band announced they would reform in September 2019 for some live performances. The band was scheduled to play at Epicenter Festival on May 3, 2020 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to the festival being cancelled.


title: Staind

text: In April 2022, the band announced a September tour, dubbed the Evening with Staind tour. In September, Mushok confirmed that a new Staind album would be released in 2023.


title: Staind

text: The topics of Staind's lyrics cover issues of depression, relationships, death, addiction, finding one's self, betrayal, and Lewis' thoughts about becoming a father in the song "Zoe Jane" from "14 Shades of Grey", as well as reflecting on his upbringing in the song "The Corner" from "The Illusion of Progress". Also from "14 Shades of Grey", the track titled "Layne" was written about Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley in response to his death in 2002. The song is also about Staley's legacy and the effect his music had on the members of Staind, especially Aaron Lewis. Staind has been categorized as nu metal, alternative metal, heavy metal, hard rock, and post-grunge.


title: Staind

text: Staind's influences include Pantera, The Doors, Suicidal Tendencies, Kiss, Van Halen, Slayer, Led Zeppelin, Sepultura, Whitesnake, the Beatles, Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Deftones, Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Helmet, James Taylor, Korn, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: In 1956 and 1960, Patterson was voted Fighter of the Year by "The Ring" magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Born January 4, 1935, into a poor family in Waco, North Carolina, Patterson was one of eleven children. Savannah Joe Patterson was his first cousin from out of Arkansas, he went and visited during the early summer years. He experienced an insular and troubled childhood. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Floyd was a truant and a petty thief. At age 10, he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a reform School in West Park, New York, which he credited with turning his life around. He stayed there for almost two years. He attended high school in New Paltz, New York where he succeeded in all sports.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson took up boxing at age fourteen, and was training with the Bedford-Stuyvesant Boxing Association Gym. Three years later, he won the gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a middleweight. In 1952, he won the National Amateur Middleweight Championship and New York Golden Gloves Middleweight Championship. At that time he was spotted by Cus D'Amato, and trained at the Gramercy Gym.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson's younger brother Raymond (born 1942) also became a professional heavyweight boxer and has lived in Gothenburg, Sweden, since 1965 and has worked as a truck driver at Volvo Lastvagnar after his boxing career.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson carried his hands higher than most boxers, in front of his face. Sportswriters called Patterson's style a "peek-a-boo" stance.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson turned pro and steadily rose through the ranks, his only early defeat being an eight-round decision to former Light Heavyweight Champion Joey Maxim on June 7, 1954, at the Eastern Parkway Arena in Brooklyn, New York.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Although Patterson fought around the light heavyweight limit for much of his early career, he and manager Cus D'Amato always had plans to fight for the Heavyweight Championship. In fact, D'Amato made these plans clear as early as 1954, when he told the press that Patterson was aiming for the heavyweight title. However, after Rocky Marciano announced his retirement as World Heavyweight Champion on April 27, 1956, Patterson was ranked by The "Ring" magazine as the top light heavyweight contender. After Marciano's announcement, Jim Norris of the International Boxing Club stated that Patterson was one of the six fighters who would take part in an elimination tournament to crown Marciano's successor. "The Ring" then moved Patterson into the heavyweight rankings, at number five.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: After beating Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson in an elimination fight, Patterson faced Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore on November 30, 1956, for the World Heavyweight Championship. He beat Moore by a knockout in five rounds and became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history, at the age of 21 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 5 days. He was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional heavyweight title.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: After a series of defenses against fringe contenders (Hurricane Jackson, Pete Rademacher, Roy Harris, and Brian London), Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, the number one contender, in the first of three fights. Johansson triumphed over Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee Ruby Goldstein stopping the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. Johansson became Sweden's first World Heavyweight Champion, thus becoming a national hero as the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson knocked out Johansson in the fifth round of their rematch on June 20, 1960, to become the first man in history to regain the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. Johansson hit the canvas hard, seemingly out before he landed flat on his back. With glazed eyes, blood trickling from his mouth and his left foot quivering, he was counted out. Johansson lay unconscious for five minutes before he was helped onto a stool.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: A third fight between them was held on March 13, 1961 and while Johansson put Patterson on the floor, Patterson retained his title by knockout in the sixth round to win the rubber match in which Patterson was decked twice and Johansson, once in the first round. Johansson had landed both right hands over Floyd's left jab. After getting up from the second knockdown, Floyd abandoned his jab and connected with a left hook that knocked down Johansson. After that, Patterson came on with a strong body attack that wore down Johansson. In the 6th round, Johansson caught Patterson with a solid right. But the power in Ingemar's punches was gone. Patterson won the fight in the 6th round by knockout.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: After the third Johansson fight, Patterson defended the title in Toronto on December 4 against Tom McNeeley and retained the title with a fourth-round knockout. However he did not fight number-one contender Sonny Liston. This was due in part to Cus D'Amato, who did not want Patterson in the ring with a boxer with mob connections. As a result, D'Amato turned down any challenges involving the IBC. Eventually, due to a monetary dispute with Jimmy Jacobs, Patterson removed D'Amato from handling his business affairs and agreed to fight Liston.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Leading up to the fight, Liston was the major betting-line favorite, though "Sports Illustrated" predicted that Patterson would win in 15 rounds. Jim Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson picked Patterson to win. The fight also carried a number of social implications. Liston's connections with the mob were well known and the NAACP was concerned about having to deal with Liston's visibility as World Champion and had encouraged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would tarnish the civil rights movement. Patterson said John F. Kennedy also did not want him to fight Liston.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson lost his title to Liston in Chicago on September 25, 1962, by a first-round knockout in front of 18,894 fans. The two fighters were a marked contrast. In the ring, Liston's size and power proved too much for Patterson's guile and agility. However, Patterson did not use his speed to his benefit. According to "Sports Illustrated" writer Gilbert Rogin, Patterson did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. Liston battered Patterson with body shots and then shortened up and connected with two double hooks high on the head. The result at the time was the third-fastest knockout in boxing history. After being knocked out, Patterson left Comiskey Park in Chicago wearing dark glasses and a fake beard for the drive back to New York. After the fight, questions were raised on whether the fight was fixed to set up a more lucrative rematch. Overnight, Patterson seemed to lose his public support as a result of his swift knockout. Despite the defeat, Patterson won $2 million, to be paid over 17 years.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: The rematch was set for April 1963; however, Liston injured his knee swinging a golf club and the fight was delayed three months to July 22. In Las Vegas that night, Patterson attempted to become the first boxer to win the heavyweight title three times, but Liston once again knocked him out in the first round. Patterson lasted four seconds longer than in the first bout.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Following these defeats, Patterson went through a depression. However, he eventually recovered and began winning fights again, including top victories over Eddie Machen and George Chuvalo; the Chuvalo match won "The Ring"s "Fight of the Year" award.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson was now the number-one challenger for the title held by Muhammad Ali. On November 22, 1965 in Las Vegas, in yet another attempt to be the first to win the world heavyweight title three times, he went into the fight with an injured sacro-iliac joint in a bout in which Ali was clearly dominant. Ali called Patterson an "Uncle Tom" for refusing to call him Muhammad Ali (Patterson continued to call him Cassius Clay) and for his outspokenness against black Muslims. Before the match, Patterson had said:


title: Floyd Patterson

text: "This fight is a crusade to reclaim the title from the Black Muslims. As a Catholic, I am fighting Clay as a patriotic duty. I am going to return the crown to America."


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Instead of scoring a quick knockout, Ali mocked, humiliated and punished Patterson throughout the fight but was unable to knock him out before the referee finally stopped the fight in the 12th round.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson remained a legitimate contender. In 1966 he traveled to England and knocked out British boxer Henry Cooper in just four rounds at Wembley Stadium.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: When Ali was stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military, the World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament to determine his successor. Patterson fought Jerry Quarry to a draw in 1967. In a rematch four months later, Patterson lost a controversial 12-round decision to Quarry. Subsequently, in a third and final attempt at winning the title a third time, Patterson lost a controversial 15-round referee's decision to Jimmy Ellis in Stockholm, in 1968, despite breaking Ellis's nose and scoring a disputed knockdown.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: In September 1969 he divorced his first wife, Sandra Hicks Patterson, who wanted him to quit boxing, while he still had hopes for another title shot.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: At age 37, Patterson was stopped after seven rounds with a cut eye while still competitive in a rematch with Muhammad Ali for the NABF heavyweight title on September 20, 1972. The defeat proved to be Patterson's last fight, although there was never an announcement of retirement.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: In retirement, he and Ingemar Johansson became good friends who flew across the Atlantic to visit each other every year and he served two terms as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. He was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson lived in New Paltz, New York for many years with his second wife, Janet Seaquist. They had two daughters, Jennifer and Janene. In 1982 and 1983 he ran the Stockholm Marathon together with Ingemar Johansson. He completed the 1983 New York City Marathon in 3:35:27.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: His adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, was a world champion boxer in the 1990s and was trained by Floyd during part of his career. They are the first father and son to win world titles in boxing. Floyd also trained Canadian heavyweight Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in 1992 for his fights with Greg Page, Phil Jackson, and Lennox Lewis.


title: Floyd Patterson

text: Patterson suffered from Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer in his final years. He died at home in New Paltz, on May 11, 2006, at the age of 71. His body was buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the "Games of the Paralympiad", is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).


title: Paralympic Games

text: The Paralympics has grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948 to become one of the largest international sporting events by the early 21st century. The Paralympics has grown from 400 athletes with a disability from 23 countries in Rome 1960, where they were proposed by doctor Antonio Maglio, to 4,520 athletes from 163 National Paralympic Committees at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Paralympians strive for equal treatment with non-disabled Olympic athletes, but there is a large funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic athletes.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The Paralympic Games are organized in parallel and in a similar way with the Olympic Games, while the IOC-recognized Special Olympics World Games include athletes with intellectual disabilities (although since 1992, intellectually disabled people also participate in the Paralympic Games), and the Deaflympics held since 1924 and are exclusive for deaf athletes.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Given the wide variety of disabilities that Para athletes have, there are several categories in which the athletes compete. The allowable disabilities are broken down into ten eligible impairment types. The categories are impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. These categories are further broken down into various classifications.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Athletes with disabilities did compete at the Olympic Games prior to the advent of the Paralympics. The first athlete to do so was German American gymnast George Eyser in 1904, who had one artificial leg. Hungarian Károly Takács competed in shooting events in both the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. He was a right-arm amputee and could shoot left-handed. Another disabled athlete to appear in the Olympics prior to the Paralympic Games was Lis Hartel, a Danish equestrian athlete who had contracted polio in 1943 and won a silver medal in the dressage event.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The first organized athletic event for disabled athletes that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Jewish-German born Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, who had been helped to flee Nazi Germany by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA) in 1939, hosted a sports competition for British World War II veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics. Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games. The games were held again at the same location in 1952, and Dutch and Israeli veterans took part alongside the British, making it the first international competition of its own kind. These early competitions, also known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games, and Stoke Mandeville holds a similar place in the lore of the Paralympic movement as Greece holds in the Olympic.


title: Paralympic Games

text: There have been several milestones in the Paralympic movement. The first official Paralympic Games, coincident with the ninth Stoke Mandeville Games but no longer open solely to war veterans, was held in Rome in 1960. Four hundred athletes from 23 countries competed at the 1960 Games. Since 1960, the Paralympic Games have taken place in the same year as the Olympic Games. The Games were initially open only to athletes in wheelchairs; at the 1976 Summer Games, athletes with different disabilities were included for the first time at a Summer Paralympics. With the inclusion of more disability classifications the 1976 Summer Games expanded to 1,600 athletes from 40 countries. The 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul was another milestone for the Paralympic movement. It was in Seoul that the Paralympic Summer Games were held directly after the 1988 Summer Olympics, in the same host city, and using the majority of the venues. This set a precedent that was followed in 1992, 1996 and 2000. It was eventually formalized in an agreement between the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001, and was extended through 2020. On March 10, 2018, the two committees further extended their contract to 2032. Despite being held in the same region, the 1992 Paralympic Winter Games used different competition venues than those used for the Olympic Games. 1994 Winter Paralympics were the first Winter Games to use the same venues and had the same Organizing Committee as the Winter Olympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The first Winter Paralympic Games were held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. This was the first Paralympics in which multiple categories of athletes with disabilities could compete. The Winter Games were celebrated every four years on the same year as their summer counterpart, just as the Olympics were. This tradition was upheld through the 1992 Games in Albertville, France; after that, beginning with the 1994 Games, the Winter Paralympics and the Winter Olympics have been held in those even-numbered years separate from the Summer Olympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The International Paralympic Committee is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. It comprises 176 National Paralympic Committees (NPC) and four disability-specific international sports federations. The president of the IPC is Andrew Parsons. The IPC's international headquarters are in Bonn, Germany. The IPC is responsible for organizing the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. It also serves as the International Federation for nine sports (Paralympic athletics, Paralympic swimming, Paralympic archery, Paralympic powerlifting, Para-alpine skiing, Paralympic biathlon, Paralympic cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey and Wheelchair DanceSport). This requires the IPC to supervise and coordinate the World Championships and other competitions for each of the nine sports it regulates. IPC membership also includes National Paralympic Committees and international sporting federations. International Federations are independent sport federations recognized by the IPC as the sole representative of a Paralympic Sport. International Federations responsibilities include technical jurisdiction and guidance over the competition and training venues of their respective sports during the Paralympic Games. The IPC also recognizes media partners, certifies officials, judges, and is responsible for enforcing the bylaws of the Paralympic Charter.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The IPC has a cooperative relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Delegates of the IPC are also members of the IOC and participate on IOC committees and commissions. The two governing bodies remain distinct, with separate Games, despite the close working relationship.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The Paralympic Games were designed to emphasize the participants' athletic achievements and not their disability. Recent games have emphasized that these games are about ability and not disability. The movement has grown dramatically since its early days – for example, the number of athletes participating in the Summer Paralympic games has increased from 400 athletes in Rome in 1960 to 4,342 athletes from 159 countries in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Both the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games are recognized on the world stage.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Unlike the Olympic Games, English is the official language of the Paralympic movement. The other language used at each Paralympic Games is the official languages of the host country. Every proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these two languages.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Although the name was originally coined as a portmanteau combining "paraplegic" (due to its origins as games for people with spinal injuries) and "Olympic", the inclusion of other disability groups meant that this was no longer considered very accurate. The present formal explanation for the name is that it derives from the Greek preposition , ('beside' or 'alongside') and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games. The Summer Games of 1988 held in Seoul was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.


title: Paralympic Games

text: "Spirit in Motion" is the current motto for the Paralympic movement. The current version for the Paralympics is used since 2020 and contains three colours, red, blue, and green, which are the colours most widely represented in the flags of nations. The colours are each in the shape of an Agito (which is Latin for 'I move/I shake/I stir'), which is the name given to an asymmetrical crescent specially designed for the Paralympic movement. The three Agitos circle a central point, which is a symbol for the athletes congregating from all points of the globe. The motto and symbol of the IPC were changed in 2003 to their current versions. The change was intended to convey the idea that Paralympians have a spirit of competition and that the IPC as an organization realizes its potential and is moving forward to achieve it. The vision of the IPC is, "To enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to inspire and excite the world." The Paralympic anthem is "Hymne de l'Avenir" or "Anthem of the Future". It was composed by Thierry Darnis and adopted as the official anthem in March 1996.


title: Paralympic Games

text: As mandated by the Paralympic Charter, various elements frame the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. Most of these rituals were established at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp and were shared with the Olympic Games. The ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. Unlike the Olympic Games, immediately after the national anthem the athletes parade into the stadium grouped by nation. Since the 1960 Summer Paralympics, the nations enter the stadium alphabetically according to the host country's or region official language, though with the host country's athletes being the last to enter. The host nation presents artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theatre representative of its culture.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Speeches are given, formally opening the games. Finally, the Paralympic flame is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier—often a Paralympic athlete from the host nation—who lights the Paralympic flame in the stadium's cauldron.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games takes place after all sporting events have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter, followed by the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The Paralympic flag is taken down. Since the 1988 Winter Paralympics, with some exceptions, the national flag of the country hosting the next Summer or Winter Paralympic Games is hoisted while the corresponding national anthem is played. The games are officially closed, and the Paralympic flame is extinguished. After these compulsory elements, the next host nation briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theater representative of its culture.


title: Paralympic Games

text: A medals ceremony is held after the conclusion of each Paralympic event. The winner, second and third-place competitors or teams stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum when they are awarded their respective medal by an IPC member. The national flags of the medalists are then raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist is played. Volunteering citizens of the host country also act as hosts during the medal ceremonies, as they aid the officials who present the medals and act as flag-bearers. For every Paralympic event, the respective medal ceremony is held, at most, one day after the event's final.


title: Paralympic Games

text: After a troubled relation until the 1996 Summer Paralympics and a successful 2000 Summer Paralympics. In June 2001, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement that would ensure that the staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games. The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing, and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. However, the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee (SLOC), chose to follow the practice of "one bid, one city" already at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, with one Organizing Committee for both Games, which was followed up by the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. The agreement was adjusted in 2003. An extension was signed in June 2006,after some troubles at 2006 Winter Paralympics. Initially agreed to remain in effect until the 2012 Summer Olympics, this has since been extended, encompassing all Summer and Winter games up until the 2020 Summer Olympics. Even beyond this, all Summer and Winter host cities currently announced are preparing pairs of Olympic and Paralympics Games. This was further confirmed when on 10 March 2018, the IOC and the IPC agreed to further extend the contract to the 2032 Summer Olympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The IOC has written its commitment to equal access to athletics for all people into its charter, which states,


title: Paralympic Games

text: While the charter is silent on discrimination specifically related to disability; given the language in the charter regarding discrimination it is reasonable to infer that discrimination on the basis of disability would be against the ideals of the Olympic Charter and the IOC. This is also consistent with the Paralympic Charter, which forbids discrimination on the basis of political, religious, economic, disability, gender, sexual orientation or racial reasons.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Chairman of the London organising committee, Sebastian Coe, said about the 2012 Summer Paralympics and 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, that, "We want to change public attitudes towards disability, celebrate the excellence of Paralympic sport and to enshrine from the very outset that the two Games are an integrated whole."


title: Paralympic Games

text: The 2014 Winter Paralympic Games is the first such Paralympics hosted by Russia. Russia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during that period. Notably at 2010 Vancouver, their Paralympic team topped the medal table at the Winter Paralympics, while their Olympic team performed well below expectations at the Winter Olympics. This led the media to highlight the contrast between the achievements of the country's Olympic and Paralympic delegations, despite the greater attention and funding awarded to the Olympic athletes. The Russian Federation organizers of the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games have, since 2007, made efforts to make the host city Sochi more accessible.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Paralympic athletes have sought equal opportunities to compete at the Olympic Games. The precedent was set by Neroli Fairhall, a Paralympic archer from New Zealand, who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.


title: Paralympic Games

text: In 2008, Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter, attempted to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Pistorius had both his legs amputated below the knee and races with two carbon fibre blades manufactured by Össur. He holds Paralympic world record in the 400 meter event.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Pistorius missed qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400 meter race, by 0.70 seconds. He qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympics where he won gold medals in the 100, 200, and 400 meter sprints. In 2011, Pistorius qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics and competed in two events: he made the semi-final in the 400 metres race; and his team came 8th in the final of the 4 × 400 metres relay race. Even though all athletes are given equal opportunities to participate in these events, such as the 400 meter race, there has been growing criticism that the games may not be fair to all athletes. For example, athletes running a race with a left prosthetic leg may be disadvantaged compared to those with a right side prosthesis because the races are run in an anticlockwise direction, giving some athletes an advantage.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Some athletes without a disability also compete at the Paralympics; The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team, and both athletes are medal candidates.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Starting at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, recent games have also been supported by contributions from major sponsors. Unlike the Olympics, where the IOC mandates that arenas be clean of sponsor logos, the Paralympics do allow the logos of official sponsors to be displayed inside arenas and on uniforms.


title: Paralympic Games

text: While the Olympic Games have experienced tremendous growth in global media coverage since the 1984 Summer Paralympics, the Paralympics have been unable to maintain a consistent international media presence.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Television broadcasts of Paralympic Games began in 1976, but this early coverage was confined to taped-delay releases to one nation or region. At the 1992 Summer Paralympics, there were 45 hours of live coverage but it was available only in Europe. Other countries broadcast highlight packages during the Games. No meaningful improvements in coverage occurred until the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The 2000 Paralympics represented a significant increase in global media exposure for the Paralympic Games. A deal was reached between the Sydney Paralympic Organizing Committee (SPOC) and All Media Sports (AMS) to broadcast the Games internationally. Deals were reached with Asian, South American, and European broadcast companies to distribute coverage to as many markets as possible. The Games were also webcast for the first time. Because of these efforts, the Sydney Paralympics reached a global audience estimated at 300 million people. Also significant was the fact that the organizers did not have to pay networks to televise the Games as had been done at the 1992 and 1996 Games. Despite these advances, consistent media attention has been a challenge, which was evidenced in the coverage in Great Britain of the 2010 Winter Paralympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: In the UK, it is a legal requirement for the games to be broadcast live by a free-to-air broadcaster, although a pay-to-view broadcaster can share the rights; the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was criticized for its minimal coverage of the 2010 Winter Paralympics as compared to its coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The BBC announced it would stream some content on its website and show a one-hour highlight program after the Games ended. For the Winter Olympics the BBC aired 160 hours of coverage. The response from the BBC was that budget constraints and the "time zone factor" necessitated a limited broadcast schedule. The reduction in coverage was done in spite of increased ratings for the 2008 Summer Paralympics, which was watched by 23% of the population of Great Britain. In Norway, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) broadcast 30 hours of the 2010 Winter Games live. NRK-sport were critical of parts of the TV production from Vancouver, and notified the EBU of issues such as the biathlon coverage excluding the shooting, and cross-country skiing with skiers in the distance, making it hard to follow the progress of the competition. NRK were far more pleased with the production of the ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling events, which they felt reached the same level as the Olympic Games. Private broadcaster Channel 4 acquired the rights to the Paralympics in the United Kingdom for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, and planned to air extensive coverage of the games; Channel 4 aired 150 hours of coverage, and also offered mobile apps, and three dedicated streaming channels of additional coverage on Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media and Channel 4's website." Channel 4 also made a push to heighten the profile of the Paralympics in the country by producing a two minute trailer for its coverage, "Meet the Superhumans"; which premièred simultaneously on over 70 commercial channels in the UK on 17 July 2012. Channel 4 have also acquired the rights to the 2014 Winter Paralympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: A 2010 study by the University of British Columbia (UBC) on the Olympic Games Impact (OGI), showed that of roughly 1,600 Canadian respondents, 41 to 50 percent believed the 2010 Paralympic and Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, triggered additional accessibility of buildings, sidewalks and public spaces. 23 percent of employers said the Games had increased their willingness to hire people with disabilities.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Chief Executive Officer for the International Paralympic Committee Xavier Gonzalez said about the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, that:


title: Paralympic Games

text: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has established ten disability categories. Athletes are divided within each category according to their level of impairment, in a functional classification system which differs from sport to sport.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The IPC has established ten disability categories, including physical, visual, and intellectual impairment. Athletes with one of these disabilities can compete in the Paralympics, though not every sport can allow for every disability category. These categories apply to both Summer and Winter Paralympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Visual impairment – Athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision, sufficient to be judged legally blind, to total blindness. This includes impairment of one or more component of the visual system (eye structure, receptors, optic nerve pathway, and visual cortex). The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team. Beginning in 2012, these guides along with sighted goalkeepers in 5-a-side football became eligible to receive medals of their own.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Intellectual Disability – Athletes with a significant intellectual impairment and associated limitations in adaptive behaviour. The IPC primarily serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite athletes with intellectual disabilities diagnosed before the age of 18. However, the IOC-recognized Special Olympics World Games are open to all people with intellectual disabilities.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Within the disability categories, the athletes still need to be divided according to level of impairment. The classification systems differ from sport to sport and are intended to open up sports to as many athletes as possible who can participate in fair competitions against athletes with similar levels of ability. The biggest challenge in the classification system is how to account for the wide variety and severity of disabilities. Consequently, there is a range of impairment within most classifications.


title: Paralympic Games

text: From its inception until the 1980s, the Paralympic system for classifying athletes consisted of a medical evaluation and diagnosis of impairment. An athlete's medical condition was the only factor used to determine what class they competed in. For example, an athlete who had a spinal cord injury that resulted in lower limb paresis, would not compete in the same wheelchair race as an athlete with a double above-knee amputation. The fact that their disability caused the same impairment did not factor into classification determination, the only consideration was their medical diagnosis. It was not until views on disabled athletics shifted from just a form of rehabilitation to an end in itself, that the classification system changed from medical diagnosis to a focus on the functional abilities of the athlete.


title: Paralympic Games

text: While there is no clear date when the shift occurred, a functional classification system became the norm for disabled athletic classification in the 1980s. In a functional system, the focus is on what effect the athlete's impairment has on his or her athletic performance. Under this system, athletes with total loss of function in their legs will compete together in most sports, because their functional loss is the same and the reason for the loss is immaterial. The only exception to the functional system is the classification format used by International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), which still uses a medically based system.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Some sports are only held for certain disability types. For example, goalball is only for visually impaired athletes. The Paralympics recognizes three different grades of visual impairment, consequently all competitors in goalball must wear a visor or "black out mask" so that athletes with less visual impairment will not have an advantage. Other sports, like athletics, are open to athletes with a wide variety of impairments. In athletics, participants are broken down into a range of classes based on the disability they have and then they are placed in a classification within that range based on their level of impairment. For example: classes 11–13 are for visually impaired athletes, which class they are in depends on their level of visual impairment.


title: Paralympic Games

text: There are also team competitions such as wheelchair rugby. Members of the team are each given a point value based on their activity limitation. A lower score indicates a more severe activity limitation than a higher score. A team cannot have more than a certain maximum total of points on the field of play at the same time to ensure equal competition. For example, in wheelchair rugby, the four players' combined disability number must total no more than eight points.


title: Paralympic Games

text: There are twenty-two sports on the Summer Paralympic program and six sports on the Winter Paralympics program. Within some of the sports are several events. For example, alpine skiing has downhill, super combined, super-G, slalom, giant slalom. The IPC has governance over several of the sports but not all of them. Other international organizations, known as International Sports Federations (IF), notably the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), and the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA), govern some sports that are specific to certain disability groups. There are national chapters for these International Sport Federations including National Paralympic Committees, which are responsible for recruitment of athletes and governance of sports at the national level.


title: Paralympic Games

text: After the 2000 Sydney games, a Spanish basketball player alleged that several members of the gold medal-winning Spanish basketball intellectually disabled (ID) team were not disabled. He claimed that only two athletes out of the twelve-member team met the qualifications of an intellectually disabled athlete. A controversy ensued and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) called on the Spanish National Paralympic Committee to launch an investigation. The investigation uncovered several Spanish athletes who had flouted the ID rules. In an interview with the president of the federation that oversees ID competition, Fernando Martín Vicente admitted that athletes around the world were breaking the ID eligibility rules. The IPC responded by starting an investigation of its own. The results of the IPC's investigation confirmed the Spanish athlete's allegations and also determined that the incident was not isolated to the basketball ID event or to Spanish athletes. As a result, all ID competitions were suspended indefinitely. The ban was lifted after the 2008 Games after work had been done to tighten the criteria and controls governing admission of athletes with intellectual disabilities. Four sports, swimming, athletics, table tennis and rowing, were anticipated to hold competitions for ID athletes at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The Paralympics have also been tainted by steroid use. At the 2008 Games in Beijing, three powerlifters and a German basketball player were banned after having tested positive for banned substances. This was a decrease in comparison to the ten powerlifters and one track athlete who were banned from the 2000 Games. German skier Thomas Oelsner became the first Winter Paralympian to test positive for steroids. He had won two gold medals at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, but his medals were stripped after his positive drug test. At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Swedish curler Glenn Ikonen tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for six months by the IPC. He was removed from the rest of the curling competition but his team was allowed to continue. The 54-year-old curler said his doctor had prescribed a medication on the banned substances list.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Another concern now facing Paralympic officials is the technique of "boosting". Athletes can artificially increase their blood pressure, often by self-harming, which has been shown to improve performance by up to 15%. This is most effective in the endurance sports such as cross-country skiing. To increase blood pressure athletes will deliberately cause trauma to limbs below a spinal injury. This trauma can include breaking bones, strapping extremities in too tightly, and using high-pressure compression stockings. The injury is painless but it does affect the athlete's blood pressure.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Another potential concern is the use of gene therapy among Paralympic athletes. All Paralympic athletes are banned from enhancing their abilities through gene doping, but it is extremely difficult to differentiate these concepts. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is currently researching both gene doping and gene therapy, in part to discern the boundary between the two closely related concepts.


title: Paralympic Games

text: The IPC have been working with WADA since 2003, to ensure compliance with WADA's anti-doping code among its Paralympic athletes. The IPC has also promised to continue increasing the number of athletes tested at each of its Games, in order to further minimize the possible effect of doping in Paralympic sports. Mandatory in- and out-of competition testing has also been implemented by the IPC to further ensure all of its athletes are performing in compliance with WADA regulations.


title: Paralympic Games

text: Having sent samples for forensic analysis, the IPC found evidence that the prevalent doping by Russian athletes was in operation at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi. On 7 August 2016, the IPC's Governing Board voted unanimously to ban the entire Russian team from the 2016 Summer Paralympics, citing the Russian Paralympic Committee's inability to enforce the IPC's Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code which is "a fundamental constitutional requirement". IPC President Sir Philip Craven stated that the Russian government had "catastrophically failed its Para athletes". IPC Athletes' Council Chairperson and CPC Member Todd Nicholson said that Russia had used athletes as "pawns" in order to "show global prowess".


title: Paralympic Games

text: Trischa Zorn of the United States is the most decorated paralympian in history. She competed in the blind swimming events and won a total of 55 medals, 41 of which are gold. Her Paralympic career spanned 24 years from 1980 to 2004. She was also an alternate on the 1980 American Olympic swim team, but did not go to the Olympics due to a boycott by the United States and several of its allies. Ragnhild Myklebust of Norway holds the record for the most medals ever won at the Winter Paralympic Games. Competing in a variety of events between 1988 and 2002, she won a total of 22 medals, of which 17 were gold. After winning five gold medals at the 2002 Games she retired at the age of 58. Neroli Fairhall, a paraplegic archer from New Zealand, was the first paraplegic competitor, and the third Paralympian, to participate in the Olympic Games, when she competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She placed thirty-fourth in the Olympic archery competition, and won a Paralympic gold medal in the same event.


title: AFI (band)

text: AFI (abbreviation for A Fire Inside) is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. Since 1998, it consists of lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backing vocalist Adam Carson, bassist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Hunter Burgan, and guitarist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Jade Puget. Havok and Carson are the sole remaining original members. Originally a hardcore punk band, they have since delved into many genres, starting with horror punk and following through post-hardcore and emo into alternative rock and gothic rock.


title: AFI (band)

text: AFI has released eleven studio albums, ten EPs, one live album and one DVD. The band first reached substantial commercial success with their fifth album, "The Art of Drowning" (2000), which peaked at number 174 on the "Billboard" 200. They then broke into the mainstream with their sixth, "Sing the Sorrow" (2003), which peaked at number five on the "Billboard" 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. The album was supported by popular singles "Girl's Not Grey" and "Silver and Cold", both of which peaked at number seven on America's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2003. "The Leaving Song Pt. II" was also released as a single, reaching number 16 on the chart. "Sing the Sorrow" was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2006 and is AFI's best-selling release, having sold over 1.26 million copies .


title: AFI (band)

text: AFI's seventh album, "Decemberunderground" (2006), debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 and featured the hit single "Miss Murder", which topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, reached number 24 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and appeared in the video game . The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2013. Their next three albums, "Crash Love" (2009), "Burials" (2013) and "AFI" (2017), were also successful, peaking at increasing positions on the "Billboard" 200. An EP, "The Missing Man", followed in December 2018. The band released their 11th album, "Bodies", on June 11, 2021.


title: AFI (band)

text: While still in high school in Ukiah, California, Davey Havok (vocals), Mark Stopholese and Vic Chalker formed a band called AFI in November 1991. At the time, the band did not know how to play any instruments. Stopholese suggested that his friend, Adam Carson (who had a drum set), join the band. Stopholese learned guitar and Chalker learned bass, but Chalker was soon replaced by Geoff Kresge. By the end of October 1992, the band had played their first three shows, generally as an opener for a few other punk bands, including Influence 13, which featured future AFI lead guitarist Jade Puget and frequent collaborator Nick 13. AFI recorded their first EP, "Dork" (1993), with the now defunct band Loose Change, which also featured Puget.


title: AFI (band)

text: The band briefly broke up in 1993, when the members left Ukiah to attend different colleges. They decided to commit to AFI full-time after an extremely positive experience and enthusiastic crowd response at a reunion show they played at The Phoenix Theater over Christmas break.


title: AFI (band)

text: AFI relocated to Berkeley, California and lived in a squat that was a decommissioned fraternity house. Between 1993 and 1995, the band independently released vinyl EPs such as "Behind the Times", Eddie Picnic's All Wet and "Fly in the Ointment", as well as the compilation EPs "This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay", "AFI/Heckle", and "Bombing the Bay" (with Swingin' Utters).


title: AFI (band)

text: AFI's first full-length album, "Answer That and Stay Fashionable" was released July 4, 1995, on Wingnut Records. It was co-produced by Doug Sangalang and Rancid (band)'s Tim Armstrong and Brett Reed. The album featured fast and upbeat hardcore songs, with humorous lyrical themes, which are vocalized in songs such as "Nyquil", "Cereal Wars", and "I Wanna Get a Mohawk (But Mom Won't Let Me Get One)". Around this time, they coined the term 'East Bay hardcore' to describe their genre.


title: AFI (band)

text: AFI signed on to Nitro Records, a record label started by The Offspring's Dexter Holland and Greg K. AFI would remain with the label until the release of the "336 EP" (2002). In 1996, they released their second album, "Very Proud of Ya". Two songs from their previous album, "Yurf Rendenmein" and "Two of A Kind", were re-recorded for this album. After several tours in support of the album, Kresge decided to leave the group. His spot was filled by current AFI bassist Hunter Burgan for the remaining album tour dates.


title: AFI (band)

text: Burgan went on to help AFI record "Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes" (1997) and was invited to become their full-time bassist. Jade Puget, a former member of Influence 13 and Havok's close friend, also provided background vocals and additional guitar on the album, making it the first to feature all four current members of the band. It is also the first album to be copyrighted to the band's official moniker, A Fire Inside. Subsequently, the "A Fire Inside EP" (1998) was released, after which Stopholese left the band and was replaced by Puget.


title: AFI (band)

text: The band's next album, "Black Sails in the Sunset" (1999), was a musical turning point which featured a darker sound, mixing the band's original hardcore roots with dark romantic influences and an emphasis on a more somber atmosphere and lyrics. "The New York Times" later referred to this as the point where Havok "developed into a singer and songwriter of substance". During this period, AFI's style was considered punk rock. The influence of death rock and gothic rock was also apparent. Offspring frontman Dexter Holland was featured as a backing vocalist on two tracks.


title: AFI (band)

text: The "All Hallow's E.P." (1999) further explored the horror punk genre, featuring artwork and lyrics containing Halloween themes, including a cover of the Misfits song "Halloween". The song "The Boy Who Destroyed the World" was featured in the video game "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3", and the single "Totalimmortal" was later covered by The Offspring.


title: AFI (band)

text: On September 19, 2000, AFI released "The Art of Drowning", which debuted on the Billboard Charts at number 174, and peaked at number 9 on the Heatseekers chart. It continued to touch base with the horror punk genre, but expanded into styles that were a departure from previous works. The album featured slower, more melodic songs that were more reminiscent of alternative rock, such as "Ever and a Day" and "6 to 8". Hardcore influences were present, more overtly on some tracks. The album sold over 100,000 copies. "The Days of the Phoenix" was released as a single and video and had some moderate mainstream success, garnering the band more TV and radio airplay. The song reached the UK Singles Chart with its titular EP in 2001, peaking at number 152. The success of "The Art of Drowning" helped to encourage the band to pursue higher mainstream notoriety.


title: AFI (band)

text: In 2002, AFI left Nitro Records. DreamWorks Records artists and repertoire executive Luke Wood signed them to the label following intense interest. Their first album for the label, "Sing the Sorrow", was released in 2003. The album opened in "Billboard"s top ten and scored enthusiastic lead reviews in major music magazines. The songs "Girl's Not Grey", "The Leaving Song Pt. II", and "Silver and Cold" had some Billboard chart success and exposed the band to even larger audiences. They were nominated in the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards for the MTV2 award category for the "Girl's Not Grey" video, which came to be their first VMA.


title: AFI (band)

text: In June 2006, AFI's seventh studio album, "Decemberunderground", was released on Interscope Records. The album's first single, "Miss Murder", reached No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts. The release reflects the continually changing and growing fan base of the band, and the album debuted as No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies of the album. The album's second single, "Love Like Winter", was successful on MTV's "Total Request Live" and was retired after 40 days on the countdown.


title: AFI (band)

text: On December 12, 2006, AFI released their first DVD, "I Heard a Voice – Live from Long Beach Arena", featuring a live performance shot in Long Beach, California. The performance was later released on December 13, 2007, as a live album, and charted at number 133 on the Billboard 200, and number 16 on the Hard Rock Albums chart. The album was well-received, with punknews.org giving it a four-star rating and commenting that when hearing or seeing the performance "you begin to realize AFI are truly a great live band," and that at some points "Pantera would say turn the noise down."


title: AFI (band)

text: On July 7, 2007, AFI performed on the American leg of Live Earth. They performed "The Missing Frame", "Love Like Winter", "Miss Murder", and a cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust".


title: AFI (band)

text: In July 2009, Havok released a statement saying that after two years of writing and recording, an upcoming album titled "Crash Love" would be released on September 29, 2009. It was recorded with producer David Bottrill (who was later dismissed in favor of Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee). The first single from the album, "Medicate", was released on August 25, 2009, and reached number 7 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart. Another single, "Beautiful Thieves", followed later in the year. Havok called "Crash Love" "the album by which we'll be remembered". It was the band's first release to make a significantly smaller impact than their previous effort, but peaked at number 12 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: AFI (band)

text: The band was announced to play Riot Fest 2013, as well as being signed to Republic Records. A single titled "I Hope You Suffer" was released on July 23, and the title of the album, "Burials", was announced. Another single, "17 Crimes", was released on August 6. The third single from the album, titled "The Conductor", was released on September 9. The album was released on October 22, produced by Gil Norton. It peaked at number 9 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: AFI (band)

text: In a June 2016 interview with Aggressive Tendencies, Puget confirmed that AFI had begun working on new material for their tenth studio album. On October 27, the band released two new songs via Spotify, "Snow Cats" and "White Offerings".


title: AFI (band)

text: The band's tenth album, "AFI" (also known as "The Blood Album"), was released on January 20, 2017. Puget served as the main producer. The album peaked at number 5 on the "Billboard" 200. Other singles were released, including "Aurelia" and "Hidden Knives".


title: AFI (band)

text: On October 26, 2018, the band surprise-released a new single called "Get Dark" on Spotify and iTunes. This was followed by "The Missing Man" EP on December 7, featuring five new songs.


title: AFI (band)

text: On March 25, 2020, AFI was announced as a headliner for the Two Thousand Trees Festival on July 10 of the same year. Puget was interviewed by "Kerrang!" to promote the festival appearance and said that "hopefully at least a couple of songs" from the band's eleventh album would be released by then. On April 27, 2020, Puget said that the album was finished, but that its release date was being pushed back as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next day, it was announced that the Two Thousand Trees Festival was being pushed back to 2021, also due to the pandemic.