View source for Fornever

{{about|the album by Hoobastank|the album by Murs and 9th Wonder|Fornever (Murs & 9th Wonder album)}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = For(N)ever
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Hoobastank]]
| cover        = Fornever.jpg
| border       = yes
| alt          =
| released     = {{start date|2009|1|27}}
| recorded     =
| studio       = {{hlist|Bay 7 ([[Valley Village, Los Angeles|Valley Village]])|[[Jim Henson Company Lot|Henson Recording]] ([[Los Angeles]])|Sparky Dark ([[Calabasas, California|Calabasas]])}}
| genre        = {{flatlist|
* [[Alternative rock]]
* [[post-grunge]]
}}
| length       = 38:35
| label        = [[Island Records|Island]]
| producer     = [[Howard Benson]]
| prev_title   = [[Every Man for Himself (album)|Every Man for Himself]]
| prev_year    = 2006
| next_title   = Is This the Day?
| next_year    = 2010
| misc         = {{Singles
| name        = Fornever
| type        = studio
| single1     = [[My Turn (Hoobastank song)|My Turn]]
| single1date = October 14, 2008
| single2     = [[So Close, So Far (Hoobastank song)|So Close, So Far]]
| single2date = January 27, 2009
| single3     = [[The Letter (Hoobastank song)|The Letter]]
| single3date = June 19, 2009
}}
}}
'''''Fornever''''' (stylized as '''''For(N)ever''''') is the fourth [[studio album]] by American rock band [[Hoobastank]], released on January 27, 2009. It is their last album released on [[Island Records]]. Upon its release, the album peaked at number 26 on the [[Billboard 200|US ''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name=billboard>[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=hoobastank|chart=all}} Billboard.com - Discography - Hoobastank - For(n)ever]</ref>
==Pre-release==
In October 2007, [[Doug Robb]] posted on the official Hoobastank message boards and said that they had "Set the bar very very high for this next CD," and that they had "More ideas going into this CD than ever before."
On June 2, 2008, Robb posted an update on their temporary website, announcing that the recording process of their album was almost done and to expect a release date within a couple of weeks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islandrecords.com/site/artist_newsinfo.php?uf_item_id=1-105390&uf_system_id=0&artist_id=316|title=Studio Update: June 2, 2008 ''hoobastank.com''|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415110810/http://www.islanddefjam.com/default.aspx?labelID=62|archivedate=April 15, 2012}}</ref>
==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| MC = (51/100)<ref name="MC">{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/fornever/hoobastank |title=For(n)ever by Hoobastank |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |accessdate=September 10, 2012}}</ref>
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="AM">{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1470018|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|accessdate=July 4, 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="Blender">{{cite magazine|first=Jon |last=Dolan |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=5443 |title=Hoobastank: For(N)ever |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |publisher=Alpha Media Group |date=January 27, 2009 |accessdate=July 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403184951/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=5443 |archivedate=April 3, 2009 }}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Boston Globe]]''
| rev3Score = (favorable)<ref name="Boston">{{cite news |first=Scott|last=McLennan|newspaper=[[Boston Globe]]|publisher=[[Boston.com]]|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2009/01/26/hoobastank_rocks_steady/|title=Hoobastank Rocks Steady - Album review|date=January 26, 2009|accessdate=July 4, 2011}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Now (newspaper)|NOW]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|1|5}}<ref name="NOW">{{cite news |first=Jordan|last=Bimm|newspaper=[[Now (newspaper)|NOW]]|title=Disc review Hoobastank For(N)ever|date=February 4–11, 2009|volume=28|issue=23|url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=167088|accessdate=July 4, 2011}}</ref>
}}
''Fornever'' garnered mixed reviews from [[Music journalism|music critic]]s. At [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[Standard score|normalized]] rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received an [[Weighted mean|average]] score of 51, based on 4 reviews.<ref name="MC"/>
[[AllMusic]]'s [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] commended Hoobastank for moving away from the modern rock mechanics to craft a relationship record with sincerity and empathy for its subject matter, concluding that "Prior to this, they seemed more concerned with airplay than emotion, so it's nice to see their human side slip through even if it isn't particularly pleasant to hear."<ref name="AM"/> Scott McLennan of the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' was favorable towards the band for sticking to what made them successful in previous efforts, saying "[F]ormulaic though the album may be, the band musters enough craft and personality to keep it afloat. The band is at its best when mixing pop melancholy with strident guitar rock."<ref name="Boston"/> Jon Dolan, writing for ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'', criticized the band for attempting to recreate the grunge sound by utilizing their standard musicianship formula ("the sturdy A/B rhyme, the grandly surging chorus, the self-actualized underdog salvo"), concluding that "Album four is especially monochrome gut-check metal, so flourishes of mellow pianos or cargo-shorts funk are as welcome as a bag of [[Skittles (confectionery)|Skittles]] in a pack of combat rations. Even [[Kurt Cobain|Kurt]] knew that soldiers need some sweets."<ref name="Blender"/> Jordan Bimm of ''[[Now (newspaper)|NOW]]'' heavily panned the album, saying "[T]heir un-evolved post-grunge alt-rock is just another shitty sonic time capsule from 1998. All 11 tracks feature painfully predictable song structures and lethargic chord progressions devoid of anything resembling a hook."<ref name="NOW"/>
==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| all_writing = [[Hoobastank]] except where noted<ref name=billboard/>
| title1 = [[My Turn (Hoobastank song)|My Turn]]
| length1 = 3:09
| writer1 = [[Hoobastank]], Tom Robb
| title2 = I Don't Think I Love You
| length2 = 3:39
| title3 = [[So Close, So Far (Hoobastank song)|So Close, So Far]]
| length3 = 3:14
| writer3 = [[Hoobastank]], Jeff Blue
| title4 = All About You
| length4 = 2:55
| title5 = [[The Letter (Hoobastank song)|The Letter]]
| note5 = Duet with [[Vanessa Amorosi]] featured in Australian and European versions
| length5 = 3:54
| title6 = Tears of Yesterday
| length6 = 3:56
| title7 = Sick of Hanging On
| length7 = 3:13
| title8 = You're the One
| length8 = 3:55
| title9 = Who the Hell Am I?
| length9 = 3:59
| title10 = You Need to be Here
| length10 = 3:01
| title11 = Gone Gone Gone
| length11 = 3:36
|total_length = 38:31
}}
{{Tracklist
|headline  = Japanese and digital reissue bonus tracks<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.universal-music.co.jp/hoobastank/products/uicl-1081/ |title= Hoobastank on Universal Music Japan |publisher=Universal Music Japan |date= |accessdate=2012-07-16}}</ref>
| title12 = Replace You
| length12 = 4:20
| title13 = Stay With Me
| length13 = 4:07
|total_length = 8:27
}}
==Personnel==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Hoobastank
* Doug Robb — vocals, rhythm guitar
* Dan Estrin — lead guitar, keyboards
* Chris Hesse — drums, percussion
;Additional musicians
* [[Vanessa Amorosi]] — vocals for [[The Letter (Hoobastank song)|The Letter]] (Australian and European versions)
* [[David Campbell (arranger/composer)|David Campbell]] — string arrangements for Tears of Yesterday
* [[Howard Benson]] — keyboards, programming
* Paul Bushnell — bass
{{col-2}}
;Production
* Stephen Ferrera — A&R
* Howard Benson — audio production, producer, programming
* Keith Armstrong, Mikey Canzonetta — mixing assistants
* Paul DeCarli — digital editing
* Chris Lord-Alge — mixing
* Mike Plotnikoff — engineer, mixing
* Todd Russell — art direction
* Leah Smith — stylist
* Tom Syrowski, Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki — assistant engineers, audio engineers
* Marc VanGool — guitar technician
{{col-end}}
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!scope="col"| Chart (2009)
!scope="col"| Peak<br/>position
|-
!scope="row"| [[Australian Albums Chart|Australian Albums]] ([[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]])<ref name="ARIA chart peak">{{cite web|url=http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/chartifacts.htm |title=Chartifacts - Week Commencing 6 July 2009 |date=July 6, 2009 |work=[[Australian Recording Industry Association]] |publisher=Aria.com.au |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119103528/http://ariacharts.com.au/pages/chartifacts.htm |archivedate=2010-11-19 }}</ref>
| 88
|-
!scope="row"| [[Oricon Albums Chart|Japanese Albums]]  ([[Oricon]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/295995/rank/album/|title=Hoobastank Ranking Information|publisher=[[Oricon]]|language=ja|access-date=February 22, 2023}}</ref>
| 6
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]<ref name=billboard/>
| 26
|}
==Release history==
{|class="wikitable"
! Region
! Date
! Catalog #
|-
|[[United States]]
|January 27, 2009
|1239902
|-
|[[Japan]]
|January 28, 2009
|CD:UICL-1081<br>CD+DVD:UICL-9070
|-
|[[Australia]]
|June 26, 2009
|2708708
|-
|[[France]]
|March 3, 2009
|
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Metacritic album}}
{{Hoobastank}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:2009 albums]]
[[Category:Hoobastank albums]]
[[Category:Island Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Howard Benson]]