| The Chronicles of Life and Death | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 "Life" version. The "Death" cover art uses the same book cover art, but shows considerable wear. | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 5, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | March – June 2004 | |||
| Studio | Barefoot Studios (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) | |||
| Genre | Pop-punk | |||
| Length | 51:26 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Eric Valentine | |||
| Good Charlotte chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Chronicles of Life and Death | ||||
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The Chronicles of Life and Death is the third studio album by American rock band Good Charlotte. Following the release of The Young and the Hopeless (2002), the group spent two years touring. By the second half of 2003, they had begun writing for the next album. With producer Eric Valentine, the band recorded at Barefoot Studios in Hollywood, California, between March and June 2004. Over half of the album's material was written by Benji and Joel Madden, with the remainder being co-written with Valentine, Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann or guitarist Billy Martin. Preceded by the single release of "Predictable", The Chronicles of Life and Death was released through Epic and Daylight Records on October 5, 2004. Two variations were made available: "Life" and "Death" versions which came with different cover artwork (designed by Martin) and a different bonus track.
Drummer Chris Wilson was in therapy and sat out the initial promotional appearances around the album's release; Alkaline Trio drummer Derek Grant filled in for him temporarily during the group's co-headlining US tour with Sum 41. In early 2005, "I Just Wanna Live" was released as a single and tours of Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Europe followed. The band co-headlined the Noise to the World Tour with Simple Plan in May and June, which coincided with the single release of the album's title-track. Wilson left the group a few shows into the trek, and was replaced by Dean Butterworth. "We Believe" was released as a single in August, which coincided with a series of European festival appearances.
The Chronicles of Life and Death received a generally mixed reception from music critics with some finding the lyrics lacking depth and others praising the instrumentation and darker tone. Nevertheless, the record sold 199,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut on the chart. It was eventually certified platinum, and as of February 2007, sales stood at 1.1 million copies. The album was also successful outside of the US. It charted at number one in Australia, reached the top 10 in Canada, Japan and the UK, as well as the top 20 in Austria, New Zealand, Sweden, Italy and Switzerland. Within these territories, the album was certified platinum in Australia, and gold in Austria, Germany and the UK. "Predictable" and "I Just Wanna Live" appeared on US radio charts and reached the top 40 in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the UK.