The Black Swan (Story of the Year album)

The Black Swan
Studio album by Story of the Year
Released	April 19, 2008 (2008-04-19)
Recorded	2007
Genre	Post-hardcore, alternative rock, hard rock, emo
Length	49:04
Label	Epitaph
Producer	John Feldmann & Michael "Elvis" Baskette
Story of the Year chronology
In the Wake of Determination (2005) The Black Swan (2008) The Constant (2010)
Platinum edition
Released in Japan and Korea
Singles from The Black Swan
"Wake Up" Released: February 19, 2008 "The Antidote" Released: December 6, 2008 "Terrified" Released: June 30, 2009

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk.net	(73%) link
Allmusic	link
Alternative Press
Bombshellzine.com	link
Daily Dischord	link
ThePunkSite.com	link

The Black Swan is the third studio album by American rock band Story of the Year.

It was their first album recorded with indie label Epitaph Records, after switching from major label Maverick Records. Commenting on this switch, lead singer Dan Marsala said in an interview, "Making this record felt like starting over. We're like a brand new band. You can hear it in these songs, we're excited again. I think we've really stepped it up on this record." Guitarist Ryan Phillips adds, "Epitaph seemed like the perfect place for us at this time in our career. It's a much more creative environment." The album was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette who has also produced albums by Chevelle, Escape the Fate, and A Change of Pace.

The album was named after Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, on unpredictable events and randomness. One theme found in a few of the songs ("Wake Up", "Terrified", and in particular "Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)") is the concept that human existence is insignificant in comparison to the universe as a whole, and that wars, fighting and killing seem pointless. The track "Pale Blue Dot (Interlude)" was inspired by the famous photograph of the same name and features an excerpt from astronomer Carl Sagan's book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space read by its author. The band believes that people should live their lives to the fullest extent. Other themes include political and social issues.