Scars & Stories

Scars & Stories is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. It was released on February 7, 2012. Scars & Stories was recorded beginning in March 2011, and concluded in July 2011. Unlike their debut album How to Save a Life and their self-titled second album, which were both produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn, their third album was produced by Brendan O'Brien. During a performance at the Hard Rock cafe in Boston, Massachusetts, Isaac Slade stated that the album Scars & Stories was named after a B-side that did not make it onto the third record. He went on to explain that each of the band members have been through a lot of hardships, but collectively they were able to pull through. "We've been through a lot of stuff personally, and as band we're still together, and I think we like the idea of scars you know, because they're healed you know. They are not like wounds necessarily, but they're still kind of a road map of where you been, and sometimes kinda point to where you want to go." The album artwork was revealed on November 16, 2011; following the video premiere of the first single, Heartbeat. The album was made available to pre-order on October 18, 2011 on the band's website. On December 20, 2011 the deluxe edition of the album became available for pre-order on iTunes, featuring 5 bonus tracks; all covers. In addition, the band made the single "The Fighter" available for download.