"Light Grenades" is the sixth studio album by alternative rock band Incubus, released on November 28, 2006, by Epic Records. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in its first week in the US and 359,000 copies worldwide. It marked the band's first number-one album but achieved Gold certification, which was lower than their previous Platinum records, starting with Make Yourself in 1999.
The album's songs Earth to Bella and Love Hurts were first performed live at the Make Some Noise concert on April 29, 2006. Other tracks such as A Kiss to Send Us Off and Anna Molly debuted on VH1's Decades Rock: Live Tribute to the Pretenders on August 11, 2006, though they were not featured in the actual program. The two songs were also performed at Edgefest 2006 on September 30 in Arizona. Rogues debuted at two pre-album release shows in London and Berlin on November 14 and 16, 2006.
The tracks Punch Drunk and Look Alive were recorded during the Light Grenades sessions but were initially available only as bonus tracks on the Japanese edition. Both songs were later included in live versions on the Look Alive DVD and the studio versions appeared on Monuments and Melodies.
Musically, guitarist Mike Einziger described the album as "13 different bands playing 13 different songs," acknowledging the band's tendency to create an album that doesn't necessarily follow a cohesive sound. While much of the album expands on the musical direction found in A Crow Left of the Murder... (2004), some songs like Paper Shoes marked a new direction for the band. Brandon Boyd explained the unique recording technique behind Paper Shoes, where the band used ambient microphones to capture the sound of them pounding on their chests and skulls as percussion, creating a humorous and primal effect.
The title Light Grenades was inspired by a song on the album. Boyd explained the concept behind the name, describing an image of students in different countries protesting, where instead of throwing destructive objects like rocks or Molotov cocktails, one courageous student runs up and throws ideas that change things for the better. This idea of redefined weaponry became central to the conceptual theme of the album, symbolizing the power of positive ideas to bring about change.
