Stereolithic (stylized as STER30L1TH1C) is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band 311, released on March 11, 2014. It is the band's first fully independent studio album release since 1991's Unity. Stereolithic is also 311's first album since 1999's Soundsystem to be produced by Scotch Ralston, making this their first album since 2005's Don't Tread on Me not to be produced by Bob Rock. Background When asked about why the band was leaving the major labels in the music industry, band leader Nick Hexum said that "the label system is corrupt; they're so incompetent with their ability to bring any value to the table. It's just a rip-off." After declaring themselves as an independent artist, 311 reunited with producer of Transistor and Soundsystem, Scott "Scotch" Ralston, to produce this Stereolithic. "We asked him to come back and run sound for us, and it really improved our live sound," Hexum explains. "The fans noticed that. Because he did the Transistor album, which is kind of our most beloved fan favorite because it's so eclectic and everything, there was a lot of excitement from the fans about that kind of creativity coming back in with him. So we started talking about new songs and he had so many ideas and just so much enthusiasm that it was like a steamroller of excitement. So we had to say yes to having him produce us. It turned out to be a great decision." The band built up suspense for the album's release via Twitter by presetting the release date to be March 11, 2014 (3-11 Day) over 200 days in advance. During the songwriting process, P-Nut informed Hear Magazine that the new album had "darker themes, even lyrically." To explain, he said "I think even more people will relate to this album. The positive thing is tough for a lot of people to swallow, for whatever reason. That is who we are, but I don’t know, it’s nice to kind of admit that in the world we live in, it’s pretty difficult for some people. It’s an endless source of both inspiration and frustration, so why not make music out of it? I’ve always felt that, at least in demo form, our music is darker than the philosophy behind the lyrics that can end up in the final product. I think my job in the room when we’re writing is to help