American rock band Unwritten Law has released seven studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two video albums, eleven singles, one demo, and thirteen music videos.
Unwritten Law formed in 1990 in Poway, California with an initial lineup of singer Scott Russo, guitarists Steve Morris and Rob Brewer, bassist John Bell, and drummer Wade Youman. They released their six-song demo in 1992 and the EP Blurr in 1993. Their debut album Blue Room was released in 1994 through local label Red Eye Records. The band then signed to Epic Records, who re-released Blue Room and put out 1996's Oz Factor, supported by singles for "Lame", "Denied", and "Superman", the latter of which became the band's first music video. Bell then left the group and the band signed to Interscope Records, bringing in Pivit bassist Micah Albao for the recording of 1998's Unwritten Law. By the time of the album's release Pat "PK" Kim had become their permanent bassist. Unwritten Law was their first album to chart, reaching #16 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, and spawned five music videos: "Teenage Suicide", "California Sky", "Holiday", "Cailin", and "Lonesome". "Cailin" and "Lonesome" were released as singles, the former being Unwritten Law's first song to chart, reaching #28 on the Alternative Songs chart. In 1999 they released the Visit to Oz EP in Australia, coinciding with their first headlining tour there.
The band's fourth album was 2002's Elva, their first to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching #69. "Up All Night" and "Seein' Red" were both released as singles, the latter becoming the highest-charting song of the band's career by reaching the #1 spot on the Alternative Songs chart. The group then moved to Lava Records and released 2003's Music in High Places, a live acoustic album recorded in Yellowstone National Park for the VH1 series of the same name, which spawned a charting single for "Rest of My Life". Youman was then ejected from the band, so Adrian Young and Tony Palermo played drums on the recording of Here's to the Mourning (2005). Palermo joined the band permanently, and the singles for "Save Me (Wake Up Call)" and "She Says" from the album both reached the Alternative Songs chart, the former being the band's second-highest-charting song at #5. Brewer was fired from Unwritten Law in 2005 and the band continued as a quartet.
In 2006 Interscope released 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection, a compilation of tracks from Unwritten Law and Elva. Unwritten Law followed by releasing their own greatest hits album, The Hit List, on Abydos Records in 2007. Consisting mostly of re-recorded versions of songs from their back catalog, it reached #10 on the Independent Albums chart. No singles were released from this album, but a music video was filmed for the new track "Shoulda Known Better". Palermo then left Unwritten Law for Papa Roach and was replaced by Dylan Howard. The band signed to Suburban Noize Records, releasing the live album and DVD Live and Lawless in 2008 and their sixth studio album, Swan, in 2011.
Albums Studio albums YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsUSUSInd.AUS1994Blue Room Released: September 12, 1994 Label: Epic (67363) Format: CD, CS———1996Oz Factor Released: April 29, 1996 Label: Epic (67511) Format: CD, CS———1998Unwritten Law Released: June 2, 1998 Label: Interscope (90189) Format: CD, CS, DI—5622002Elva Released: January 29, 2002 Label: Interscope (10571-2) Format: CD, LP69—172005Here's to the Mourning Released: February 1, 2005 Label: Lava (93147) Format: CD51—272011Swan Released: March 29, 2011 Label: Suburban Noize Format: CD195—412022The Hum Released: July 29, 2022 Label: Cleopatra Format: CD——— "—" denotes an album that did not chart.
Live albums YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsUSUSInd.1997Live in Hollyweird Released: 1997 Label: Format: CD (limited to 2000 copies)——2003Music in High Places Released: January 21, 2003 Label: Earth Escapes (83632) Format: CD13452008Live and Lawless Released: September 30, 2008 Label: Suburban Noize (427) Format: CD/DVD——2026An Evening with Unwritten Law Live in San Diegohttps://cleorecs.com/products/unwritten-law-an-evening-with-unwritten-law-clear-vinyl-lp?_pos=2&_sid=c73deb253&_ss=r Released: July 2026 Label: Cleopatra Format: CD, vinyl—— "—" denotes an album that did not chart.
Compilation albums YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsUSUSInd.200620th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection Released: October 10, 2006 Label: Interscope (06816) Format: CD——2007The Hit List Released: January 2, 2007 Label: Abydos Format: CD184102016Acoustic Released: April 1, 2016 Label: Cyber Tracks Format: CD, vinyl, digital download—— "—" denotes an album that did not chart.
Demo albums YearAlbum details1992Six Song Demo Released: September 1992 Format: CS
Extended plays YearEP details1993Blurr Released: 1993 Label: Red Eye Format: 7"1999Visit to Oz Released: June 1999 Label: Interscope Format: CD
Singles Year Single Peak chart positions AlbumPeaks of other singles in Australia: "Up All Night": "Seein' Red": 1996"Lame"———Oz Factor"Denied"———"Superman"———1998"California Sky"———Unwritten Law"Holiday"———1999"Cailin"—28—2000"Lonesome"——362001"Up All Night"—1471Elva2002"Seein' Red"51732003"Rest of My Life"—16—Music in High Places2005"Save Me (Wake Up Call)"85—Here's to the Mourning"She Says"—32—2007"Shoulda Known Better"———The Hit List 2011"Starships and Apocalypse"———Swan"Sing"——— 2012"Nevermind"——— "—" denotes songs that did not chart.
Video albums YearVideo details1999Live In Australia 99 Released: 1999 Label: N/A Format: VHS2003Live in Yellowstone Released: 2003 Label: Image (3314) Formats: VHS, DVD2008Live and Lawless Released: September 30, 2008 Label: Suburban Noize (427) Format: CD/DVD
Music videos YearTitleDirector(s)1996 "Superman" 1998 "Teenage Suicide"Taylor Steele, Emmett Malloy "California Sky" "Holiday" Darren Doane, Ken Daurio 1999 "Cailin" Doug Pray 2000 "Lonesome" Bill Otto 2002 "Up All Night" Honey "Seein' Red" Marc Webb 2003 "Rest of My Life" 2005 "Save Me (Wake Up Call)" Brett Simon "She Says" Jessy Terrero 2007 "Shoulda Known Better" Fernando Apodaca2011 "Starships and Apocalypse" Dale Resteghini "Swan Song" "Sing" Daniel Coolahan 2022 "Ghosted"Unwritten Law - Ghosted (Official Music Video) Joseph Russo
Other appearances The following Unwritten Law songs were released on compilation albums, soundtracks, and other releases. This is not an exhaustive list.
YearRelease detailsTrack(s) 1995Punk Sucks Released: 1995 Label: Liberation Records Format: CD"C.P.K."1997Before You Were Punk Released: March 11, 1997 Label: Vagrant Format: CD"Goody Two-Shoes"(originally performed by Adam Ant; featuring members of Buck-O-Nine)1999Short Music for Short People Released: June 1, 1999 Label: Fat Wreck Chords (FAT ) Format: CD"Armageddon Singalong"Burning London: The Clash Tribute Released: 1999 Label: Epic Format: CD"Guns Of Brixton"(originally performed by "The Clash"Kevin & Bean's Last Christmas Released: 1999 Label: N/A Format: CD"Please Come Home For Christmas"2000Hit & Run Soundtrack Released: 2000 Label: N/A Format: N/A"Hit and Run"2002Don't Make Me Pull This Thing Over Released: August 6, 2002 Label: Roadrunner Format: CD"Take Me Away (Jodi)"Santa Clause 2 Soundtrack Released: November 1, 2002 Label: Disney Format: CD"Unwritten Christmas" (featuring Sum 41)2004North Shore Released: 2004 Label: none Format: unreleased (series theme song)"Home in Paradise"2018Slabratory - Sick Slabs Of Sonic Sound 2 Released: September 18, 2018 Label: None Format: CD"I Will Refuse" (originally performed by Pailhead)
Official bootlegs YearAlbum details1997Live in Hollyweird Released: 1997 Label: none Format: CD
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