2000s and 2010s
With the advent of the World Wide Web and other multimedia technologies, bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins (with the album Machina/The Machines of God), Coheed And Cambria (with the Amory Wars as a backing story for every one of their albums), and Nine Inch Nails (with the album Year Zero) exploited emergent cultural phenomena such as the alternate reality game to provide additional web-based content beyond that on the album itself.
In the 2000s, the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars released two concept albums, 30 Seconds to Mars (2002) and This Is War (2009). Also in the 2000s, My Chemical Romance released four concept albums, the most popular being Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and The Black Parade. In 2003, The Protomen released their debut album Act 1 (The Protomen) which borrows from the story of the Megaman franchise to create a dystopian rock opera. The follow-up album entitled Act II - The Father of Death was released in 2009 and serves as a prequel to Act I by establishing the history of Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, and how the world came under the rule of Wily.
In the early 2000s Beck released what is considered to be his Magnum opus, his eighth studio album Sea Change. He wrote it whilst recovering from his break-up from his then fiancée, Leigh Limon. The album is based around the concepts of heartbreak and desolation, solitude and loneliness. It also eschews the styles of his older albums and instead is based around instrumentation and lyrical works, as opposed to the styles of other albums, such as Odelay and Midnite Vultures, which are heavier and more edited.
Also in the 2000s, pop punk outfit Green Day abandoned the pop punk scene and turned to more alternative and progressive rock influences and produced two Grammy-winning concept albums, namely, 2004's American Idiot and 2009's 21st Century Breakdown. In 2010, American Idiot became the first punk rock opera to make it to Broadway where it has garnered two Tony Awards.
In 2004 the British hip hop group The Streets released A Grand Don't Come for Free, a concept album charting a period of the protagonists life in which he meets a girl, starts a relationship with her and then breaks up with her after finding out she has been cheating on him. The album also references many aspects of British life and popular culture, and uses British slang to a large extent. Since its release the album has itself become part of British popular culture.
In August 2009, The Antlers released their first concept album Hospice. It tells the story of an emotionally abusive relationship, explained through the analogy of a hospice worker and terminally-ill patient. It is known for its realism, sadness, and use of expressive instrumental segments.
In May 2010, Ayurveda released H. luminous. It is a 25-minute, eight-movement, concept piece recorded live in the studio at Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, NY. H. luminous takes the listener on a shamanic journey of humankind's transformation and evolution from homo sapiens to homo luminous. The piece was conceptualized by lyricist, Tom Burchinal, and offers an anti-apocalyptic viewpoint of the popularized end-date of the Mayan Long Count Calendar in 2012. CD sleeves for H. luminous were silk-screened and printed by the band using 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard. The 16-panel album insert features artwork from five Ithaca-based artists and follows the symbolic transformation from homo sapiens to enlightened beings as portrayed in H. luminous. Under Burchinal's direction, Nicoli Schwiep designed both the album cover and insert layout.
In September 2010, Linkin Park released A Thousand Suns. It is a 48 minute album based on nuclear warfare and human fears.
In August of 2010, The Devil Wears Prada (band) released Zombie EP. It is a short 22 minute EP with five tracks centered around the theme of a zombie apocalypse. The EP was inspired by vocalist Mike Hranica's strong interest on the subject.
In 2007 rapper, Jay-Z, released American Gangster, his first concept album, inspired by the movie of the same name. It was met with critical praise.
In addition, metal band Mastodon has released three concept albums, Leviathan, Blood Mountain and Crack the Skye, which, along with their debut album, Remission, make up a quadrilogy, each representing its own element: water, earth, air and fire, respectively.
In the 2000s, Christian progressive hard rock artist Neal Morse released a series of concept albums including "? (Question Mark)", containing a dozen tracks with similar lyrical and instrumental themes, which Morse believes "should be considered one long epic track rather than twelve separate tracks".
British rapper Plan B released a concept album titled The Defamation of Strickland Banks in which he plays a soul singer named Strickland Banks.
Progressive metal band Dominici, released three albums in 2005, 2007 and 2008. These were story concept albums which named as O3: A Trilogy, Part One, O3: A Trilogy, Part Two, and O3: A Trilogy, Part Three.
English alternative rock band Coldplay released a concept album, Mylo Xyloto, in October 2011. Lead singer Chris Martin says, "It’s based on a love story with a happy ending."
Icelandic singer Björk released in 2011 an album called "Biophilia", with its lyrics being centered in space, galaxies and the solar system. An educational/interactive app was released for iPad.
The 2011 contemporary classical concept album Troika is composed of new orchestral songs set to Russian, English, and French-language poetry by five multilingual Russian-born writers: Joseph Brodsky, Mikhail Lermontov, Vladimir Nabokov, Aleksandr Pushkin and Fyodor Tyutchev.
Raleigh, North Carolina heavy metal band Alesana is scheduled to release a concept album, A Place Where the Sun Is Silent, during October 2011. The band has stated the two-disc CD will be based on the seven deadly sins. It is the second concept album that they will release, after releasing The Emptiness in 2009.
Blue October's Any Man in America is a concept album about the divorce and custody battle of the lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld from his wife. It was released in August 2011.
Baltimore, MD heavy metal band Periphery plans to release a concept album entitled Juggernaut in late 2012.
Massachusetts-based Hardcore Punk band Defeater has released two full length albums and one EP telling the story of an alcoholic WWII veteran and the trials and tribulations of his family.
Hudson is a folk indie rock band with two narrative concept albums released to date. Their first album released in October 2010 is Eastward which is "about a young man's journey East to save his brother." Their sophomore album, Crimson, was released in January 2012. It tells "the story of a castaway's rebellion and a battle for justice." How they create their music is described on their website:"each album is written and recorded over the course of a musically immersive seven days, and tells a unique story."
Canadian Indie-pop/rock band Mother Mother released their album The Sticks in September of 2012, and the album dealt with themes of isolation, withdrawal from technology, and escapism. Many of the songs revolve around lyrics describing living in nature and distrust of modern society.
Electra Heart is the concept album by UK singer Marina And The Diamonds. it was released on the 27th of April in Ireland and the 30th of April in the UK, and features the titular character, Electra Heart, as a fictional character of Marina's creation who epitomizes the American female at her very worst, in the four "Archetypes"; the Primadonna, SuBarbieA, Homewrecker, and the Teen Idle.
In 2012, Canadian Progressive Rock trio Rush released their first full-length concept album, Clockwork Angels. The album tells the story of a man's life and misadventures in a Steampunk inspired universe.
In 2012, singer-songwriter and violinist Emilie Autumn released Fight Like a Girl, an album based off her autobiographical novel The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.
In 2012, rapper Kendrick Lamar released "good kid, m.A.A.d city", a West-Coast rap album about Lamar's troubled youth life growing up in Compton.
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