How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb  by U2

U2 seem to stabilize their rock sound with their eleventh album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb in 2004. For the production of the album, they collaborated with producer Steve Lillywhite, something that hadn't happened since the time of War, twenty-two years ago.

In France, during a group photoshoot for a magazine, someone stole from Edge's belongings a demo version of some songs from the new album. The band announced that if they detected the illegal distribution of these songs online, they would immediately release it through the iTunes Store.

The album would achieve massive commercial success, reaching No. 1 on the charts in thirty-four countries, while selling 9,000,000 copies worldwide. Many critics would rank it among the best albums of the first decade of the 21st century. The promotion of the album was done through the Vertigo Tour, which is one of the most impressive tours of the Irish band and required 131 performances to complete.