Pacifier (re-released as The Pacifier Album) is the fifth studio album released by New Zealand rock band Shihad. At the time of the release they were performing under the name Pacifier due to controversy surrounding the similarity of the word Shihad to jihad.[2] The name Pacifier was derived from the single of the same name from their previous album, The General Electric.
Released in 2002, songs such as "Run" and "Bullitproof" went on to become hit singles. "Bullitproof" peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 37 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.[3] However, it still failed to break the band into the United States. "Everything" was used in the closing credits of the 2002 film Swimfan.
The band, and lead singer Jon Toogood especially, have since expressed displeasure with the album, calling it "overproduced" and "bullshit – that would've been the wrong album to be big on." In 2023, bassist Karl Kippenberger said, "I love those songs. I love them being part of our history...It's OK to fall in and out of love with your own stuff, you know?"[2]
This album features Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver) and DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit and House of Pain) on the track "Coming Down".
The album was produced by Josh Abraham, of Thirty Seconds to Mars/Michelle Branch/Weezer fame.
One version of this album included the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" bonus disc and yet another version contained a bonus disc featuring live acoustic tracks from the "Helen Young Sessions".
In 2023 the album was re-released on vinyl. For this edition the band name is restored to Shihad and the album is retitled The Pacifier Album.[2]