Infinity on High is the fourth studio album of Fall Out Boy. It is the follow up to 2005’s From Under the Cork Tree. The title is taken from a letter written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo in 1888. In the letter, van Gogh describes his renewed health and the vigor it has instilled in his painting. The line that inspired the title is "Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all."
The album was originally planned for release at the end of 2006, but lead singer Patrick Stump said, in an interview with Kerrang!, that the album’s European release date had been pushed back to February 5, 2007. The United States release date was February 6, 2007.
On November 9, 2006, the first clip from the album surfaced. The song "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" was added as a stream on the Fall Out Boy artist profile at Absolutepunk.net. The song was given to the site by Fall Out Boy, themselves, as part of their promise to the site to give them the first clip from the album. On December 12, 2006 the song "The Carpal Tunnel Of Love" was added on iTunes for download as a single, despite the fact that "This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race" is the first single off of the album.
Sometime on January 19, 2007 the album was leaked to the internet. Pete Wentz confirmed this himself on Fall Out Boy’s official website in a journal update dated January 20th. He also announced at a live show in Atlanta that their label may release the album a week earlier than planned, on January 30, due to the leak. Pete Wentz dispelled these rumors by speaking to MTV News International. Wentz though did confirm that anyone who purchases a physical copy of the CD and inserts it into their computer will be able to receive a free download of an EP they are recording on January 29, 2007. The EP will be a live EP titled Leaked In London. The location of the recording will be at London’s Hammersmith Palais where they are doing a live concert that night.
As of February 10, 2007, the band are preparing to film a new video, for an as-yet unannounced single. The United States saw two different widespread versions of the album, along with several pre-sale offers issued for certain store chains. Besides the regular edition, a limited edition "book"-style digipak version, containing tarot cards but no additional audio or video content, was released. Pre-orders at Best Buy contained two free digital downloads for the bonus track "G.I.N.A.S.F.S." (an acronym for "Gay Is Not a Synonym for Shitty") and a remix of "This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race", whereas Wal-Mart digital album orders received the exclusive bonus track "It’s Hard To Say ‘I Do’ When I Don’t" and different album cover art. While "G.I.N.A.S.F.S." can also be found on the UK, New Zealand, Australian and Japanese releases, the Japanese also carries "It’s Hard to Say ‘I Do’, When I Don’t", a song titled by Colin Yip, through a contest for the band’s fan club members, who were sent the lyrics and asked to come up with a title.