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Conspiracy No. 5 is the second major-label studio album by American Christian rock band Third Day.

Background and recording
https://web.archive.org/web/19980209152700/http://www.ccmcom.com/ccmmag/97sep/features1.html

Composition
Conspiracy No. 5 represented a musical departure from Third Day's self-titled debut album; the album was characterized as being more musically aggressive and lyrically mature. The album contains more of an alternative rock influence than the band's debut album. The band felt the sound was more representative of where they were at musically than their debut album, which had been compared to the work of Hootie & the Blowfish - a comparison the band felt was unfair. Powell said "with Conspiracy No. 5, we were just trying to prove that we could rock. We were trying to prove that we weren't Hootie and the Blowfish, like everyone was trying to compare us to".

Steve Belli of The Greenville News described the album as having a "fresh" and "electric" feel, featuring "a more aggressive, edgy musical approach with guitars layered between fuzzy psychedelia, hard-edged riffs and acoustic jangle". The guitar work on the album was noted as being "grunge-style" as well as "turbulent", "brooding", and "snarling".

"Who I Am" utilizes both "gentle" acoustic guitar as well as power chords.

"Your Love Endures", the album's last song, is led by acoustic guitar. It has been described as the album's only real ballad.

"Have Mercy" southern rock, gospel-tinged

Release and promotion
Reunion Records, Third Day's record label aimed to market Conspiracy No 5 to both a Christian and mainstream audience. Working with Zomba's label Silverstone, Reunion hoped to capitalize on Third Day’s single "Northing At All”, which had hit the top 30 on rock radio the previous year. Janet McQuenney, Silverstone's director of artist development, pointed to the success of Third Eye Blind and Tonic as creating an opening for the band.

Reunion planned to release the album simultaneously to mainstream and Christian markets, with the lead single "Alien" being marketed to Christian radio and "You Make Me Mad" being marketed to mainstream radio. A CD single for "Alien" was released on June 8, 1997, featuring an exclusive bonus track as well as a rock remix of "Nothing at All".

Alien No. 1 CCM Christian Rock (https://web.archive.org/web/19980210041853/http://www.ccmcom.com/ccmupdate/97_08_25/charts.html#rock)

Who I Am No. 1 CCM CHR (https://web.archive.org/web/19980210035134/http://www.ccmcom.com/ccmupdate/97_10_13/charts.html#)

You Make Me Mad No. 1 CCM Christian Rock (https://web.archive.org/web/19980210033339/http://www.ccmcom.com/ccmupdate/97_12_15/charts.html#chr)

My Hope Is You No. 2 CCM CHR (https://web.archive.org/web/19980209132515/http://www.ccmcom.com/ccmupdate/98_02_02/charts.html)

Conspiracy No. 5 sold over 23,000 copies in its first week. It debuted and peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. The album spent two weeks at the number two spot and 24 weeks on the Christian Albums chart in total; it ranked as the 28th-best selling Christian album of 1997.

Conspiracy No. 5 did not sell as well was the band's self-titled debut alum; as of June 2007, Conspiracy No. 5 had sold 305,000 copies while Third Day had sold nearly 500,000. The album's mainstream ambitions also failed to pan out, something that Powell attributed to the band's reputation as a Christian band. As of 2013, it is the band's lowest-selling studio record.

Critical reception and accolades
Conspiracy No. 5 was well-received by critics.

John Blake of The Atlanta Constitution called the album a "must-buy for fans of Christian rock". He praised the album's musical variety as well as the guitar work and vocals, describing Mac Powell's voice as the "perfect rock voice" and praising the guitar riff on "Peace" as "classic".

Deborah Evans Price of Billboard praised the album as "a strong set that should further establish Third Day as not only one of the best Christian bands of the '90s, but one of the best rock bands, period".

The South Florida Sun Sentinel called the album "the kind of breakthrough record that dc Talk delivered in Jesus Freak" and praised the album's variety.