Villains is the third album and first major label release by American rock band the Verve Pipe, released in March 1996. The album contained the band's first hit single, "Photograph", which peaked in the top 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. A year after the release of the album, a reformatted version of "The Freshmen" peaked at number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single was also the band's sole appearance in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 5. The success of the song helped this album go Platinum. Villains is the Verve Pipe's best-selling album. The album originally included a slower recording of "The Freshmen," before it was replaced in subsequent pressings with a faster rerecorded version.