The Chronicles of Life and Death is the third studio album by American pop punk band Good Charlotte, released through Epic and Daylight Records on October 5, 2004. The album was released with two different versions: a "Life" and a "Death" version which came with different cover art (designed by guitarist Billy Martin) and a special bonus track. There is also a Japanese version that has a different cover art as well as the special bonus tracks from both the "Life" and "Death" versions, including the hidden track "Wounded" at the end of the album. The Chronicles of Life and Death is the only album to feature Chris Wilson on drums.

Good Charlotte released their second album, The Young and the Hopeless, in October 2002. Three of the album's singles, "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous", "Girls & Boys", and "The Anthem", shifted the group from modern rock to mainstream top 40 radio. As a result, The Young and the Hopeless debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, selling 117,000 copies in its first week. It eventually went on to sell over 3 million copies in the US. Following its release, the group embarked on two US arena tours. In August 2003, the group began stockpiling songs for their next album. They planned to write more while on tour between September and November.

Recording took place at Barefoot Studios in Hollywood California, with producer and engineer Eric Valentine assisted by Trevor Whatever and Chris Roach. Sessions began in March and concluded in June.Matt Radosevich did editing, programming, additional engineering and performed piano on "The Truth". Strings were conducted by David Campbell and arranged by him and Valentine. Michele Ito and Chikako Horii sung on "Once Upon a Time: The Battle of Life and Death". John Feldmann tracked additional guitars for "I Just Wanna Live". Valentine mixed and mastered the recordings, except for "Meet My Maker", which was was mixed by Jacquire King with assistance from Andy Hunt.

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