Waking the Fallen

Waking the Fallen
Studio album by Avenged Sevenfold
Released August 26, 2003
Recorded 2003 at NRG Recordings in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre Metalcore, melodic metalcore, Heavy metal[1]
Length 68:33
Label Hopeless
Producer Andrew Murdock
Fred Archambault
Avenged Sevenfold chronology

Warmness on the Soul
(2001)
Waking the Fallen
(2003)
City of Evil
(2005)
Singles from Waking the Fallen
  1. "Eternal Rest"
    Released: 2003
  2. "Second Heartbeat"
    Released: December 16, 2003
  3. "Unholy Confessions"
    Released: August 2, 2004
  4. "Chapter Four"
    Released: September 16, 2014[2]

Waking the Fallen is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 26, 2003, by Hopeless Records.

The album was released as 2x12", LP, Repress, 33 ⅓ RPM, Grey Marble on 2008 in US.[3] The album was certified gold on July 15, 2009, even though it only sold 3,000 copies on its first week of release. As of August 2014, it has sold over 693,000 copies in the United States.[4] The song "Eternal Rest" appears on Kerrang's "666 Songs You Must Own".

More clean vocals are featured on the album than on their debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. The only song on the record that does not contain screaming is "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1)"; Sounding the Seventh Trumpet has three songs without any screaming.

As with Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, most of the songs from this album are not usually performed live, although, "Unholy Confessions," "Chapter Four," "Eternal Rest," and "Second Heartbeat" have always been a staple to their set since the release of Waking the Fallen. The song "Eternal Rest" was featured on the Soundtrack to the movie Saw IV.

Musical style

The record continues the metalcore sound the band had used on their previous album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, but features noticeably more clean vocals. Being the first release by the band to feature lead guitarist Synyster Gates, the record also features some guitar solos.[5][6] The record is notable among fans due to M. Shadows' slightly higher pitch in his voice and high notes he sings on songs like "I Won't See You Tonight" (both parts). The album also leans more towards heavy metal rather than punk rock.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [5]
Blender [8]
Kerrang
Punk News
Ultimate Guitar

Waking the Fallen was highly acclaimed. It received a positive profile in Billboard, with the magazine comparing Avenged Sevenfold to bands like NOFX, Iron Maiden, and Metallica.[9] In other profiles, the album also received comparisons to the Misfits and further comparisons to Iron Maiden.[10] "Chapter Four" was featured in video games such as NASCAR Thunder 2004, Madden NFL 04, and NHL 04, which helped the band get recognized and sign a contract with Warner Bros. Records. Overall reviews on Ultimate Guitar were very positive and it holds the highest overall rating of any Avenged Sevenfold studio album on Ultimate Guitar.

Videography

A live performance video was shot at Warped Tour 2003 for the first single from Waking the Fallen, "Second Heartbeat". A video was made for the second single "Unholy Confessions" on March 6, 2004, using live footage set to the studio track. It featured the fans before and during an Avenged Sevenfold concert. According to vocalist M. Shadows, it was requested by their new label, Warner Bros. Records, in order to publicize the band before their 2005 album City of Evil.

This video was the second attempt at a video for the track. The previous attempt was a concept video created the previous fall (2003). The band was not happy with the final product, however, and opted to re-shoot the video, this time as a live performance. The new video went into rotation on MTV2's Headbangers Ball.[11]

There is a live video released for their song Chapter Four, which is considered the fourth single from the album.

Anniversary

In March 2014, vocalist M. Shadows revealed in an interview with Loudwire that the band had plans in the works to put something out for the overdue 10th anniversary of Waking the Fallen:[12]

We’re going to put something together for the 10 year anniversary of ‘Waking the Fallen,’ which is about 11 or 12 years now. We’ve been trying to think of something we could put together and we found some old demos that we did with Teppei [Teranishi] from Thrice before we even did that record.... We also found some old footage with [late drummer] Jimmy [Sullivan] playing some old shows at The Henry Fonda Theater in L.A., and the Ventura Theater. We’ll put together a cool DVD and some demo tracks and re-release ‘Waking the Fallen’ for newer fans of the band that haven’t gotten that or don’t know about the history of the band.
M. Shadows, Loudwire interview, March 2014

Waking the Fallen: Resurrected was released August 25, 2014.[13]

Track Listing

All songs credited to Avenged Sevenfold. Actual songwriters are listed below.[14]

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Waking the Fallen"  Avenged Sevenfold, Scott Gilman[14] 1:42
2. "Unholy Confessions"  M. Shadows 4:43
3. "Chapter Four"  The Rev 5:42
4. "Remenissions"  Shadows 6:06
5. "Desecrate Through Reverence"  Rev 5:38
6. "Eternal Rest"  Rev, Shadows 5:12
7. "Second Heartbeat"  Shadows 7:01
8. "Radiant Eclipse"  Rev 6:09
9. "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1)"  Synyster Gates 9:00
10. "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 2)"  Gates, Shadows, Johnny Christ 4:44
11. "Clairvoyant Disease"  Rev 5:00
12. "And All Things Will End"  Shadows, Rev 7:40
Total length:
68:31

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[14]

Avenged Sevenfold

Production

Charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
US Independent Albums<ref name = "Allmusic awards'>"Walking the Fallen Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 3, 2014.</ref> 12
US Top Heatseekers Albums<ref name = "Allmusic awards'/> 15
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 34
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 35
German Albums (Official Top 100)[17] 48
US Billboard 200[18] 10

References

  1. http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/avenged_sevenfold/waking_the_fallen/
  2. http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/avenged_sevenfold_release_chapter_four_video
  3. "Waking the Fallen LP".
  4. "Ariana Grande Nabs Second No. 1 Album In Less Than A Year".
  5. 5.0 5.1 Allmusic review
  6. "Avenged Sevenfold "Waking the Fallen" Album Review". Paul's Awesome World. January 27, 2012.
  7. "Avenged Sevenfold". Chad Bowar. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  8. Blender review
  9. "Artists to Watch: AVENGED SEVENFOLD". Billboard. "Orange County, Calif.'s Avenged Sevenfold stands at a crossroads. In one direction is the present and future: the current punk/metal hybrid known as 'screamo.' In the other, the past: influences of such punk bands as NOFX and Bad Religion; the '80s-metal dynamic of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Metallica; and a touch of goth."
  10. "Avenged Sevenfold members carve a new niche with old sound", The Bradenton Herald, accessed via LexisNexis. September 18, 2003. "Their long bangs and black eye makeup draw comparisons to the Misfits. Their cryptic lyrics are similar to Iron Maiden. The guttural vocals and machine-gun percussion sound like early Metallica. And the guitar riffs are reminiscent of Crimson Glory."
  11. "Headbanger's Ball spawns second compilation". BPI Entertainment News Wire. "Here is the 'MTV2 Headbanger's Ball, Volume 2' track list... Disc one... 'Unholy Confessions,' Avenged Sevenfold." August 2, 2004.
  12. "Avenged Sevenfold Plan 'Waking the Fallen' Reissue, New DVD". Loudwire. March 27, 2014.
  13. "Avenged Sevenfold To Release Waking The Fallen: Resurrected August 25". Hopeless Records. June 24, 2014.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Waking the Fallen: Resurrected liner notes. Hopeless Records. 2014. p. 9.
  15. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". ARIA. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  16. "Avenged Sevenfold – Waking The Fallen" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  17. "Avenged Sevenfold – Waking The Fallen". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  18. Caulfield, Keith (September 3, 2014). "Ariana Grande Nabs Second No. 1 Album In Less Than A Year". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 3, 2014.