rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

Vinnie Caruana Vinnie Caruana (born September 25, 1979) is an American singer. He is the vocalist for Long Island punk band The Movielife and lead singer/songwriter for the indie/post hardcore band I Am the Avalanche.

Waldwick, New Jersey Waldwick () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 9,625,melodic hardcore and punk rock album, ''Avalanche United'' also features material written by guitarist Mike Ireland. ''Avalanche United'' received generally positive reviews from music critics, some praising the musicianship. "Holy Fuck" and "Brooklyn Dodgers" were released as singles in August and September 2011, respectively, before the release of the album. To promote ''Avalanche United'', I Am the Avalanche supported the bands Saves the Day and Bayside on their co-headlining US tour, and released a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Brooklyn Dodgers". The band ended the year with a headlining UK tour. In the first half of 2012, the band toured the UK and the US again, and appeared on that year's

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

.

Background and recording

I Am the Avalanche released their

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous debut album in late 2005, through Drive-Thru Records. Though the band was out of the public eye for some time, they frequently went on regional tours. Eventually, the band members settled into their home life and day jobs, performing shows infrequently. Vocalist

Vinnie Caruana Vinnie Caruana (born September 25, 1979) is an American singer. He is the vocalist for Long Island punk band The Movielife and lead singer/songwriter for the indie/post hardcore band I Am the Avalanche.

married an English woman whom he later divorced. This led to him writing a large amount of material. In contrast to their previous album, which was written in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, the band wrote new material in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. I Am the Avalanche recorded the album at Studio 159, in

Waldwick, New Jersey Waldwick () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 9,625,Brian McTernan performed additional drum production at Salad Days Studio in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. American musician

Machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

mixed the recordings at The Machine Shop Recording Studios in Belleville, New Jersey. Alan Douches mastered the album at West West Side Music in New York City. In between recording sessions, Caruana reunited with his previous band the Movielife for a series of performances between May and August 2011.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, the sound of the ''Avalanche United'' explores melodic hardcore and punk rock. Discussing the album title, Caruana said that it "stands for the band, family, friends and fans – one big gang." Caruana wrote the lyrics and guitarist Mike Ireland wrote the music for "Holy Fuck", "Amsterdam", "I'll Be Back Around" and "Gratitude"; Caruana wrote the music for the remaining songs. Anthony Raneri of Bayside arranged "I'll Be Back Around" and "Dead Friends". Caruana's voice emulated the vocal style he used on The Movielife's '' This Time Next Year'' (2000). The opening track "Holy Fuck" is an aggressive

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

song about Caruana's divorce. The next songs, "Brooklyn Dodgers" and "Amsterdam" come across as a mix between

the Gaslight Anthem The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 2006. The band consists of Brian Fallon (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Alex Rosamilia (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Levine (bass guitar, backing vocals), ...

and the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

. "Brooklyn Dodgers" is dedicated to what Caruana dubbed the "real New York". Caruana wrote it in an apartment he shared with bassist Kellen Robson in Queens, New York. "Amsterdam" tells of the band's experiences in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

while being on drugs. "I'll Be Back Around" sees Caruana dealing with

anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal function are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause physi ...

. "Is This Really Happening?" is Caruana's first love song, and is followed by "This One's on Me", a drinking song. "Dead Friends" is about dying young and not living life to its fullest potential. Caruana said "You've Got Spiders" was written about "little weasels who try to scratch their way into our lives". "The Grave Digger's Argument" is about a gravedigger coming to terms that the only way to be rid of his wife is to bury her in his backyard. It recalled the work of

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

, and features a vocal appearance from Raneri. "Casey's Song" is about Caruana's friend of the same name who commands large boats. With "The Place You Love is Gone", Caruana said: "We, as people, take everything for granted. ... Sometimes a life-changing thing will happen and wake you up." "Gratitude" is dedicated to the band's fans, family members and friends for their support. The song ends with a group chant of the album's title.

Release

"Holy Fuck" was made available for streaming on August 22, 2011, and released as a single the following day. On September 7, the track listing for ''Avalanche United'' was posted online. "Brooklyn Dodgers" was made available for streaming on September 12 and released as a single the following day. The song was available for free download through the band's

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page. "Amsterdam" was made available for streaming on September 28. ''Avalanche United'' was made available for streaming on October 6, before being released in the US on October 11, through I Surrender Records. The album was released by different labels in other countries: 3Wise Records in Australia, Kick Rock Invasion in Japan and

Xtra Mile Recordings Xtra Mile Recordings are a British independent record label based in London, England. The label was founded in 2003 by Charlie Caplowe and they release an eclectic mix of genres with a focus on rock and folk. History The label first signed the ...

in the UK. The Australian and Japanese versions included the bonus track "Summer's Back Again", while the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

edition included the bonus track "Conan O'Brien". The artwork was done by Timmy Brothers, with photography from Julian Gilbert. In October and November, the band supported Saves the Day and Bayside on their co-headlining US tour. To coincide with the tour, the four groups each contributed one track to a four-way split single. I Am the Avalanche's contribution was "Holy Fuck". On November 15, the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Brooklyn Dodgers" was released. The video sees the band traveling through their hometown of Brooklyn, New York. The following month, the band embarked on a headlining UK tour, with support from Hostage Calm and

Apologies, I Have None Apologies, I Have None are an English melancholic, punk-influenced quartet from London, England. History Apologies, I Have None started off as a two piece drums and guitar band, consisting of Dan Bond and Josh Mckenzie. In 2007 they released t ...

. In January 2012, the band played a few east coast shows with support from Balance and Composure, before touring the UK with Brand New in the following month. In March, the band toured the US with Hostage Calm and Banquets. The band had planned to embark on a two-week European tour in April, however, it was canceled because of unforeseen circumstances. The band appeared on the 2012

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

, played a few headlining shows, and supported

MxPx MxPx () is an American pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington, founded in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. As of 2016, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass guitar, Yuri Ruley on drums and percussion, Tom Wisniewski on lead gui ...

.

Reception

''Avalanche United'' met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 85, based on four reviews. ''Dead Press!'' reviewer Gary Cassidy felt that ''Avalanche United'' was a perfect title for the album: "this band seem tighter than ever, the backing vocals are immaculate, the drum beats set the rhythm perfectly, ndthe guitar riffs are just beautifully melodic and catchy". The album's

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

was "very controlled, but the energy and emotion can’t be questioned ... this is nostalgic and meaningful punk." ''

AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...

'' staff member Drew Beringer wrote that the songs never take the "foot off the pedal", and the record contains "a heaviness that wasn't as prevalent" on their debut album. Punknews.org's Rich Cocksedge liked Caruana's lyricism, calling it "insightful and interesting". He added that with a "sound that has got a strong basis in punk but with massive doses of melody," the album came across as "quite an impressive ... ndreally pleasing surprise to boot". Emily Kearns of ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

'' wrote the band delivered "a fiery, honest and raw state of affairs as

aruana ''Aruana'' is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Embrik Strand in 1911. it contains only two species, found only in Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini) ...

confronts his demons". ''

Ox-Fanzine ''Ox-Fanzine'' is a monthly punk zine from Solingen, Germany, founded in 1988. It is edited by Joachim Hiller and has had many contributors. Besides its focus on punk subculture, it also covers similar genres, reviews of comics, books and films, ...

'' writer Thomas Eberhardt said the band "desperately belong in the pub and gutter vocabulary of the big city music lover". He added that the music is a "combination of street punk songs and hardcore attitude". ''Blare'' Joshua Khan wrote that the band "power dthrough melodic hardcore bursts with sweat, tears and emotion running down their face". ''Blare'' ranked ''Avalanche United'' as the 42nd best album in their top 50 albums of the year list.

Track listing

All lyrics by

Vinnie Caruana Vinnie Caruana (born September 25, 1979) is an American singer. He is the vocalist for Long Island punk band The Movielife and lead singer/songwriter for the indie/post hardcore band I Am the Avalanche.

. All recordings produced by Brett Romnes.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. I Am the Avalanche *

Vinnie Caruana Vinnie Caruana (born September 25, 1979) is an American singer. He is the vocalist for Long Island punk band The Movielife and lead singer/songwriter for the indie/post hardcore band I Am the Avalanche.

– vocals * Brett "The Ratt" Romnes – drums * Brandon Swanson – guitar * Mike Ireland – guitar * Kellen Robson – bass Additional musician * Anthony Raneri – guest vocals (track 9) * Brett "The Ratt" Romnes – producer, recording * Brian Turner – assistant * Greg Altman – assistant * Brian McTernan – additional drum production *

Machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

– mixing * Alan Douches – mastering * Timmy Brothers – layout, artwork * Julian Gilbert – all photography * Jeffrey Everett – Avalanche United logo

References

External links

''Avalanche United''
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control 2011 albums I Am the Avalanche albums