''Plead the Fifth'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band

Taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

. Originally planned for an April 13, 2010 release, it was delayed to May 11. The album marks Taproot's first release through

Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thur ...

, having signed in November 2009. "

Fractured (Everything I Said Was True) "Fractured (Everything I Said Was True)" is the lead single from Taproot's fifth studio album '' Plead the Fifth''. It is the band's first single released through Victory Records. This is the band's first song to chart within the top 20 of the Ma ...

" was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, followed by "Release Me". The confirmed track listing was released on the Victory Records website. Guitarist Mike DeWolf described the album's sound as a return to the heavy nature of Taproot's early material: :"We're definitely making it as heavy as possible and aggressive while still keeping a lot of the beautiful melodies and just the general beauty of things in it. We're using a lot more of our baritone guitars, which was sort of the signature of the ''

Gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...

'' and ''

Welcome A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. In some context ...

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

years, so that immediately makes things a lot heavier."TAPROOT's 'Plead The Fifth' Pushed Back To May
RoadrunnerRecords.com (March 5, 2010). The album debuted at number 107 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first week sales of 5,500.

Critical reception

Corey Hoffy of

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 ...

said that despite not coming close to ''

Blue-Sky Research ''Blue-Sky Research'' is the third major label album by American alternative metal band Taproot which was released on August 15, 2005 internationally and a day later in the United States. Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan co-wrote three son ...

'', he commended the band for returning to their heavier roots from their earlier work while maintaining a modicum of melodies, concluding that "Overall, I was impressed with the musical approach and the vocal approach the band took. The downfall (of us all?) though lies in its lack of creativity and typical lyrics. Even with all of its faults though, the band seems to be having more fun than ever, and it's easy to tell that after five studio releases, this band is finally going to go places."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

said of the record, "It’s a bunch of twists and turns in search of a song, and if Taproot doesn’t necessarily find melodic through-lines, they nevertheless know how to construct vehicles for their flair, which is darker and heavier than it has been in some time – and that may be enough to please the hardcore who have been dismayed by the band’s ambition of late." Tim Grierson of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

felt the band's return to a more straightforward sound was a misstep that resulted in tracks sounding too alike to each other, despite Stephen Richards remaining a vocal presence behind tracks like "No View Is True" and "Release Me".

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Taproot (band) albums Victory Records albums