''Real'' (stylized as ''REAL.'') is the third studio album by American
metalcore band
The Word Alive
The Word Alive is an American metalcore band formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008. The band was signed to Fearless Records since their formation. In 2022, they changed their label and signed to Thriller Records. The band currently consists of ...
. It was released on June 10, 2014 through
Fearless Records and was produced by
Cameron Mizell
Cameron Pierce Mizell is an American artist, songwriter, singer, record producer and owner of Chango Studios. He began producing music in 2003 & has worked with Billboard top charting artists such as Sleeping With Sirens, Memphis May Fire, Woe Is ...
and
John Feldmann
John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger.
Early life
Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...
.
[ It is the first album to feature drummer ]Luke Holland
Luke Daniel Holland (born June 14, 1993) is an American drummer, most popular for his YouTube videos.
Biography
He was born in Peoria, Arizona. Despite his father being a professional drummer, Holland gained interest in the drums after hea ...
.
Background and recording
Vocalist Tyler Smith discussed the sound of the album in an interview stating that the album would feature some of the heaviest songs they have ever written and some of the most melodic with no unclean vocals in some tracks. On December 20, 2013, the band released their first studio update for their forthcoming album with the first update detailing the sound of the guitars on the album.
Critical reception
''Real'' received 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 ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 75 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[ ]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 ...
gave the album a positive review saying, "As more and more bands continue to experiment with the fusion of electronic music and metalcore, the Word Alive set themselves apart from the pack with a more nuanced view of how these two styles can complement one another, proving that things don't always need to be pushed to extremes to be interesting or exciting. Because of this, ''Real'' is a rare metalcore album with enough depth to demand repeat listening, which definitely won't disappoint the band's die-hard fans."
Brendan Manley of ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' gave the album a 4 out of 5 stars, saying: "It takes serious swagger to be a modern metalcore/post-hardcore band who drop a record called ''REAL.''—a musical shot across the collective bow of fellow contenders and also-rans alike—and Phoenix quintet the Word Alive back up the insinuation with a shock-and-awe barrage of blast beats, blazing guitars and perhaps most crucially, a formidable array of razor-sharp hooks." ''KillYourStereo'' gave the album 59 out of 100 and said: "There are elements in ''REAL.'' that are new and exciting within the world of The Word Alive, but that world is held down by the giant hand of the metalcore genre, which is starting to sound like more and more of the same with each new release."
Track listing
Adapted from Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
Personnel
Credits adapted from 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 ...
.
;The Word Alive
* Tyler Smith – lead vocals
* Zack Hansen – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, programming
* Tony Pizzuti – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, programming
* Daniel Shapiro – bass
* Luke Holland
Luke Daniel Holland (born June 14, 1993) is an American drummer, most popular for his YouTube videos.
Biography
He was born in Peoria, Arizona. Despite his father being a professional drummer, Holland gained interest in the drums after hea ...
– drums
;Additional personnel
* Cameron Mizell
Cameron Pierce Mizell is an American artist, songwriter, singer, record producer and owner of Chango Studios. He began producing music in 2003 & has worked with Billboard top charting artists such as Sleeping With Sirens, Memphis May Fire, Woe Is ...
– production
* John Feldmann
John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger.
Early life
Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing song ...
– production, composition
* Erik Ron
Erik Ron (born July 4, 1985) is an American producer, mixer, and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He has worked with artists such as Panic! at the Disco, Set It Off, Issues, New Years Day, Too Close to Touch, I the Mighty, Motionless In Wh ...
– composition
* Dan Korneff
Dan Korneff is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer based in Long Island, New York. Former owner of House of Loud Studios, he has worked with several prominent rock bands, most notably Breaking Benjamin, Paramore, Papa Roach, Lamb ...
– mixing
* Brad Blackwood – mastering
* Chris Foitle – A&R
* Sal Torres – A&R
* Sam Kaufman – artwork, design
* Jenny Reader – production management
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2014 albums
The Word Alive albums
Fearless Records albums
Albums produced by Cameron Mizell
Albums produced by John Feldmann