''Saint Asonia'' is the debut studio album by

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 ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Saint Asonia Saint Asonia (stylized as SΔINT ΔSONIΔ) is a Canadian-American rock supergroup consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Gontier, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Cale Gontier, and drummer Cody Watkins. ...

. The album was released on July 31, 2015 through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. It was released in European countries with two additional tracks on November 23, 2015.

Background

First announced via

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through a teaser in early May 2015, the first single " Better Place" was released on May 16, 2015. This also confirmed the group's lineup, with

Adam Gontier Adam Wade Gontier (born May 25, 1978) is a Canadian singer and guitarist. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for Saint Asonia, but is best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and founding member of the Can ...

as the frontman,

Mike Mushok Michael Mushok (born April 10, 1970) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist for the nu metal band Staind. He is a member of supergroup Saint Asonia and played in the band Newsted. Life and career Mushok was born in Ludlow, Mas ...

being the guitarist,

Corey Lowery Corey French Lowery is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and engineer. He is the guitarist and backing vocalist for South African rock band Seether, and a former member of Saint Asonia, Stuck Mojo, Stereomud, Eye Empire, and Dar ...

as the bassist and Rich Beddoe as the drummer. Gontier's uncle Tom Duffy provided the bass tracks for some of the songs from the album, while Lowery was hired afterward. They announced the release date and track list for the album on June 18, 2015 via ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. The second single, "Let Me Live My Life" was released digitally on July 17, 2015. This is also the only studio album from the band to feature drummer Rich Beddoe before he confirmed his departure in 2017.

Critical reception

The album was received with mixed reviews. James Christopher Monger of

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 2.5 out of 5 star rating. He criticized the songs for feeling like, "cast-offs from prior projects, with recycled melodies and lyrics that sound like they were derived from an angst-centric magnetic poetry kit." However he complimented some songs such as, "Better Place," "Dying Slowly," and "Blow Me Wide Open".

Ultimate Guitar Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), which is also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians. Its website and mobile application provides guitar tablature catalogues and chord sheets. UG ...

said that the album is, "ready to please mainstream rock radio and guitarists alike with its brand of hard rock peppered with soulful (not kidding) ballads to boot." The album sold 13,000 copies in its first week.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Saint Asonia'' adapted from

. ;Saint Asonia *

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

– lead guitar *

– bass guitar, backing vocals * Rich Beddoe – drums ;Additional musicians * Thomas Duffy – bass guitar *

Johnny K John Karkazis, better known as Johnny K, is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, musician, and songwriter. He owns Groovemaster Recording Studios in Chicago. In addition to the studios, his music complex includes a gymnasium, rehears ...

– bass guitar * Alan Berliant – bass guitar * Graham Czach – bass guitar ;Production *

– producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixing * Matt Dougherty – assistant engineer, digital editing * Bradley Cook – second assistant engineer * Pete Murray – programming *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering * David Wolter – A&R * Ryan Clark – art direction and design

Charts

References

2015 debut albums Saint Asonia albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Johnny K {{2010s-rock-album-stub