''The Constant'' is the fourth studio album by American
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 ...
band
Story of the Year. It was released on February 16, 2010, through
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
and, like the band's previous record, was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette who has also produced albums by
Alter Bridge,
Chevelle,
Escape the Fate,
blessthefall,
Fact
A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...
, and
A Change of Pace. This was the last studio album to feature bassist Adam Russell who left the band in 2014. Russell would rejoin the band in 2018.
Background and recording
In May 2009, guitarist Ryan Phillips revealed that the band were in the writing process for their next album.
''The Constant'' was recorded at Studio in
Bavon, Virginia
Bavon is an unincorporated community in Mathews County, Virginia, United States. Bavon is located on Virginia Route 14
State Route 14 (SR 14) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 360 ...
, with producer
Michael Baskette and engineer Dave Holdredge. Jef Mall did digital editing, while Casey White acted as studio assistant. Baskette and Holdredge mixed the recordings, which were then mastered by
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 ...
at Sterling Sound.
[
]
Composition
Frontman Dan Marsala explained that the album title symbolizes the band's work ethic and commitment to both themselves and their fans. "Music is the constant thing in life for us," he said. "When I go to bed I think about music and when I wake up it's the first thing on my mind. The Constant can mean anything; hopefully our band will go on forever and we want music to remain a constant thing in our lives no matter what."
Release
In November and December 2009, the band went on a US tour with the Devil Wears Prada, All That Remains and Haste the Day. "To the Burial" was posted on the band's Myspace profile on December 7, 2009. On December 10, Russell and Phillips premiered "I'm Alive" from the album on the Point radio station. The band released "I'm Alive" as a single on January 1, 2010. On January 6, 2010, ''The Constant'' was announced for release the following month; alongside this, its artwork and track listing were posted online. "I'm Alive" was released to alternative radio on February 2. ''The Constant'' was made available for streaming on Myspace on February 10, 2010, before it was released on February 16, 2010 through Epitaph Records. In was promoted with a tour of the Southern US states in March and April 2010; the trek included an appearance at the Extreme Thing festival.
On August 9, 2010, the band announced that the next single off the record will be "The Dream Is Over". In late September and early October 2011, the band toured Australia as part of the Soundwave Counter-Revolution festival.
Reception
The album debuted at #42 on the ''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 ...
'' 200 charts with sales of 14,115.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Dan Marsala and Adam Russell, all music composed by Story of the Year.
Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
Story of the Year
* Dan Marsala – lead vocals
* Ryan Phillips - guitar
* Philip Sneed – guitar, vocals, keys, synthesizers
* Adam Russell – bass
* Josh Wills – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
* Dave Holdredge – strings, string arrangements
* Kalei Sneed – children's choir (track 1)
* Sydney Baskette – children's choir (track 1)
* Alexis Baskette – children's choir (track 1)
* The Bookworms – gang vocals
Production and design
* Michael "Elvis" Baskette – producer, mixing
* Dave Holdredge – mixing, engineer
* Jef Mall – digital editing
* Casey White – studio assistant
* 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
* Nick Pirtchard – art, design, cover photo
* Tim Harman – band photo
* Josh Wills – subway photo
Charts
References
External links
''The Constant''
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)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constant, The
2010 albums
Story of the Year albums
Epitaph Records albums
Albums produced by Michael Baskette