''Waking the Fallen'' is the second studio album by American
heavy metal band
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...
, released on August 26, 2003, through
Hopeless Records. It is the band's first full-length album with new lead guitarist
Synyster Gates and bassist
Johnny Christ
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...
.
The album was released as a double 12-inch gray marble vinyl in 2008 in the US. It was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
on July 15, 2009, even though it only sold 3,000 copies on its first week of release. As of August 2014, the album has sold over 693,000 copies in the United States. As of March 17, 2021, the album has been certified Platinum. The song "Eternal Rest" appears on ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
''s "666 Songs You Must Own" and was featured on the soundtrack to the movie ''
Saw IV
''Saw IV'' is a 2007 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and a story by Melton, Dunstan, and Thomas Fenton. It is the fourth installment in the ''Saw'' film series and sequel to ...
'' (2007).
Musical style
This is the first release by the band to feature lead guitarist
Synyster Gates, and the record also features the band's first
guitar solos.
Allmusic review
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 ...
/ref> The record is notable among fans due to M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders (born July 31, 1981), known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. In 2017, Shadows was voted third in th ...
' slightly higher pitch in his voice and high notes he sings on songs like "I Won't See You Tonight" (both parts). The album also leans more towards heavy metal rather than punk rock, with comparisons to melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...
, thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
and power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
.
Reception and legacy
''Waking the Fallen'' was met with highly positive reviews. Robert L. Doerschuk 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 databa ...
wrote "And whether attacking a riff in unison or in harmonized parts, the double-threat guitars of Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance do their duty like search-and-destroy commandos -- in and out fast, leaving devastation in their wake. Especially noteworthy -- and note-heavy -- is the guitar solo that blazes through the last moments of "Second Heartbeat" and the head-spinning single-stroke virtuosity of the Reverand throughout the album."
It received a positive profile in '' Billboard'', with the magazine comparing Avenged Sevenfold to bands like NOFX, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
, and Metallica. In other profiles, the album also received comparisons to the Misfits
Misfits or The Misfits may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift
* ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...
and further comparisons to Iron Maiden. "Chapter Four" was featured in video games such as ''NASCAR Thunder 2004
''NASCAR Thunder 2004'' is a racing simulator by EA Sports, released on September 16, 2003 and available in separate versions for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows. It features the 2002 champion Tony Stewart on the cover with a scowlin ...
'', '' Madden NFL 04'', and '' NHL 04'', which helped the band get recognized and sign a contract with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
. Overall reviews on ''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. U ...
'' were very positive and along with 2016's ''The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' has the highest overall rating of any ''Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...
'' studio albums on Ultimate Guitar.
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
magazine placed ''Waking the Fallen'' on No. 6 spot of their 100 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century list in 2016.
Videography
A live performance video was shot at 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 touri ...
2003 for "Second Heartbeat". A video was made for the lead single "Unholy Confessions
"Unholy Confessions" is a song by Avenged Sevenfold, released as the lead single from their second album, ''Waking the Fallen''. It is the band's first official single after their 2001 debut EP release '' Warmness on the Soul'', and was the first ...
" on March 6, 2004, using live footage set to the studio track. It featured the fans before and during an Avenged Sevenfold show at the Henry Fonda Theater
The Fonda Theatre (formerly Music Box Theatre, Guild Theatre, Fox Theatre, and Pix Theatre) is a concert venue located on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, the theater has hosted li ...
. According to vocalist M. Shadows, it was requested by their new label, Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, in order to publicize the band before their 2005 album ''City of Evil
''City of Evil'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on June 6, 2005, through Warner Bros. Records. Co-produced by Andrew Murdock, ''City of Evil'' contains a more traditional heavy metal and ha ...
''.
This video was the second attempt at a video for the track. The previous attempt was a concept video, filmed three months before. The band was not happy with the final product, however, and opted to re-shoot the video, this time as a live performance. The new video went into rotation on MTV2's '' Headbangers Ball''.
Anniversary
In March 2014, vocalist M. Shadows revealed in an interview with Loudwire that the band had plans in the works to put something out for the overdue 10th anniversary of ''Waking the Fallen:''
''Waking the Fallen: Resurrected'' was released August 25, 2014.
Track listing
All songs credited to Avenged Sevenfold.
*"Desecrate Through Reverence" is mistakenly written as "Desecrate Through Reverance" in the reissue's booklet.
*A slightly longer version of the live versions of "Eternal Rest" was released on the Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 5 sampler in 2004. The ''Resurrected'' version is mistakenly said to be from Pomona.
*The alternate version of "Second Heartbeat", which is the same as the demo version, can also be found on Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 4, released in 2002.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
Avenged Sevenfold
* M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders (born July 31, 1981), known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. In 2017, Shadows was voted third in th ...
– lead vocals
* Zacky Vengeance
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...
– guitars, backing vocals
* The Rev
James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009), also known by his stage name the Rev (shortened version of ''the Reverend Tholomew Plague''), was an American musician, best known as a member of the heavy metal band Avenged Seven ...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals
* Synyster Gates – guitars, piano, backing vocals
* Johnny Christ
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
Production
* Andrew Murdock
Andrew Murdock (born January 24, 1962), also known as Mudrock, is an American record producer specializing in rock and metal genres. He is best known for producing Godsmack's ''Godsmack'' and '' Awake'' albums.
More recently, Murdock has prod ...
– producer, mixing engineer
A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
* Fred Archambault – co-producer
* Ai Fujisaki – assistant engineer
* Tom Baker – mastering engineer
* Mike Fasano, Bruce Jacoby, Al Pahanish – drum tech
* Stephen Ferrara – guitar tech
* Scott Gilman – orchestral arrangements and performance
Charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waking The Fallen
Avenged Sevenfold albums
2003 albums
Hopeless Records albums