Awakened (album)

Last updated

Awakened
Aild awakened-cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 25, 2012 (2012-09-25)
Recorded2012
Genre Melodic metalcore, thrash metal [1]
Length42:46
Label Metal Blade
Producer Bill Stevenson, As I Lay Dying, Jason Livermore
As I Lay Dying chronology
Decas
(2011)
Awakened
(2012)
Shaped by Fire
(2019)
Singles from Awakened
  1. "Cauterize"
    Released: June 25, 2012 [2]
  2. "A Greater Foundation"
    Released: September 11, 2012 [3]

Awakened is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It is the final album released by the band before their hiatus in 2014. [4] The album was released on September 25, 2012, through Metal Blade Records. [5] The album was produced by Bill Stevenson (the drummer of Descendents) and recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado and Lambesis Studios in San Diego, California. On June 22, 2012, the album title, release date, and first single were announced. On June 25, the first single "Cauterize" was released for free download and became available online for purchase the following day. [6] On June 27, a lyric video for "Cauterize." [7] The band also created an event on Facebook inviting fans to participate in a music video shoot for "A Greater Foundation."" [8] Fans were able to pre-order a copy on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour of 2012. The band released clips of the album via SoundCloud prior to the release date, and on September 11, the music video for "A Greater Foundation" was released. [3]

Contents

Background

In February of 2012 As I Lay Dying announced that they were in the process of writing their fifth album, and would be entering the studio in April. [9] In April the band announced that the album would be produced by Bill Stevenson. [10]

In June, the band announced the album would be titled "Awakened," [11] and on June 22 the band premiered a new song, "Cauterize," via Sirius Satellite Radio. [11] The track was made available for streaming for 24 hours the following Sunday at midnight PST, [11] and was briefly available as a free download. [12] The band also shared that "Awakened" would be released on September 25, [6] and that they were seeking "100 athletic men" to serve as extras in the music video for the track "A Greater Foundation." [8] On the 27th, the band posted a lyric video for the track "Cauterize." [7] On the 29th, the band unveiled the album's artwork, which was created by Metastazis with Tiffanie Uldry. [13]

On September 10, the band uploaded a portion of the track "Whispering Silence" to SoundCloud. [14] On the 11th, the band released the track "A Greater Foundation" as the record's first single. [3] The release featured an accompanying music video, and debuted via PureVolume and RCRD LBL. [15] The video was produced by Drew Russ and produced by Robby Starbuck. [16] The video was released On the 14th, the band uploaded a portion of the track "No Lungs to Breathe" via SoundCloud. [17] On the 24th, the band made the entirety of the album available via streaming at AOL Music. [18] [19] In February of 2013, the band released a lyric video, created by Nick Hipa, for the track "No Lungs to Breathe." [20] [21]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 78% [22]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [23]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Exclaim! Positive [24]
Metal Forces 10/10 [25]

Overall reception towards the album was positive. Mark Fisher of Metal Forces gave the album a 10/10. [25] Commercially, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #11, and sold over 28,000 copies in its first week. [26]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Tim Lambesis; all music is composed by As I Lay Dying.

No.TitleLength
1."Cauterize"3:37
2."A Greater Foundation"3:46
3."Resilience"4:07
4."Wasted Words"4:20
5."Whispering Silence"4:30
6."Overcome"4:36
7."No Lungs to Breathe"4:04
8."Defender"4:04
9."Washed Away" (instrumental)1:00
10."My Only Home"4:05
11."Tear Out My Eyes"4:37
Total length:42:46
iTunes/Limited Edition [27]
No.TitleLength
12."Unwound" (B-Side demo)3:58
13."A Greater Foundation" (extended demo version)3:58
Total length:50:42
Japanese Edition [28]
No.TitleLength
12."Nothing Left" (Live Bonus Track) 
13."Sound of Truth" (Live Bonus Track) 
Limited Edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Making of Awakened" 
2."I Never Wanted" (music video) 
3."Parallels" (music video) 
4."Anodyne Sea" (music video) 
5."Behind the scenes of "Anodyne Sea" video shoot" 
6."Electric Eye" (Judas Priest cover, music video) 
7."Paralyzed" (lyric video) 
8."Cauterize" (lyric video) 

Personnel

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.

As I Lay Dying [29]

Additional musicians

Production

Studios

Charts

Chart (2012)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [30] 26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [31] 147
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [32] 122
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [33] 12
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [34] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [35] 98
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [36] 52
UK Albums (OCC) [37] 134
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [38] 19
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [39] 10
US Billboard 200 [40] 11
US Digital Albums (Billboard) [41] 14
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [42] 3
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) [43] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [44] 6
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard) [45] 3

References

  1. 1 2 Heaney, Gregory. Awakened at AllMusic. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  2. "AS I LAY DYING "CAUTERIZE" YOU". Metal Sucks. June 25, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "As I Lay Dying Premiere Brand Song And Video For New Single "A Greater Foundation"". Metal Blade Records. September 11, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  4. "It's Official: Classic AS I LAY DYING Lineup Is Back; 'My Own Grave' Video Released". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. June 7, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  5. "As I Lay Dying "Awakened"". Metal Blade Records. September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "As I Lay Dying Release Free Download Of New Single "Cauterize"". Theprp.com. June 25, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "As I Lay Dying". Indie Vision Music. June 27, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  8. 1 2 "As I Lay Dying seeks '100 athletic men'". Lambgoat. June 25, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  9. "As I Lay Dying prepares new album". Lambgoat. February 21, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  10. "As I Lay Dying names producer for new album". Lambgoat. April 16, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 "As I Lay Dying reveal new album title, street date". Lambgoat. June 22, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  12. "A new As I Lay Dying song is available for free download". Lambgoat. June 25, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  13. "AS I LAY DYING: 'Awakened' Cover Artwork Unveiled". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. June 29, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  14. "As I Lay Dying has unveiled a preview of their new song, "Whispering Silence."". September 10, 2012. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022.
  15. "As I Lay Dying's new song "A Greater Foundation" is now available online via its music video". Lambgoat. September 11, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  16. "AS I LAY DYING: Photos From 'A Greater Foundation' Video Posted Online". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  17. "As I Lay Dying has uploaded a preview of their new song "No Lungs To Breathe."". September 14, 2012. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  18. "As I Lay Dying's new album, Awakened, can currently be streamed in its entirety". Lambgoat. September 24, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  19. "Awakened by As I Lay Dying". Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  20. "As I Lay Dying has uploaded a lyric video for "No Lungs To Breathe."". Lambgoat. February 28, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  21. Childers, Chad (February 28, 2013). "As I Lay Dying Take to the Stars With 'No Lungs to Breathe' Lyric Video". Loudwire. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  22. "Reviews for Awakened by As I Lay Dying – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  23. Lyons, Todd. "As I Lay Dying – Awakened Review". heavymetal.about.com. About.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  24. Zorgdrager, Bradley (September 24, 2012). "As I Lay Dying - Awakened • Metal Reviews • exclaim.ca". exclaim.ca. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  25. 1 2 Fisher, Mark. "AS I LAY DYING – Awakened (2012)". www.metalforcesmagazine.com. Metal Forces Magazine. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  26. "As I Lay Dying Debut On Billboard Top 200 Albums At #11 With 'Awakened'". Metal Blade Records. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  27. "Details Revealed For Deluxe Edition Of As I Lay Dying's New Album "Awakened"". theprp.com. August 10, 2012.
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  38. 6, 2012/131/ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
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  41. "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Digital Albums)".[ dead link ] Billboard.
  42. "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  43. "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  44. "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  45. "As I Lay Dying Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.