Invade | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 31, 2010 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:59 | |||
Label | Victory | |||
Producer |
| |||
Within the Ruins chronology | ||||
|
Invade is the second studio album by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. It is the first release to feature Tim Goergen on vocals, and Jay Van Schelt on guitars. The album sold 2,000 copies in its first week [1] and 650 in its second. [2]
Invade is the first Within the Ruins album to feature a song from the "Ataxia" instrumental series. Newer installments of the song would appear on the band's subsequent studio albums ever since. Speaking on "Ataxia" in a 2013 interview with music news site MindEqualsBlown, guitarist Joe Cocchi stated:
"It was one of the first demos that I had. As soon as I started writing it, I knew it wasn't going to be a song that we would necessarily perform live with [vocalist] Tim [Goergen] or add vocals to. It's just a totally different vibe and a different feel. It's going to be instrumental and a little more over the top and all over the place, which makes it really hard to write vocals to and to play the thing live with me being the only guitar player right now." [3]
Vocalist Tim Goergen and guitarist Joe Cocchi interviewed with metal blog MetalSucks on August 11, 2010, to discuss the new album. Goergen noted the album was "heavier" sounding, with more "intense" lyrical themes, and more "structured" than Creature . Overall, he stated that Invade had a "crisper, bigger production".
Speaking on the lyrics, Goergen stated:
"I tried to write from more of a personal perspective. I was homeless for a while, and I had some drinking issues, so I put my personal experiences in there. I also tried to put in a positive tone so people who are listening can understand and maybe the songs can help them out." [4]
Goergen noted that only two of the songs on the album were written before he and Van Schelt joined the band. On the writing process for the album, Goergen noted:
"Normally we start with a riff from Joe, and then we add drums sometimes with a machine, then I start writing lyrics, then we all start jamming on the song. It took us about one year to make so we could make sure it sounded the way we wanted it to sound. Actually, we're already writing a new record (laughs)." [4]
On July 23, 2010, the band posted the song "Invade" to their Myspace. [5] The song "Versus" was premiered at metal blog MetalSucks on August 19, 2010. [6]
Three music videos were released in support of the album – one live, and two studio. A live video for the song "Red Flagged" was released on December 14, 2010. [7] On April 25, 2011, a studio music video was released for the song "Versus". [8]
Providing background on the video, which was filmed on January 29, 2011, the band stated:
"The performance aspect of the video will be shot at the Waterfront Tavern in Holyoke MA, Saturday, January 29th. Interlaced with the live footage will be a storyline that follows a young man struggling to cope with the reality that we live in and questioning his religious upbringing. After numerous tragedies occur in his life, the young man chooses to follow his own path forsaking all organized religion and choosing to think for himself rather than fall victim to the fear mongering that is involved in all organized religion." [9]
A second studio video, this for the song "Invade", was published to the band's YouTube channel on October 2, 2011. [10]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
HeavyBlogIsHeavy | 3/5 [11] |
Sputnikmusic | 3.0/5 [12] |
Invade was ranked 39th in Metal Injection's 2010 end-of-year "Best Albums of 2010" reader poll. The album received 13 votes, which tied it with Carnifex's Hell Chose Me , Cynic's Re-Traced , and others. [13]
HeavyBlogIsHeavy reviewer Jimmy Rowe gave the album 3/5, praising the "epic leads, tech riffs, and solos" on songs like "Ataxia" and "Invade". Though favoring the album's technicality, he believed they relied too heavily on deathcore tropes. He writes:
"There are some rather brilliant moments throughout Invade, but in the grand scheme of things, they seem to be pretty minuscule when breakdowns are thrown in without a second's thought. These guys can definitely bring the riffs and shred, and while no doubt talented, they don't use this to their full advantage. Don't hide behind the veil of prog when you throw in a couple of new riffs and leads between breakdowns. I give the band a hard time, but they are a cut above the average and I want to see them succeed. A better grip on songwriting would be beneficial. Invade isn't bad at all. In fact, it's actually a solid listen, but these guys are capable of more than 'solid'." [11]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Designing Oblivion" (instrumental) | 0:34 |
2. | "Versus" | 3:54 |
3. | "Behold the Harlot" | 3:37 |
4. | "Red Flagged" | 3:58 |
5. | "Invade" | 3:58 |
6. | "Ataxia" (instrumental) | 3:46 |
7. | "Cross Buster" | 3:36 |
8. | "Feast or Famine" | 3:50 |
9. | "Oath" (featuring Nate Johnson of Fit for an Autopsy) | 3:49 |
10. | "The Carouser" | 3:33 |
11. | "Roads" (instrumental) | 6:24 |
Total length: | 40:59 |
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [14] | 46 |
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [15] | 9 |
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, including speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, and the hard rock/glam metal scene of the 1980s. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of guitarists Jon Donais and Matt Bachand, bassist Paul Romanko, lead vocalist Brian Fair and drummer Jason Bittner.
Believer is an American technical thrash metal band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, that plays a hybrid of thrash and progressive metal. Believer is known for its innovative use of symphonic elements in thrash metal, featuring some of the earliest examples of symphonic metal. Their lyrics deal with topics of philosophy, theology and social issues.
"Blind" is a song by American nu metal band Korn for their self-titled debut album. It was released as the album's first single in August 1994.
Progressive metalcore is a fusion of progressive metal and metalcore characterized by highly technical lead guitar, "atmospheric" elements, and complex instrumentation. Some notable practitioners take influence from djent.
Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after the Whitechapel district in East London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Brandon Zackey. Founded in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage, the band has released eight studio albums and fourteen music videos, and it's currently signed to Metal Blade Records. Whitechapel's 2010 album A New Era of Corruption, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's self-titled fourth album was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week. In 2014 the band released their fifth full-length album, Our Endless War to generally positive reviews. The album sold roughly 16,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. They released their sixth full-length album Mark of the Blade in 2016 to greater critical acclaim, selling roughly 8,000 copies in the first week of its release. In 2019, Whitechapel released their seventh album, The Valley, which debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 also to critical acclaim. Their newest album, Kin, was released on October 29, 2021.
Re-Traced is an EP by progressive metal band Cynic. It is composed of four re-interpretations of songs from their album Traced in Air, as well as one new song. It was released through Season of Mist on May 17.
Nintendocore is a broadly defined style of music that most commonly fuses chiptune with various hardcore punk and/or heavy metal subgenres, most often metalcore and post-hardcore. The genre is sometimes considered a direct subgenre of post-hardcore and a fusion genre between metalcore and chiptune. The genre originated in the early 2000s and peaked around the late 2000s with bands like Horse the Band, Karate High School and Sky Eats Airplane pioneering the genre.
Djent is a subgenre of progressive metal, termed for an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. While sources such as The Guardian and Guitar World describe djent as a genre, some notable musicians including Randy Blythe and Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) say it is not.
Opus Eponymous is the debut studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on 18 October 2010, on the independent record label Rise Above. It was released in North America on 18 January 2011, and in Japan on 6 April 2011. The album was recorded in the band's hometown and produced by Gene Walker. Opus Eponymous was nominated for a Grammis Award. The Japanese release contains an additional bonus track: a cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun".
Tesseract are a British progressive metal band from Milton Keynes. The band, formed in 2003, consists of Daniel Tompkins, Alec "Acle" Kahney, James Monteith, Amos Williams and Jay Postones. The band is currently signed to Kscope. They are credited as one of the bands to pioneer the djent movement in progressive metal. As of 2023, Tesseract have released five studio albums: One, Altered State, Polaris, Sonder and War of Being, as well as two live albums, Odyssey/Scala and Portals, and the extended plays Concealing Fate, Perspective, Errai and Regrowth.
Within the Ruins is an American metalcore band formed in Westfield, Massachusetts in 2003. The group currently consists of guitarist Joe Cocchi, drummer Kevin McGuill, bassist Paolo Galang, and vocalist Steve Tinnon. They are currently signed to eOne Music and Good Fight Music. The band has released six studio albums and three EPs.
Creature is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. It was released on February 17, 2009, through Victory Records. It is their only studio album to feature Jon Grande on vocals. Additionally, it is their only studio album to feature Kyle Marcoux on guitar, and also Madison Roseberry on bass. The album features a distinctly different sound than the established sound the band would reveal on their sophomore release Invade.
Elite is the third studio album by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. The album sold 3,750 copies in its first week and saw Within the Ruins' first appearance on the Billboard 200, peaking at the 133 spot. It is their first release for eOne Music and Good Fight Music following their departure from Victory Records in 2012. It is also their first release featuring only one guitarist, following the departure of Jay Van Schelt in 2012. The track list for the album was revealed on February 14, 2013.
Omen is the third EP by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. It was released on May 24, 2011 through Victory Records. It features two new songs and two covers. Omen would be the band's last release featuring Mike Beaujean on bass and Jay Van Schelt on guitar. Additionally, it would be the last release to feature two guitarists, with Cocchi taking over sole guitar duties in the third studio album Elite. It would also be the band's last release for Victory Records, as they would go on to sign with eOne Music and Good Fight Music in November 2012.
Rings of Saturn is an American deathcore band from the Bay Area, California. The band was formed in 2009 and was originally just a studio project. However, after gaining a wide popularity and signing to Unique Leader Records, the band formed a full line-up and became a full-time touring band. Rings of Saturn's music features a highly technical style, heavily influenced by themes of alien life and outer space. They have released six full-length albums, with their third, Lugal Ki En, released in 2014 and peaking at 126 on the American Billboard 200 chart while their fourth, Ultu Ulla was released in 2017 and peaked at 76 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest peak to date. Gidim was released in October 2019.
Phenomena is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. It was released on July 22, 2014. The track list for the album was revealed on June 10, 2014, along with the release of the first single "Gods Amongst Men". The album sold 4,067 copies in the United States in its first week and debuted at No. 72 on the Billboard 200.
Halfway Human is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. It was released on March 3, 2017. It is Within the Ruins' first studio album to feature bassist Paolo Galang, who joined in 2015. The album was praised by critics for the incorporation of new elements such as clean vocals on the part of Paolo and Tim Goergen in addition to screaming/death growls. It is the final album featuring long-time vocalist Tim Goergen, who would leave the band in February 2018 citing ongoing health issues. The album debuted at number 191 on the Billboard 200, selling 4,025 copies in its first week.
Firepower is the eighteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. Released in 2018, it was the band's first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. The album sold around 49,000 copies in the United States within its first week of release, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. The album also reached No. 5 in the UK, making it their first top-ten album in the UK since British Steel. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike", "Spectre" and "No Surrender". A lyric video was made for "Never the Heroes". The record also produced three singles.
Black Heart is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band Within the Ruins. It was released on November 27, 2020. It is Within the Ruins' first studio album to feature vocalist Steve Tinnon, who joined in 2018, replacing longtime member Tim Goergen, who left due to ongoing health issues. Like their previous album Halfway Human, Black Heart was praised by critics for the incorporation of new elements such as clean vocals in addition to screaming/death growls. The album sold 850 units its first week, debuting at #186 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Sales chart.