Welcome to the Masquerade | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 8, 2009 | |||
Studio |
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Length | 46:14 | |||
Label | Tooth & Nail | |||
Producer | ||||
Thousand Foot Krutch chronology | ||||
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Singles from Welcome to the Masquerade | ||||
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Fan Edition | ||||
Welcome to the Masquerade is the fifth studio album by Canadian Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch. Released on September 8,2009 by Tooth &Nail Records,the album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 35 and the Christian Album charts at No. 2. [1] Before its release,band frontman Trevor McNevan stated that "the new record is definitely more aggressive. In some areas,it's the heaviest we've ever been." [2]
"The inspiration behind the album comes from people hiding things in their life," McNevan has stated,"Masquerading through life,hiding their frustrations."
"Each song is kind of dealing with those different situations. Some of it is just saying,'I've been through this,and this is how I found hope in this situation."
"A lot of our peers are getting a little poppier,and I understand that and appreciate it," stated McNevan. "I just felt like for us,it was the right time to step in the other direction. It’s big crunchy rock and roll." [3]
“Between the economy and everything else,this is as good a time as has ever been to drop our stereotypes —all the stuff that separates us —and get down to the black and white of loving people as God intended it to be,”McNevan suggests. [4]
Welcome to the "Masquerade features multiple performers. Aaron Sprinkle returned as the band's producer,from producing the band's previous record Phenomenon ,alongside Trevor McNevan. Matt Carter of Emery assisted with McNevan early in 2009. Phil X,who had recorded guitars for the two previous Thousand Foot Krutch records,did not return for this album. However,Randy Torres recorded "some sweet licks" on the record according to a Tooth &Nail podcast. Guitar duties were also shared by McNevan,Sprinkle and a third guest Pete Stewart,who recorded the guitar solo near the end of the song "Fire it Up". Stewart surprisingly entered the studio with TFK despite the fact that he no longer considers himself a Christian. The band additionally hired Randy Staub to mix "Welcome to the Masquerade";Staub is famous for mixing Metallica's record The Black Album .
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [5] |
Alternative Addiction | [6] |
Jesus Freak Hideout | [7] |
Patrol Magazine | (4.7/10) [8] |
"Fire It Up" has already been praised as a hit with a similar potential to "Rawkfist" and "Move" with Tyler Hess of ChristianMusicZine.com describing it as "vintage Thousand Foot Krutch,with obvious arena play potential". [4]
C.E. Moore of TheChristianManifesto.com described the song "as everything you've come to love about the band. It's a raucous number that will get your heart pumping,your feet moving,and your head banging. 'Fire It Up' fires on all cylinders." [4]
Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout praised the album on his review "TFK dons a more produced approach to hard rock this time around while at the same time maintaining the unrestrained and raucous vibe the band is known for. And this being the fifth album from the Canadian band,there's a progression here that many old and new fans have waited to hear," he stated. [9]
Allmusic.com also had high praise for the album "the band's full-scale audio assault makes it difficult to imagine that they could ever top the crystal-clear production and deliberate crunch of Masquerade. Each track is propelled by muscular riffs,fighting its way into permanent memory alongside the greatest mainstream rock bands of the decade," their review states. [10]
"Fire It Up" has peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Rock charts while "Bring Me to Life" has peaked at number No. 2 on Christian Rock radio. [11]
"Forward Motion" has reached No. 48 on the Billboard Christian Songs charts. [11]
"Bring Me To Life" was available for free download during June 2009 from the band's site if an email address was provided.
Both "Fire It Up" and "Bring Me To Life" were added to the band's live set list before the album was released. "Bring Me To Life" was first played live at Ignite Alaska in Fairbanks,Alaska,where the band performed the song as their encore. McNevan said that it was the first time the band had played a song live that had not already been released on an album. They also played "Fire It Up" at Wonder Jam in June 2009.
The band announced a Fall 2009 tour to support Welcome to The Masquerade,sharing the stage with Jars of Clay,AA Talks,B.Reith,FM Static and This Beautiful Republic.
The album was made for pre-order on July 24,2009,and was released on September 8,2009 without delay. [12]
The trailer for the album was released on August 3. It featured a 45-second clip of the song "Welcome to the Masquerade". [13] [14]
"Fire It Up" is featured in NHL 10 and MX vs. ATV Reflex video game. It is also featured in the G.I. Joe:The Rise of Cobra trailer. [15]
"Fire It Up" has also been released for download on the Rock Band music store.
On September 3,2009,on the Tooth and Nail podcast,McNevan confirmed that a music video was in pre-production for "Fire It Up".
"Scream" was used as the introduction music for Harrison Ford at the 2009 Scream Awards.
"Invitation/Welcome to the Masquerade" was used for the 2010 Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Playoff video played before each game at Joe Louis Arena. [16] [ citation needed ] It was also the music video for 2009's video game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2:Fusion.[ citation needed ]
"Fire It Up" is the theme tune of the Backdraft monster truck,driven by Jeremy Slifko. [17]
A fan edition of Welcome to the Masquerade came out on October 11,2011.[ citation needed ] It contained three new tracks,including "Shook","Take it Out on Me" and "Anyone Else".[ citation needed ]
All tracks are written by Steve Augustine, Joel Bruyere & Trevor McNevan
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The Invitation (Intro)" | 0:59 |
2. | "Welcome to the Masquerade" | 3:41 |
3. | "Fire It Up" | 3:07 |
4. | "Bring Me to Life" | 3:36 |
5. | "E for Extinction" | 3:51 |
6. | "Watching Over Me" | 4:18 |
7. | "The Part That Hurts the Most (Is Me)" | 3:59 |
8. | "Scream" | 3:26 |
9. | "Look Away" | 4:01 |
10. | "Forward Motion" | 3:54 |
11. | "Outta Control" | 3:27 |
12. | "Smack Down" | 3:21 |
13. | "Already Home" | 4:30 |
Total length: | 46:14 |
All tracks are written by Steve Augustine, Joel Bruyere & Trevor McNevan
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "Shook" | 3:25 |
15. | "Take It Out on Me" | 3:17 |
16. | "Anyone Else" | 3:35 |
Total length: | 56:32 |
Year | Chart | Peak position |
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2009 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 35 [1] |
2009 | U.S. Billboard Top Alternative Albums | 8 [1] |
2009 | U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums | 13 [1] |
2009 | U.S. Billboard Top Christian Albums | 2 [1] |
2009 | U.S. Billboard Top Digital Albums | 14 [1] |
In 2010, the album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards. [24]
Thousand Foot Krutch
Production
Artwork
Hawk Nelson was a Canadian Christian pop-punk band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums. Bassist/backing vocalist Daniel Biro was the band's only founding member to remain throughout their entire history.
Thousand Foot Krutch is a Canadian Christian hard rock band formed in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1995. The band has released ten studio albums, two live albums, and three remix albums. The core members consist of founding member Trevor McNevan, Steve Augustine (drums), and Joel Bruyere.
Set It Off is the first studio album released by Canadian Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch. The album features a fusion of heavy nu metal and softer rap rock songs, mixed with some pop punk influence. Some of the songs were from their independent album, That's What People Do. It was originally released on April 14, 2000. A remastered version of the disc, including six extra tracks, was issued on September 7, 2004. This is the last album to feature guitarist Dave Smith, who left the band in 2002 and the only album to feature drummer Geoff Laforet, who left the band in 2001.
FM Static was a Canadian Christian pop punk duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band was formed in 2003 as a side project for Thousand Foot Krutch. The band consisted of Trevor McNevan and Steve Augustine. The original lineup included John Bunner on guitar and Justin Smith on bass. The band released four studio albums, most recently My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go! (2011).
The Art of Breaking is the third studio album by Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch that was released by Tooth & Nail Records in July 2005. The single Move received moderate mainstream success, reaching No. 16 on Billboard's mainstream rock charts in early 2006. The album has three singles: "Move", "Absolute" and "Breathe You In". Of these, only "Move" received a music video. The band has said that the girl on the album's cover is the girl in the video for "Move", as shown in a picture on their MySpace.
Trevor McNevan is a Canadian singer, rapper, and guitarist. Best known as the frontman of Christian hard rock band Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK), he also leads side projects FM Static and I Am the Storm.
Phenomenon is the second studio album by Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch, and their first project on Tooth & Nail Records. The album was released on September 30, 2003. It displays a different style than the band's previous album, with less rapping and instead, a fusion of modern rock and nu metal.
The Flame in All Of Us is the fourth studio album by Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch; the album was released on September 18, 2007 through Tooth & Nail Records. It entered the charts at No. 58 on the Billboard 200. The band recorded the album with producer Ken Andrews in Los Angeles in spring 2007. The CD is a rendition of life's most pressing questions asked by every single person to walk the earth. A special edition of The Flame In All of Us was released simultaneously, with a DVD detailing the making of the record. This was the first time the band has let their fans in on the behind the scenes of their recording.
The following is the discography of Thousand Foot Krutch, a Canadian Christian rock band. The band has released ten studio albums to date, four of which were released through Tooth & Nail Records, with whom the band was signed to from 2002 to 2011. When originally formed, the band created a mix of nu metal and rapcore, but in recent years has begun to create a mix of hard rock and alternative rock.
"Bring Me to Life" is a song by the rock band Thousand Foot Krutch on their album Welcome to the Masquerade. It was released as a single on April 22, 2009. Thousand Foot Krutch were part of around 100 bands participated in Taco Bell's "Feed the Beat" competition, where they competed for a chance to record a single and have Taco Bell produce it and gain valuable marketing support for that single.
"Fire It Up" is the third single released by the Canadian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch from their fifth studio album Welcome to the Masquerade. It charted at No. 18 on active rock charts, No. 35 on the Billboard rock charts and No. 5 on Christianrock.net. The song is used in numerous promotions by sports teams, race drivers and in movies
"Forward Motion" is the second single released in 2009 by the Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch from their album Welcome to the Masquerade.
The Letter Black, formerly known as Breaking the Silence, is an American Christian rock band that was formed in 2006 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The band consists of lead vocalist Sarah Anthony; her husband, lead guitarist and vocalist Mark Anthony; bassist Matt Beal and drummer William Fowler and rhythm guitarist Brandon Jordan.
"Already Home" is the fourth single released by the Canadian Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch from their fifth Studio Album Welcome to the Masquerade. Carrie Underwood stated that she is a fan of the band and especially "Fire It Up" and "Already Home".
Live at the Masquerade is a live CD/DVD combination released by Thousand Foot Krutch. The CD/DVD includes live recordings of many of their songs such as "Puppet", "What Do We Know", "Absolute", "Rawkfist", and several songs of their previous album Welcome to the Masquerade. It is their first live project, and their first Live CD/DVD, Recorded by TFK Live at Rexall Place, which is now Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta, in front of an excess of 20,000 people. The guitar was played by American musical artist Ty Dietzler.
The End Is Where We Begin is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch. It was released in the United States on April 17, 2012 and in Canada on May 8, 2012. Vocalist Trevor McNevan has stated "the record is some of the heaviest stuff we've done and some of the lightest". In 2023, the band announced their return from hiatus and their first new project since 2017, which was set to be a newly re-recorded version of the album entitled "The End Is Where We Begin: Reignited" while collaborating with several of their musical peers. The re-recorded album was released on July 26, 2024.
Nine Lashes is an American Christian rock band from Birmingham, Alabama formed in 2006. They independently released their first album, Escape, in 2009 before Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch brought them to the attention of Tooth & Nail Records. Upon signing to the label, the band recorded their second album World We View and released it on February 14, 2012. The album sold well, making several Billboard charts. The band released their third album, From Water to War on January 21, 2014. After a change in direction, the band released their fourth album, the electronica and Christian rock styled Ascend on March 11, 2016.
Metamorphosiz: The End Remixes Vol. 1 is the first remix album by the Canadian rock and nu-metal Christian band Thousand Foot Krutch expected to be released in 2013, but on November 27, was confirmed the real release date. The album was released to iTunes on December 4, and contains remixed versions of the songs recorded in their The End Is Where We Begin album, besides the songs remixed on the TFK Remix EP.
Oxygen: Inhale is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch. It was released on August 26, 2014 in the United States.
Exhale is the eighth studio album by Thousand Foot Krutch. The Fuel Music released the album on June 17, 2016. The album debuted at number 34 on the US Billboard 200, selling 14,000 copies.