Waking the Fallen is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 26, 2003, by Hopeless Records.
The album was released as 2x12", LP, Repress, 33 ⅓ RPM, Grey Marble on 2008 in US.[1] The album was certified gold on July 15, 2009, even though it only sold 3,000 copies on its first week of release. As of August 2014, it has sold over 693,000 copies in the United States.[2] The song "Eternal Rest" appears on Kerrang's "666 Songs You Must Own".
More clean vocals are featured on the album than their debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. The only song on the record that does not contain screaming, however, is "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1)" while Sounding the Seventh Trumpet had three songs that were all clean vocals, "To End the Rapture", "Streets" and "Warmness on the Soul".
As with Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, most of the songs from this album are not usually performed live, although, "Unholy Confessions," "Chapter Four," "Eternal Rest," and "Second Heartbeat" have always been a staple to their set since the release of Waking the Fallen. The song "Eternal Rest" was featured on the Soundtrack to the
Musical style[edit]
The record continues the metalcore sound the band had used on their previous album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, but features noticeably more clean vocals. Being the first release by the band to feature lead guitarist Synyster Gates, the record also features some guitar solos.[3][4] The record is notable among fans due to M. Shadows' 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 metalrather than punk rock.[5]
Reception[edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [3] |
| Blender | [6] |
| Kerrang | [citation needed] |
| Punk News | [citation needed] |
| Ultimate Guitar |   |
Waking the Fallen was highly acclaimed. It received a positive profile in Billboard, with the magazine comparing Avenged Sevenfold to bands like NOFX, Iron Maiden, andMetallica.[7] In other profiles, the album also received comparisons to the Misfits and further comparisons to Iron Maiden.[8] "Chapter Four" was featured in video games such as NASCAR Thunder 2004, Madden NFL 04, and NHL 04, which helped the band get recognized and sign a contract with Warner Bros. Records. Overall reviews onUltimate Guitar were very positive and it holds the highest overall rating of any Avenged Sevenfold studio album on Ultimate Guitar.
Videography[edit]
A live performance video was shot at Warped Tour 2003 for the first single from Waking the Fallen, "Second Heartbeat". A video was made for the second single "Unholy Confessions" on March 6, 2004, using live footage set to the studio track. It featured the fans before and during an Avenged Sevenfold concert. According to vocalist M. Shadows, it was requested by their new label, Warner Bros. Records, in order to publicize the band before their 2005 album City of Evil.
This video was the second attempt at a video for the track. The previous attempt was a concept video created the previous fall (2003). 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.[9]
There is a live video released for their song Chapter Four, which is considered the fourth single from the album.
Anniversary[edit]
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:[10]
Waking the Fallen: Resurrected was released August 25, 2014.[11]
Track Listing[edit]
All songs written by Avenged Sevenfold, unless otherwise noted.[12]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Waking the Fallen" | Avenged Sevenfold, Scott Gilman[12] | 1:42 | |
| 2. | "Unholy Confessions" | M. Shadows | 4:43 | |
| 3. | "Chapter Four" | Rev | 5:42 | |
| 4. | "Remenissions" | Shadows/Rev | 6:06 | |
| 5. | "Desecrate Through Reverence" | Rev | 5:38 | |
| 6. | "Eternal Rest" | Rev/Shadows | 5:12 | |
| 7. | "Second Heartbeat" | Shadows/Rev | 7:01 | |
| 8. | "Radiant Eclipse" | Rev/Gates | 6:09 | |
| 9. | "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 1)" | Gates | 9:00 | |
| 10. | "I Won't See You Tonight (Part 2)" | Gates/Shadows/Vengeance | 4:44 | |
| 11. | "Clairvoyant Disease" | Rev | 5:00 | |
| 12. | "And All Things Will End" | Shadows/Vengeance | 7:40 | |
Total length:
| 68:31 | |||
| [show]iTunes Deluxe Version Bonus Tracks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [show]Waking the Fallen: Resurrected | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- ”Desecrate Through Reverence” is mistakenly written as ”Desecrate Through Reverance” in the Reissue's booklet.
Personnel[edit]
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[12]
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Charts[edit]
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Independent Albums[13] | 12 |
| US Top Heatseekers Albums[13] | 15 |
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] | 34 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] | 35 |
| German Albums (Official Top 100)[16] | 48 |
| US Billboard 200[17] | 10 |
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