Awake? is the ninth studio album by American metalcore band Zao. It was released on May 5, 2009, on Ferret Records. It contains nine new tracks and a re-recording of the track "Romance of the Southern Spirit", which originally appeared on the Japanese version of The Funeral of God. Only 8,000 physical copies of the album were made. Each copy is numbered and has six interchangeable covers. The album sold approximately 2,000 copies in its first week.[6] The single "Entropica" debuted in April 2009 prior to the album's release.[7]
| Awake? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 5, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Metalcore | |||
| Length | 42:25 | |||
| Label | Ferret | |||
| Producer | Tim Lambesis, Daniel Castleman, Scott Mellinger | |||
| Zao studio album chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |   [1] |
| Metal Storm | 6/10[2] |
| PopMatters |   [3] |
| Thrash Hits | [4] |
| Under the Gun Review | 7/10[5] |
Writing and recording
editThe album was recorded in California and Pennsylvania, with the vocals, bass, and guitars being recorded in the latter and the drums in the former.[8] While the majority of the recording was done by Dave Hidek in Pennsylvania, Jeff Gretz flew out to California to record drums with Tim Lambesis and Daniel Castleman, with the latter having more involvement in the process.[8] Gretz finished the album with three days left scheduled for recording, which led to his collaboration with Austrian Death Machine on their Double Brutal album.[8]
The album was recorded using Pro Tools rather than Analog recording like they had done with The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here.[9]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Daniel Weyandt, except where noted; all music is composed by Scott Mellinger, except where noted
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "1,000,000 Outstretched Arms of Nothing" | 3:39 | ||
| 2. | "Entropica" | 3:37 | ||
| 3. | "The Eyes Behind the Throne" | 3:36 | ||
| 4. | "Human Cattle Masses Marching Forward" | 3:39 | ||
| 5. | "Romance of the Southern Spirit" | Russ Cogdell | 4:51 | |
| 6. | "What Will You Find?" | 3:44 | ||
| 7. | "Awake?" | 3:41 | ||
| 8. | "Quiet Passenger Pt. 1" | 4:00 | ||
| 9. | "Reveal" | Gabe Felice | 4:53 | |
| 10. | "Quiet Passenger Pt. 2/The World Caved In" | 6:53 |
Credits
edit- Zao
- Dan Weyandt - vocals
- Scott Mellinger - guitar, clean vocals, engineer
- Martin Lunn - bass, vocals
- Jeff Gretz - drums
- Production
- Tim Lambesis - production
- Daniel Castleman - engineer, mixing, producer
- Dave Hidek - engineer
- Alan Douches - mastering
- Russ Cogdell - lyrical writing on "Romance of the Southern Spirit"
- Cover Art
- Gabe Felice - Cover art, lyrical writing on "Reveal"
- Ryan Clark - layout
- Don Clark - layout
References
edit- ^ Keel, Fred (June 4, 2009). "Zao, "Awake?" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
- ^ itsjoeymoose (May 19, 2009). "Zao - Awake? review". Metal Storm. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Thrash Hits review
- ^ Shotwell, James (May 13, 2009). "Zao - Awake?". Under the Gun Review. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ "Zao: 'Awake?' First Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. May 13, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ "ZAO DEBUT SOMG FROM NEW ALBUM AWAKE?". Alternative Press. April 13, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c Gretz, Jeff (May 6, 2020). "Discuss Metal Episode 012: Jeff Gretz of Zao". Discography Discussion Podcast. Interviewed by Daniel Terry. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ Debenedictis, Matt (May 5, 2009). "ZAO's Scott Mellinger Discuss 'Awake?'". Noisecreep. Retrieved March 7, 2021.