In the Wake of Determination

Story of the Year released their debut album Page Avenue in September 2003 through major label Maverick Records. The album, which was produced by John Feldmann,[1] received substantial airplay at radio and video outlets.[2] By April 2004, the album was certified gold in the US.[3] Vocalist Dan Marsala said the success of the album "started to get to all of us ... [We] got lumped in with all of these new bands ... that aren't really that good".[4] Marsala became critical of Feldmann, stating that Feldmann "originally changed our sound. All of his records have the same sort of sound".[4]

In July 2004, MTV reported that the group would start recording their next album in January 2005.[5] In August, Marsala said the group were working on new material.[6] After the touring cycle for Page Avenue concluded in late 2004, the group immediately began writing for their second album. Most of the writing sessions took place at guitarist Ryan Phillips' house, which also acted as a practice area.[7] The writing sessions consisted of the group jamming eight hours a day for five days a week. Demos were recorded with Mbox and drum machine software.[8]

Opting not to work with Feldmann again, the group brought in Steve Evetts to produce.[4] Marsala said one of the reasons they chose Evetts was due to him producing some of Marsala's favorite albums.[7] Marsala added that Evetts let the group have free rein in regards to doing whatever they wanted.[4] The group wanted to capture their live sound, which Marsala said was a bit heavier than what was heard on Page Avenue.[7] In late March, they started pre-production, which lasted into mid-April. Following this, they began recording drums[9] at Gravity Studios in Chicago, Illinois.[8] Here, the group performed alongside drummer Josh Wills while he tracked drums.[7]

In late April, sessions moved to Phillips' personal studio, The Steamy Nook in St Louis, Missouri.[8] Phillips reasoned that it was better to do it at home since they would have more time to record, since travelling wouldn't be a factor.[7] They began tracking guitars until early May.[9] Phillips tracked his guitar solos in a single day, and by the end, "there was skin hanging off all of my fingers and I could barely bend the strings anymore."[8] Evetts engineered the sessions with assistance from Allan Hessler. The recordings were mixed by Evetts at Bay 7 in Valley Glen, California, before being mastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering.[8]

In the Wake of Determination drew comparison to Thrice,[10] with Marsala's voice recalling Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin.[11] Discussing the title, Marsala said: "[W]e knew exactly what we wanted to do, and we knew how we wanted to come across. We were just really determined ... That was our mindset the entire time."[7] All of the music and lyrics were written by the band. After the music was written, Marsala and bassist Adam Russell would get together and fit the lyrics to it. On some occasions, Marsala would bring a lot of lyrics that required minor tweaking. On other occasions, the pair would be in a room for hours before coming up with a line. Throughout the process, some of the members were worried about living up to the expectations of Page Avenue. For this album, Phillips focused on making his solos complement the song, fit within the structure, and come across as more melodic. On the demos, Phillips' solos featured tapping and shredding, something that he realized was due to simply wanting "gnarly solos."[8]

Guitarists Philip Sneed and Ryan Phillips performing on the 2006 Taste of Chaos tour.

On July 22, 2005, In the Wake of Determination was announced for release in October,[14] and "We Don't Care Anymore" was posted on the group's Myspace profile.[15] "Our Time Is Now" was posted on Myspace on August 2.[16] The group performed on the Warped Tour between August 3 and 15.[17] "We Don't Care Anymore" was released to radio on August 16.[18] On the same day, "Take Me Back" was posted on the band's Myspace.[19] Around this time, a music video was filmed for "We Don't Care Anymore".[20] It was shot on a Los Angeles soundstage with director Kevin Kerslake.[4] On August 27, the album's track listing and artwork were revealed.[21] A few people came up with ideas for the artwork, which the group were hesitant to go with. As a result, Phillips and Russell created the final artwork.[4]

In September and October, the group went on a US tour with Funeral for a Friend, Anberlin and He Is Legend.[22] To coincide with the tour, the "We Don't Care Anymore" music video was released.[4] Between September 22 and the album's release, the group uploaded behind-the-scenes clips taken during the recording process.[20] In the Wake of Determination was released on October 11 through Maverick Records.[15] The iTunes edition included the bonus track "Unheard Voices".[23] Throughout the week, the group performed songs from it on Fuse's 7th Avenue Drop program.[24] In October and November, the band performed on the International Taste of Chaos tour which visited Mexico, Australia, Japan, the UK and Germany.[25] The band did a number of radio shows, and some headlining shows with support from Stretch Arm Strong, in December.[26]

In January 2006, the group went tour with Every Time I Die, From First to Last, He Is Legend and Adair.[27] "Take Me Back" was released to radio on January 17.[18] Two days later, a music video was released for the track.[28] From February to April, the band went on the 2006 Taste of Chaos North American tour; they were replaced by Thursday for the Canadian dates.[29] Also in April, the band went on tour of the UK with Stretch Arm Strong[30] and Bleed the Dream.[20] To coincide with this, "Take Me Back" was released as a CD single with live versions of "Until the Day I Die" and "And the Hero Will Drown" as B-sides.[31] In July, the band went on a tour Japan and South Korea,[20] before touring Canada alongside Hawthorne Heights and Anberlin,[32] In October and November, the band went on a tour of the US alongside Anberlin, Greeley Estates and Monty Are I.[33]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[34]
Chicago Tribune	Favorable[35]
Robert Christgau	[36]
Exclaim!	Favorable[10]
Melodic	[37]
Ox-Fanzine	7/10[12]
Riverfront Times	Unfavorable[38]
Rock Hard	9/10[11]

AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus said the album was a "rewardingly heavy" collection that manages to be accessible for those that enjoyed the power ballad "Anthem of Our Dying Day" on Page Avenue.[34] Loftus complimented Evetts production, saying he brought out the "hardness without shutting down" the group's melodic nature.[34] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "dud".[36] Ariana Rock of Exclaim! wrote that the group created an "epic" record that "gets the kids singing along, stomping their feet and screaming their names."[10] While complimenting the "crunching guitars and anthemic choruses", Rock compared the band to Thrice.[10] Melodic staff member Kaj Roth said the album was a "natural" follow-up to Page Avenue in that it featured "all the classic ingredients from screamo emo to energetic riffs and melodic choruses."[37]

Selling close to 42,000 copies in its first week,[39] In the Wake of Determination charted at number 19 on the Billboard 200.[40] It also charted at number 17 on the Digital Albums chart.[41] Outside of the US, it charted at number 38 in Australia[42] and number 149 in the UK.[43] "We Don't Care Anymore" charted at number 11 on the Alternative Songs chart[44] and number 36 on the Mainstream Rock chart.[45]

All music composed by Story of the Year; all lyrics written by Dan Marsala and Adam Russell.[8]

Personnel per booklet.[8]

Citations

Sources

• In the Wake of Determination at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)