In the Wake of Determination is the second studio album by American rock band Story of the Year and it was released on October 11, 2005. After the Page Avenue tour ended in late 2004, the band started working with producer Steve Evetts in 2005, to record their second studio album. The album is much heavier sounding than the previous album. As of October 2007, the album had sold 180,000 units and failed to achieve the same success that the band's two previous releases had. Although not as successful as its predecessor, the album debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200.

The album was the band's last release on a major label, as they left Maverick Records the following year before signing with independent label Epitaph Records.

Background

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, received substantial airplay at radio and video outlets. By April 2004, the album was certified gold in the US. 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". In August, Marsala said the group were working on new material. 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. 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. at Gravity Studios in Chicago, Illinois. Phillips came up with the main riff for it when he was jamming with a friend of his. Russell, who normally did not write music, came up with the riff in the chorus. The album's hidden track "A Silent Murder / Slow Jam" was conceived as the intro for "Taste the Poison". Phillips said it was split into separate tracks after Marsala tracked "this awesome melody" over it. and "We Don't Care Anymore" was posted on the group's Myspace profile. "Our Time Is Now" was posted on Myspace on August 2. The group performed on the Warped Tour between August 3 and 15. "We Don't Care Anymore" was released to radio on August 16. On the same day, "Take Me Back" was posted on the band's Myspace. Around this time, a music video was filmed for "We Don't Care Anymore". It was shot on a Los Angeles soundstage with director Kevin Kerslake. 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. To coincide with the tour, the "We Don't Care Anymore" music video was released. Between September 22 and the album's release, the group uploaded behind-the-scenes clips taken during the recording process. Throughout the week, the group performed songs from it on Fuse's 7th Avenue Drop program. In October and November, the band performed on the International Taste of Chaos tour which visited Mexico, Australia, Japan, the UK and Germany. The band did a number of radio shows, and some headlining shows with support from Stretch Arm Strong, in December.

In January 2006, the group went tour with Every Time I Die, From First to Last, He Is Legend and Adair. "Take Me Back" was released to radio on January 17. 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. Also in April, the band went on tour of the UK with Stretch Arm Strong and Bleed the Dream. In July, the band went on a tour Japan and South Korea, In October and November, the band went on a tour of the US alongside Anberlin, Greeley Estates and Monty Are I.

Reception

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. In the Wake of Determination charted at number 19 on the Billboard 200. Outside of the US, it charted at number 38 in Australia and number 36 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Track listing

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

Story of the Year

  • Dan Marsalalead vocals
  • Adam Russellbass, vocals, tuba
  • Philip Sneedrhythm guitar, vocals
  • Josh Willsdrums, percussion
  • Ryan Phillipslead guitar

Production

  • Steve Evettsproducer, engineer, mixing
  • Story of the Yearproducer, additional photos
  • Allan Hesslerassistant engineer
  • Tom Bakermastering
  • Ryan Phillipsartwork
  • Adam RussellCD design
  • Chapman Baehlerband photos

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Chart performance for In the Wake of Determination

! scope="col"| Chart (2005)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|-

! scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

| 42

|-

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 149

|-

|-

|}

References

Citations

Sources

<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->

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