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Waking the Fallen
Studio album by Avenged Sevenfold
Released	August 26, 2003
Recorded	April – June 10, 2003
Studio	Third Stone (Hollywood) Mates Inc (Hollywood)
Genre	Metalcore heavy metal
Length	68:45
Label	Hopeless
Producer	Mudrock
Avenged Sevenfold chronology
Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001) Waking the Fallen (2003) City of Evil (2005)
Singles from Waking the Fallen
"Eternal Rest/Chapter Four (promotional)" Released: June 19, 2003 "Unholy Confessions" Released: August 2, 2004
Waking the Fallen: Resurrected

Waking the Fallen is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 26, 2003, through Hopeless Records. It is the band's first full-length album with new lead guitarist Synyster Gates and bassist Johnny Christ.

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, the album has sold over 693,000 copies in the United States. As of March 17, 2021, the album has been certified Platinum in the United States and Gold in both Canada and the United Kingdom. The song "Eternal Rest" appears on Kerrang!'s "666 Songs You Must Own" and was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Saw IV (2007).

Background

On January 18, 2002, Avenged Sevenfold left Good Life Recordings and signed with Hopeless Records. They re-released their debut album on March 19 and also appeared on the Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 4 sampler in April. The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall. They spent the year touring in support of their debut album and participated in the Vans Warped Tour.

In September of 2002, Dameon Ash left Avenged Sevenfold and was replaced by Johnny Christ. Christ has previously played with the band whenever Ash could not attend, filling in on a previous tour. Having found a new bassist, the group began recording their new album. Waking the Fallen was released on Hopeless Records in August 2003.

Musical style

Waking the Fallen has been primarily described musically as metalcore and heavy metal, while also leaning towards other styles of metal such as melodic death metal, thrash metal and power metal. It featured a more refined and mature sound production in comparison to their previous album. This is the first release by the band to feature lead guitarist Synyster Gates on all tracks, which in turn meant more songs featured guitar solos.

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Drowned in Sound	7/10
Louder Sound	(reissue)
Sputnikmusic	3.0/5.0
Ultimate Guitar

Waking the Fallen was met with highly positive reviews. Robert L. Doerschuk from AllMusic wrote "And whether attacking a riff in unison or in harmonized parts, the double-threat guitars of Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance do their duty like search-and-destroy commandos -- in and out fast, leaving devastation in their wake. Especially noteworthy -- and note-heavy -- is the guitar solo that blazes through the last moments of "Second Heartbeat" and the head-spinning single-stroke virtuosity of the Reverend throughout the album."

It received a positive profile in Billboard, with the magazine comparing Avenged Sevenfold to bands like NOFX, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. In other profiles, the album also received comparisons to the Misfits and further comparisons to Iron Maiden. "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 on Ultimate Guitar were very positive and along with 2016's The Stage has the highest overall rating of any Avenged Sevenfold studio albums on Ultimate Guitar.

Metal Hammer magazine placed Waking the Fallen on No. 6 spot of their 100 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century list in 2016.

Anniversary edition

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:

We're going to put something together for the 10 year anniversary of 'Waking the Fallen,' which is about 11 or 12 years now. We've been trying to think of something we could put together and we found some old demos that we did with Teppei from Thrice before we even did that record.... We also found some old footage with Jimmy playing some old shows at The Henry Fonda Theater in L.A., and the Ventura Theater. We'll put together a cool DVD and some demo tracks and re-release 'Waking the Fallen' for newer fans of the band that haven't gotten that or don't know about the history of the band.

— M. Shadows, Loudwire interview, March 2014

Waking the Fallen: Resurrected was released August 25, 2014.

Videography

A live performance video was shot at Warped Tour 2003 for "Second Heartbeat". A video was made for the 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 show at the Henry Fonda Theater. 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, filmed three months before. 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.

In 2014, a music video for "Chapter Four" was released to promote the release of "Waking The Fallen: Resurrected". The video features clips of the band playing live, shot entirely in black and white. The footage is from the same show was also used for the Unholy Confessions video a decade prior. The video was directed by Rafa Alcantara.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Avenged Sevenfold (Zachary Baker, Brian Haner Jr., Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward, James Sullivan), unless otherwise noted

• "Desecrate Through Reverence" is mistakenly written as "Desecrate Through Reverance" in the Resurrected booklet.
• The demo version and alternate version of "Second Heartbeat" are the same; this version was previously released on the Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 4 sampler in 2002.
• The live version of "Eternal Rest" on the iTunes deluxe version is the same as the one on Resurrected; it was previously released on the Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 5 sampler in 2004. On Resurrected, it's mistakenly said to be from Pomona.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "Avenged Sevenfold website". June 24, 2003. Archived from the original on June 24, 2003. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
2. "Ariana Grande Nabs Second No. 1 Album with 'My Everything,' Brad Paisley Debuts". Billboard. September 3, 2014.
3. ^ "American album certifications – Avenged Sevenfold – Waking The Fallen". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
4. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Avenged Sevenfold – Waking The Fallen". Music Canada. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
5. ^ "British album certifications – Avenged Sevenfold – Waking The Fallen". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
6. "666 Songs You Must Own: The Ultimate Playlist". Rock List Music. Kerrang. November 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
7. AllMusic review
8. "Avenged Sevenfold signs with Hopeless Records". lambgoat.com. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
9. Brace, Eric. "The Circuit." The Washington Post. Accessed via LexisNexis. "Cleveland's excellent envelope-pushing metal band Mushroomhead performs Wednesday night at Jaxx (703-569-5940), along with Shadows Fall, Avenged Sevenfold and High on Fire." October 18, 2002.
10. ""You're Not Cooler Than Anyone": Avenged Sevenfold Write Letters Their Younger Selves". kerrang.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
11. Gallien, Krueger. "Johnny Christ". Gallien Krueger. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
12. "Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows: Metalcore Not Something We Find Enjoyment in Listening To". Loudwire. January 28, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2023. Avenged Sevenfold appeared on the music scene in 1999, and the group released two albums that were metalcore in sound before departing from that style for their 2005 major label debut 'City of Evil.'
13. Hill, John (May 25, 2020). "25 Best Metalcore Albums of All Time". Loudwire.
14. ^ "Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen". punknews.org. August 26, 2003. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015.
15. Bezer, Terry (September 16, 2014). "Avenged Sevenfold: Waking The Fallen Resurrected". Louder Sound. Metal Hammer. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
16. ^ Allmusic review
17. "Avenged Sevenfold "Waking the Fallen" Album Review". Paul's Awesome World. January 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012.
18. Blender review
19. Hocking, Matt (September 29, 2003). "Album Review: Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
20. Bezer, Terry (September 16, 2014). "Avenged Sevenfold: Waking The Fallen Resurrected". Louder Sound. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
21. M, Jordan (August 30, 2014). "Review: Avenged Sevenfold - Waking the Fallen | Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
22. "Artists to Watch: AVENGED SEVENFOLD". Billboard. "Orange County, Calif.'s Avenged Sevenfold stands at a crossroads. In one direction is the present and future: the current punk/metal hybrid known as 'screamo.' In the other, the past: influences of such punk bands as NOFX and Bad Religion; the '80s-metal dynamic of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Metallica; and a touch of goth."
23. "Avenged Sevenfold members carve a new niche with old sound", The Bradenton Herald, accessed via LexisNexis. September 18, 2003. "Their long bangs and black eye makeup draw comparisons to the Misfits. Their cryptic lyrics are similar to Iron Maiden. The guttural vocals and machine-gun percussion sound like early Metallica. And the guitar riffs are reminiscent of Crimson Glory."
24. "Metal Hammer's 100 Greatest Albums Of The 21st Century. - Avenged Sevenfold". avengedsevenfold.com. July 16, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
25. "Avenged Sevenfold Plan 'Waking the Fallen' Reissue, New DVD". Loudwire. March 27, 2014.
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29. "Headbanger's Ball spawns second compilation". BPI Entertainment News Wire. "Here is the 'MTV2 Headbanger's Ball, Volume 2' track list... Disc one... 'Unholy Confessions,' Avenged Sevenfold." August 2, 2004.
30. "HOPELESS RECORDS SHARE "CHAPTER FOUR" LIVE FOOTAGE VIDEO". AvengedSevenfold.com. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
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45. "Catalog Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
46. "Vinyl Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2023.

• Avenged Sevenfold albums
• 2003 albums
• Hopeless Records albums