Awaken is the debut album by The Empire Shall Fall

The Empire Shall Fall

The Empire Shall Fall is an American metalcore band from Providence, Rhode Island that was formed in 2008 by former Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach...

, released on November 17, 2009 through Angle Side Side Records, owned by The Empire Shall Fall's bassist, Nick Sollecito

The Empire Shall Fall

The Empire Shall Fall is an American metalcore band from Providence, Rhode Island that was formed in 2008 by former Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach...

. Awaken features the vocal talents of former Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...

 vocalist Jesse Leach

Jesse Leach

Jesse David Leach is an American musician from Providence, Rhode Island, and is best known as being the former lead vocalist of Killswitch Engage and later for being the vocalist for the blues rock band Seemless...

. The band cites its influences as At the Gates

At the Gates

At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...

, Meshuggah

Meshuggah

Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...

, and Edge of Sanity

Edge of Sanity

Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band. Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock.- History :...

. Awaken draws heavily upon the band members' interests in jazz, punk, and experimental music. The album reflects heavily on the themes of politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 and transcendentalism

Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...

. Lyrically the album advocates positivity, unity, and empowerment. Historical inspirations for the album have been cited as Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra

Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...

, Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

, Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...

, and Ron Paul

Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

.

Track listing

1. "Awaken" – 5:03
2. "Lords of War" – 3:37
3. "Voices Forming Weapons" – 4:08
4. "Choir of Angels" – 6:01
5. "We The People" – 5:50
6. "These Colors Bleed" – 4:35
7. "Our Own" – 5:24
8. "The Kingdom" – 4:55

Personnel

• Jesse Leach
  Jesse Leach
  Jesse David Leach is an American musician from Providence, Rhode Island, and is best known as being the former lead vocalist of Killswitch Engage and later for being the vocalist for the blues rock band Seemless...
  
  - vocals
• Jake Davenport - lead guitar
• Marcus de Lisle - guitar
• Nick Sollecito - bass guitar
• Jeff Pitts - drums, percussion

Technical personnel

• Producer - Marcus de Lisle
• Sound Engineer - Sean Small
• Graphic Designer - Matthew Yezuita
• Photographer - Emily Stamp
• P&R - Kim Kelly/Catharsis PR