. The album was released on October 24, 2006, on Epitaph Records
. By January 11, 2007, it had sold 17,000 copies in the U.S. It peaked at number 151 in the Billboard 200
. It topped the Top Heatseekers
chart and reached number 13 in the Independent Albums
listings. It was named the #1 album of 2006 in Sputnikmusic's staff "Best of 2006" list.
In early July, Converge's official website announced the title of the album, as well as the meaning behind it:
- These days, cowards outnumber the heroes, and the begging souls outweigh the calloused hands of the hardest of workers.
"That the snipers managed to pick off five terrorists in pitch darkness attested to their superior marksmanship, but in law enforcement, unlike war, success is never measured by the number of adversaries killed. All that counts is lives saved, and the Germans scored zero."
"What do they [Delta Force] have that we [FBI SWAT] don't have?" "Lots of things." [...]"I don't see any handcuffs." "We don't have handcuffs. [...] It's not my job to arrest people." Oh? Oh! Webster's eyebrows curved like his beloved St. Louis arch as the realization dawned that since the military resolved situations with bullets, there might be no one left to be taken to jail.
"He had an ego so big the joke around the Bureau was 'We gave Buck a zip code but he wanted an area code.'"
"We consoled ourselves with the thought that we would never face terrorists as well trained, equipped, or courageous as Delta operators. 'Go home tonight and pray to God that no Delta personnel ever decide to go bad,' I told Don Brigham, one of our 'dead'."
"They spew all sorts of conspiracy theories about black helicopters and the New World Order, but in their hearts, they'd love nothing more than to be a Green Beret or a Delta commando or HRT operator. They're well aware they can't pass the physicals, let alone the intelligence or psychological tests. In fact, they never succeed in anything they tackle."
"I was always being asked, 'Boss, did you have a good run?' To which I would snarl, 'Hell, I've been running most of my life, and I haven't had a good run yet.'"