Welcome to the Masquerade
Encyclopedia
Welcome to the Masquerade is the fifth studio album by Canadian hard rock
band Thousand Foot Krutch
. It was released on September 8, 2009. Trevor McNevan
, the band's frontman has stated, "Yeah, I think the new record is definitely more aggressive. In some areas, it's the heaviest we've ever been." The album entered the Billboard top 200 at No. 35 and the Christian Album charts at No. 2.
"Each song is kind of dealing with those different situations. Some of it is just saying, ‘I’ve been through this, and this is how I found hope in this situation."
"A lot of our peers are getting a little poppier, and I understand that and appreciate it," stated McNevan. "I just felt like for us, it was the right time to step in the other direction. It’s big crunchy rock and roll."
“Between the economy and everything else, this is as good a time as has ever been to drop our stereotypes — all the stuff that separates us — and get down to the black and white of loving people as God intended it to be,” McNevan suggests.
returned as the band's producer, from producing the band's previous record Phenomenon
, alongside Trevor McNevan. Matt Carter of Emery
assisted with McNevan early in 2009. Phil X
, who had recorded guitars for the two previous Thousand Foot Krutch records, did not return for this album. However, Randy Torres recorded "some sweet licks" on the record according to a Tooth & Nail podcast. Guitar duties were also shared by McNevan, Sprinkle and a third guest Pete Stewart
, who recorded the guitar solo near the end of the song "Fire it Up". Stewart surprisingly entered the studio with TFK despite the fact that he no longer considers himself a Christian. The band additionally hired Randy Staub to mix "Welcome to the Masquerade"; Staub is famous for mixing Metallica
's record The Black Album
.
" has already been praised as a hit with a similar potential to "Rawkfist" and "Move
" with Tyler Hess of ChristianMusicZine.com describing it as "vintage Thousand Foot Krutch, with obvious arena play potential".
C.E. Moore of TheChristianManifesto.com described the song "as everything you've come to love about the band. It's a raucous number that will get your heart pumping, your feet moving, and your head banging. 'Fire It Up' fires on all cylinders."
Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout praised the album on his review "TFK dons a more produced approach to hard rock this time around while at the same time maintaining the unrestrained and raucous vibe the band is known for. And this being the fifth album from the Canadian band, there's a progression here that many old and new fans have waited to hear," he stated.
Allmusic.com also had high praise for the album "the band's full-scale audio assault makes it difficult to imagine that they could ever top the crystal-clear production and deliberate crunch of Masquerade. Each track is propelled by muscular riffs, fighting its way into permanent memory alongside the greatest mainstream rock bands of the decade," their review states.
"Fire It Up" has peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Rock charts while "Bring Me to Life" has peaked at number No. 2 on Christian Rock radio.
"Forward Motion" has reached No. 48 on the Billboard Christian Songs charts.
Both "Fire It Up" and "Bring Me To Life" were added to the band's live set list before the album was released. "Bring Me To Life" was first played live was at Ignite Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska, where the band performed the song as their encore. McNevan said that it was the first time the band had played a song live that had not already been released on an album. They also played "Fire It Up" at Wonder Jam in June 2009.
The band announced a Fall 2009 tour to support Welcome to The Masquerade, sharing the stage with Jars of Clay
, AA Talks, B.Reith, FM Static
and This Beautiful Republic
.
The album was made for pre-order on July 24, 2009, and was released on September 8, 2009 without delay.
The trailer for the album was released on August 3. It featured a 45-second clip of the song "Welcome to the Masquerade".
"Fire It Up" will be featured in the upcoming video games NHL 10
and MX vs ATV Reflex and the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra trailer.
"Fire It Up" has also been released for download on the Rock Band music store.
On September 3, 2009, on the Tooth and Nail podcast, McNevan confirmed that a music video was in pre-production for "Fire It Up".
"Scream" was used as the introduction music for Harrison Ford
at the 2009 Scream Awards
.
"Invitation/Welcome to the Masquerade" was used for the 2010 Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Playoff video played before each game at Joe Louis Arena. It was also the music video for 2009's video game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2:Fusion.
There will be a fan edition of Welcome to the Masquerade due out on October 11, 2011. The official cover art has been released.
.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Thousand Foot Krutch
Thousand Foot Krutch
Thousand Foot Krutch is a Canadian Christian rock band formed in 1995. They have released five major studio albums: Set It Off , Phenomenon , The Art of Breaking , The Flame In All of Us , and Welcome to the Masquerade . They also have one live album, Live at the Masquerade...
. It was released on September 8, 2009. Trevor McNevan
Trevor McNevan
Trevor McNevan , also known as Teerawk, is a Canadian musician and lead singer/songwriter of Thousand Foot Krutch and pop punk side project FM Static along with Steve Augustine...
, the band's frontman has stated, "Yeah, I think the new record is definitely more aggressive. In some areas, it's the heaviest we've ever been." The album entered the Billboard top 200 at No. 35 and the Christian Album charts at No. 2.
Musical style and concept
"The inspiration behind the album comes from people hiding things in their life," McNevan has stated, "Masquerading through life, hiding their frustrations.""Each song is kind of dealing with those different situations. Some of it is just saying, ‘I’ve been through this, and this is how I found hope in this situation."
"A lot of our peers are getting a little poppier, and I understand that and appreciate it," stated McNevan. "I just felt like for us, it was the right time to step in the other direction. It’s big crunchy rock and roll."
“Between the economy and everything else, this is as good a time as has ever been to drop our stereotypes — all the stuff that separates us — and get down to the black and white of loving people as God intended it to be,” McNevan suggests.
Guests
Welcome to the "Masquerade features multiple performers. Aaron SprinkleAaron Sprinkle
Aaron Sprinkle is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Seattle, Washington.-Career:His career in music began in high school with a group called BellBangVilla. BellBangVilla became Poor Old Lu and they released a number of albums . Aaron Sprinkle also sang and played...
returned as the band's producer, from producing the band's previous record Phenomenon
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
, alongside Trevor McNevan. Matt Carter of Emery
Emery
Emery may refer to:* Emery ** Emery paper** Emery board, nail filers* Emery , a post-hardcore band from Rock Hill, South Carolina* Emery Theatre, a historic multi-purpose theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio* Emery Worldwide, a cargo airline...
assisted with McNevan early in 2009. Phil X
Phil X
Philip Xenidis, better known as Phil X , is a Greek-born guitarist and co-founder of the Los Angeles-based turbo pop band Powder. He also has a second band, the Drills. He is best known as the guitarist who replaced Rik Emmett in the Canadian rock band Triumph, for the Edge of Excess album and tour...
, who had recorded guitars for the two previous Thousand Foot Krutch records, did not return for this album. However, Randy Torres recorded "some sweet licks" on the record according to a Tooth & Nail podcast. Guitar duties were also shared by McNevan, Sprinkle and a third guest Pete Stewart
Pete Stewart
Pete Stewart is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer from Washington state. He is the lead singer and guitarist of Grammatrain, was the lead singer for The Accident Experiment, and is the former guitarist of Tait....
, who recorded the guitar solo near the end of the song "Fire it Up". Stewart surprisingly entered the studio with TFK despite the fact that he no longer considers himself a Christian. The band additionally hired Randy Staub to mix "Welcome to the Masquerade"; Staub is famous for mixing Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's record The Black Album
Metallica (album)
Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Mainly produced by Bob Rock, it was released on August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records to critical acclaim...
.
Reception
"Fire It UpFire It Up (Thousand Foot Krutch song)
"Fire It Up" is the third single released by the Canadian Rock band Thousand Foot Krutch from their fifth Studio Album Welcome to the Masquerade. It charted at #18 on Active rock charts, #35 on the Billboard Rock Charts and #5 on Christianrock.net...
" has already been praised as a hit with a similar potential to "Rawkfist" and "Move
Move (TFK Song)
-Awards:The song was nominated for a Dove Award for Short Form Music Video of the Year at the 37th GMA Dove Awards....
" with Tyler Hess of ChristianMusicZine.com describing it as "vintage Thousand Foot Krutch, with obvious arena play potential".
C.E. Moore of TheChristianManifesto.com described the song "as everything you've come to love about the band. It's a raucous number that will get your heart pumping, your feet moving, and your head banging. 'Fire It Up' fires on all cylinders."
Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout praised the album on his review "TFK dons a more produced approach to hard rock this time around while at the same time maintaining the unrestrained and raucous vibe the band is known for. And this being the fifth album from the Canadian band, there's a progression here that many old and new fans have waited to hear," he stated.
Allmusic.com also had high praise for the album "the band's full-scale audio assault makes it difficult to imagine that they could ever top the crystal-clear production and deliberate crunch of Masquerade. Each track is propelled by muscular riffs, fighting its way into permanent memory alongside the greatest mainstream rock bands of the decade," their review states.
"Fire It Up" has peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Rock charts while "Bring Me to Life" has peaked at number No. 2 on Christian Rock radio.
"Forward Motion" has reached No. 48 on the Billboard Christian Songs charts.
Release and promotion
"Bring Me To Life" was available for free download during June 2009 from the band's site if an email address was provided.Both "Fire It Up" and "Bring Me To Life" were added to the band's live set list before the album was released. "Bring Me To Life" was first played live was at Ignite Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska, where the band performed the song as their encore. McNevan said that it was the first time the band had played a song live that had not already been released on an album. They also played "Fire It Up" at Wonder Jam in June 2009.
The band announced a Fall 2009 tour to support Welcome to The Masquerade, sharing the stage with Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
, AA Talks, B.Reith, FM Static
FM Static
FM Static is a two-piece Toronto-based pop punk band currently signed to Tooth & Nail Records. The band was started as a side project by Thousand Foot Krutch frontman Trevor McNevan, and drummer Steve Augustine...
and This Beautiful Republic
This Beautiful Republic
This Beautiful Republic was an American band signed to ForeFront Records in November 2006. They are best known for their song "Right Now". The group appeared on the Christian television show The Logan Show on December 9, 2006...
.
The album was made for pre-order on July 24, 2009, and was released on September 8, 2009 without delay.
The trailer for the album was released on August 3. It featured a 45-second clip of the song "Welcome to the Masquerade".
"Fire It Up" will be featured in the upcoming video games NHL 10
NHL 10
NHL 10 is a video game in the NHL series developed and released by EA Canada and published by EA Sports, and is the 19th game in the series. The game debuted at Hockey Fest '09, a three-day interactive festival celebrating the sport of hockey and the Los Angeles Kings, which took place in downtown...
and MX vs ATV Reflex and the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra trailer.
"Fire It Up" has also been released for download on the Rock Band music store.
On September 3, 2009, on the Tooth and Nail podcast, McNevan confirmed that a music video was in pre-production for "Fire It Up".
"Scream" was used as the introduction music for Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
at the 2009 Scream Awards
2009 Scream Awards
The Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films, hosted and sponsored by Spike TV. The show was created by executive producers Michael Levitt, Cindy Levitt, and Casey Patterson....
.
"Invitation/Welcome to the Masquerade" was used for the 2010 Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Playoff video played before each game at Joe Louis Arena. It was also the music video for 2009's video game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2:Fusion.
There will be a fan edition of Welcome to the Masquerade due out on October 11, 2011. The official cover art has been released.
Track listing
Singles
- "Bring Me to LifeBring Me to Life (Thousand Foot Krutch song)"Bring Me to Life" is a song by the rock band Thousand Foot Krutch on their album Welcome to the Masquerade. It was released as a single on April 22, 2009...
" was released as the album's lead singleLead singleA lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
on April 22, 2009. - "Forward MotionForward Motion (Thousand Foot Krutch song)"Forward Motion" was the second single released in 2009 by the Christian Alternative Metal band Thousand Foot Krutch from their album Welcome to the Masquerade.- Chart performance :...
" was released as a radio single in May 2009. - "Fire It UpFire It Up (Thousand Foot Krutch song)"Fire It Up" is the third single released by the Canadian Rock band Thousand Foot Krutch from their fifth Studio Album Welcome to the Masquerade. It charted at #18 on Active rock charts, #35 on the Billboard Rock Charts and #5 on Christianrock.net...
" was released to mainstream rockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
radio on July 28, 2009. - "Already HomeAlready Home (Thousand Foot Krutch song)"Already Home" is the fourth single released by the Canadian Christian Rock band Thousand Foot Krutch from their fifth Studio Album Welcome to the Masquerade.-Chart performance:The song charted at #35 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart...
" - was released on January 6, 2010. - "E for Extinction" was released on June 28, 2010.
- "Look Away" was released to Christian CHR in August 2010.
Charts
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
35 |
| 2009 | U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Alternative Albums |
8 |
| 2009 | U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Rock Albums |
13 |
| 2009 | U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Christian Albums |
2 |
| 2009 | U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Digital Albums |
14 |
Awards
In 2010, the album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards41st GMA Dove Awards
The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at the The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard....
.
Credits
- Trevor McNevan - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboards - Joel Bruyere - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Steve Augustine - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Producer, additional guitars and keyboards: Aaron SprinkleAaron SprinkleAaron Sprinkle is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Seattle, Washington.-Career:His career in music began in high school with a group called BellBangVilla. BellBangVilla became Poor Old Lu and they released a number of albums . Aaron Sprinkle also sang and played...
- Mixed by Randy StaubRandy StaubRandy Staub is a Canadian recording engineer. He has been nominated for the Juno Awards' "Recording Engineer of the Year" award nine times. He won in 2002 for the songs "How You Remind Me" and "Too Bad" by Nickelback. Staub also mixed Alice in Chains' fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to...
- Additional guitar on "Fire It Up": Pete StewartPete StewartPete Stewart is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer from Washington state. He is the lead singer and guitarist of Grammatrain, was the lead singer for The Accident Experiment, and is the former guitarist of Tait....
- Additional guitars: Randy TorresRandy TorresRandy Torres is a guitarist, keyboardist and background vocalist who previously played for the bands Project 86 and Crash Rickshaw. He has filled in as rhythm guitarist for the band Demon Hunter and as keyboardist, guitarist, percussionist and background vocalist for Anberlin on a recent tour...
- All songs written by Trevor McNevan, Steve Augustine and Joel Bruyere