Shadow Work (Trapt album)


Shadow Work is the seventh studio album by American rock band Trapt, released on July 3, 2020 through The Label Group, as well as the band's own label, Crash Collide. It is the only Trapt album to feature Brendan Hengle on guitar and Mike Smith on drums. The album was a critical and commercial failure at release.

Background

The album's two lead singles, "Make It Out Alive" and "Tell Me How You Really Feel", were released on the same day, May 15, 2020. "Make It Out Alive" was the last song written for the album, with frontman Chris Taylor Brown framing it as a crisis survivor anthem, saying: "I hope it inspires people to never give up. Times can get so tough and it can be easy to just want to let go of all the struggle. But I think the struggles we go through define us. Each crisis we go through, staring into an abyss of the unknown, makes us stronger when we come out the other side." Artist Travis Livingstone created cover art for the album and directed a lyric video for "Make It Out Alive"; however, he later claimed that Brown was dodging payments over his work for the band.
Prior to the album's release, Brown described Shadow Work "the best piece of music Trapt has put out," while also jokingly calling it "probably one of the top 5 albums that will ever exist for all of time."

Critical and commercial reception

Shadow Work was set to release on June 19, 2020, before being pushed to July 3 of that same year.
Shadow Work sold 600 copies in its first week, an 87% decrease from 2016's DNA and significantly below the 5,400 anticipated sales. This was the first time the band did not make it to any US Billboard charts. Vocalist Chris Taylor Brown disputed these figures, claiming sales among the several thousand. Brown's subsequent social media use got the band's accounts suspended and led to drummer Mike Smith leaving Trapt. The band's subsequent tours were poorly attended.
AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung rated the album 2.5 out of 5 stars, writing that the album offers "some polished anthems to balance with their typical crunchy assault" and particularly praises the band's cover of "Who Will Save Your Soul".

Personnel

Trapt
Production
  • Trapt – producers
  • Pete Charell – engineering at Fat Tracks Studio, production
  • Jack Daniels – engineering, mixing at Dexter Doc Studio
  • Mike Kalajian – mastering at Rogue Planet Mastering
  • Travis Livingstone – cover art
  • Rob Nadler – engineering at Fat Tracks Studio