Watchers of Rule
Watchers of Rule is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band Unearth, released on October 28, 2014 by eOne Music in North America. This marks the first album since their debut The Stings of Conscience that does not feature long time bassist John "Slo" Maggard, as well as the first album to feature former The Faceless drummer Nick Pierce on drums.
Overview
Unearth announced in early 2012 that Nick Pierce had signed on as their full-time drummer. He officially replaced Derek Kerswill, who left the band in 2010, though Justin Foley provided drums for 2011's Darkness in the Light. The band announced in April 2013 that they would be working with Mark Lewis to record the then-titleless Watchers of Rule. Lewis had previously produced albums for bands such as The [Black Dahlia Murder (band)|The Black Dahlia Murder], Whitechapel, DevilDriver, and Deicide. The album artwork was provided by Richey Beckett, who has also provided artwork for Converge, Baroness, Mastodon, and Metallica.The album entered the US Billboard 200 at No. 105, selling 3,950 copies in its first week. It is the band's only release for eOne Music, with whom they signed in 2013. It is also the band's first studio album since 2001's The Stings of Conscience to not be released via Metal Blade Records.
Critical reception
The album was met with positive reception Ray Van Horn, Jr. writing for Blabbermouth.net stated “UNEARTH may destroy drummers from the vigorous demand of their music, but that demand is why this band is tops of their breed. "Watchers of Rule" kills it — and how. Metal Injection added This is definitely one of Unearth’s best albums, and should be considered a benchmark for metalcore in 2014.Track listing
- "Spirit in Black" writing credits were taken from Seasons in the Abyss.
Credits
; Unearth
- Trevor Phipps – vocals
- Buz McGrath – lead guitar
- Ken Susi – rhythm guitar
- Nick Pierce – drums
- Mark Morton – bass
- Mark Lewis – producer, engineer, mixing, mastering
- Shane Frisby – additional vocal recording
- Ken Susi – additional vocal recording, additional guitar tracking
- Jeremy Krull – additional editing
- Jeremy Saffer – photography
- Richey Beckett – cover design
- Paul Grosso – creative direction
- Andrew Kelley – art direction
- Audio Hammer Studios – vocals
- The Brick Hit House – additional vocals
- System Studios – additional vocals, guitars, drums
Charts