We as Human (album)

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We as Human
Studio album by
We as Human
ReleasedJune 25, 2013 (2013-06-25)
StudioWest Valley Recording Studios (Woodland Hills, California), Bay 7 Studios (Valley Bridge, California) & Sparky Dark Studios (Calabasas, California)
GenreChristian rock, Christian metal, hard rock, alternative metal
Length34:46
LabelAtlantic & Word
ProducerHoward Benson
We as Human chronology
We as Human EP
(2011) 		We as Human
(2013)
Singles from We as Human
  1. "Strike Back"
    Released: April 30, 2013
  2. "We Fall Apart"
    Released: May 7, 2013
  3. "Take the Bullets Away"
    Released: 2014
  4. "Dead Man"
    Released: 2014[1]
  5. "Zombie"
    Released: 2014[citation needed]
  6. "Bring to Life"
    Released: 2014[citation needed]

We as Human is the second and final overall studio album by Christian rock band We as Human, released on June 25, 2013 by Atlantic Records. The album was produced by Howard Benson. It was their only album released on a major record label.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
CCM Magazine[3]
Christian Music Review4.7/5[4]
Christian Music Zine[5]
HM[6]
Indie Vision Music[7]
Jesus Freak Hideout[8]
[9]
Melodic.net[10]
New Release Tuesday[11]

We as Human has received positive reception from music critics. Matt Collar at Allmusic noted that "this is hard-hitting, but also uplifting, spiritually inclined rock that straddles the line between radio-ready melodicism and in-your-face guitar power."[2] At CCM Magazine, Matt Conner wrote that "few debut albums can boast the sort of company collected on We As Human's self-titled LP", and he proclaimed that "We As Human are a great rock band on their own."[3] Christian Music Zine's Micah Garnett told that "it's an album that deserves to be set on repeat and played at full volume", and that "if you're a rock fan, We As Human will tickle your ears and keep you satisfied for a long time."[5] In addition, Garnett felt that "We As Human's self-titled album is not only one of the best debuts [he's] heard, it's one of the best albums [he's] ever heard."[5] At Jesus Freak Hideout, Mark Rice said that "with this album, We As Human has firmly placed themselves into the 'solid-but-unspectacular' category", and evoked that "there is otherwise nothing new here. It is certainly a worthy debut, but just don't expect anything spectacular."[9] Mary Nikkel of New Release Tuesday felt that on the album "We As Human steps up to own their identity with a confidence and intensity rarely found even in long-established bands", and that the "release is a perfect storm of searing riffs, dynamic vocals, and aggression channeled into lyrics fueling the struggle of death to self and rebirth to life."[11] At Christian Music Review, Daniel Edgeman told that he "felt the album was produced very well with just the right amount of mellow songs, digital sound effects, and heavy sound."[4] At Melodic.net, Johan Wippsson noted how the release has "a great collection of rock anthem, made for the arenas, but with a slightly heavier appearance", and felt that the album was "really good from start to end."[10]

At HM, Sarah Brehm highlighted that "this 10-track album is good at what it does – aggressive, heavy rock layered with trilling and gritty guitars, pounding drums and energetic vocals – yet as a whole, it feels a little generic."[6] Furthermore, Brehm felt that "despite its overarching generic feel, We As Human will sell well and make a dent in the Christian rock genre", and that the listeners should "Watch out for this band; as it grows in musicianship and creativity, the next album has the potential to blow everyone away."[6] Lee Brown of Indie Vision Music felt that "something is still waiting", "something was just missing", and "the production quality (while clean) really hindered this release", which he called "just pretty good."[7] Jesus Freak Hideout's Timothy Estabrooks affirmed that "We As Human is by no means a bad album, and it might even be a 'good' album, but that's it. There's too much re-treading of old ground, too much adherence to tired cliches, and not enough boldness in songwriting to really call this album anything other than average."[8]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Strike Back"Justin Cordle, Scott Stevens3:14
2."Dead Man"Cordle3:05
3."Bring to Life"Cordle, Mark Holman3:37
4."Let Me Drown"Cordle, Holman3:52
5."Zombie" (featuring John Cooper)Cordle, Blair Daly, Skidd Mills3:27
6."We Fall Apart"Cordle, Scott Stevens3:50
7."Take the Bullets Away" (featuring Lacey Sturm)Cordle, Hawkins, Holman3:31
8."Taking Life"Cordle3:16
9."Sever"Cordle3:40
10."I Stand"John Cooper, Cordle3:14
Total length:34:46

Personnel

[edit]

We As Human

  • Justin Cordle — lead vocals, programming
  • Jake Jones — rhythm guitar, background vocals
  • Justin Forshaw — lead guitar
  • Dave Draggoo — bass, background vocals
  • Adam Osborne — drums

Production

  • Howard Benson - producer, mixing on “We Fall Apart”, “Taking Life” & “I Stand”
  • Chris Lord-Alge - mixing on “Strike Back”, “Dead Man”, “Bring to Life”, “Let Me Drown”, “Zombie”, “Take the Bullets Away”, & “Sever”
  • Ted Jensen - mastering
  • Mike Plotnikoff - engineer, mixing on “We Fall Apart”, “Taking Life” and “I Stand”
  • Paul DeCarli - digital editing, additional engineer
  • Hatsukazu “Hatch” Inagaki - additional engineer
  • John Cooper - executive producer
  • Zachary Kelm - executive producer, management
  • Keith Armstrong - assistant mixing
  • Nik Karpen - assistant mixing
  • Brad Townsend - assistant engineer
  • Andrew Schubert - assistant engineer
  • Marc Vangool – guitar technician
  • Jon Nicholson – drum technician

Additional Musicians

  • Howard Benson – keyboards, programming
  • Paul DeCarli – additional programming
  • John Cooper – guest vocals on “Zombie”
  • Lacey Sturm – guest vocals on “Take the Bullets Away”

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 66
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[13] 13
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[14] 3
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[15] 8
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 21

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Seventh Day Slumber - We just found out!! Seventh Day Slumber hits #1 on Billboard!!!! | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Collar, Matt (June 25, 2013). "We as Human - We as Human : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Conner, Matt (July 1, 2013). "We As Human: We As Human (Atlantic)". CCM Magazine. p. 62. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Edgeman, Daniel (June 25, 2013). "We As Human-We As Human". Christian Music Review. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Garnett, Micah (June 23, 2013). "We As Human – We As Human (Review)". Christian Music Zine. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b c Brehm, Sarah (June 4, 2013). "We As Human – We As Human". HM. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Brown, Lee (June 26, 2013). "We As Human – Self Titled | Reviews". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Estabrooks, Timothy (June 24, 2013). "We As Human, "We As Human" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Rice, Mark (June 23, 2013). "We As Human, "We As Human" Review: Second Staff Opinion". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Wippsson, Johan. "We Ss Human – We As Human". Melodic.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Nikkel, Mary (May 23, 2013). "Fueling the Storm". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  12. ^ "We as Human Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  13. ^ "We as Human Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "We as Human Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "We as Human Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "We as Human Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
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