One Reality
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''One Reality'' is the second studio album by American
metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
band,
Texas in July Texas in July is an American metalcore band from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, formed in 2006. They released an EP, ''Salt of the Earth'', and their debut full-length album, ''I Am'', also produced by Slovak, through CI Records. After signing with ...
. It was released through
Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, the singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. Initially, the label existed sol ...
on April 26, 2011 in the U.S., and on October 7, 2011 in Europe. Produced by
Chris "Zeuss" Harris Christopher Harris (born April 1, 1972), known professionally as Chris "Zeuss" Harris or simply Zeuss, is an American record producer. Biography Zeuss is best known in the worlds of hard rock, heavy metal music, hardcore punk, and metalcore. H ...
, the album is the band's first release to feature rhythm guitarist Chris Davis, following the departure of founding member Logan Maurer. The album is also the band's first release through Equal Vision, and its first effort to chart on the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
, peaking at #174.


Background

Texas In July announced that they'd signed with Equal Vision records in July 2010. In a February 2011 interview with ''Indie Vision Music'', bassist and lyricist Ben Witkowski shared that the upcoming release would feature simplified drumming, and would be easier listening than their prior releases. He also shared that he was aware that the band was frequently compared to August Burns Red, but felt that the band would be stepping away from that with the upcoming release. Drummer Adam Gray would share in a May 2011 interview with ''Modern Drummer Magazine'' that the drums for ''One Reality'' were recorded in a time box of two days. After a number of tours, the band announced in early March that their upcoming release "One Reality" would be released on April 26, and shared the track list. On April 15, 2011, the band debuted a single from the album titled "1000 Lies" exclusively through
Noisecreep Noisecreep is a hard rock and heavy metal music news and media website based in the United States. The site was created by AOL Music in March 2009. Noisecreep was the fourth genre-specific music website owned by AOL after the rock music websi ...
. On the meaning behind the song, bassist Ben Witkowski explained: On July 18, again exclusively via Noisecreep, the band released a music video for the track. The video was filmed in the band's hometown Ephrata, Pa. and co-directed by Rasa Acharya and Gaura Vani. The video features artist and actress, Dessie Jackson. The album's sound was a departure from the band's prior releases, featuring less riffing and shredding, following the departure of founding member and primary music-writer Logan Maurer, who would leave the band early in the writing process for "One Reality." Bassist Ben Witkowski explained the band was in a "weird place" losing Maurer, sharing: In August 2011, the band announced they had signed a deal with Nuclear Blast to distribute their music in European territories. They also shared that ''One Reality'' would be released in Europe on October 7, featuring exclusive bonus material. Following the album's release, the band headlined a European tour in fall of 2011. In July 2012, the band made the entirety of the album available as a free download via
PureVolume PureVolume (formerly Unborn Media) was a website for uploading and streaming of music files, the first independently run of its type. PureVolume was created by Unborn Media, Inc; Mitchell Pavao; Brett Woitunski; and Nate Hudson, all from the Univer ...
. The album's artwork was provided by Sol Amstutz.


Commercial Performance and Critical Reception

"One Reality" was the band's first effort to chart on the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
, debuting (and peaking) at #174 in the week of May 14, and selling roughly 3,300 copies in its first week. Indie Vision Music reviewer "Steve" gave the album 3/5 stars, calling it more mature and polished than the band's prior release. Alternative Press called the album "excellent pit fuel" and praised the inclusion of non-genre-confining elements. ''The Music'' gave the album 3/5 stars, calling the band's sound "a poor man's
August Burns Red August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's lineup of guitarists John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker and Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist Jake Luhrs and bassist Dustin David ...
, but calling the album "brutal, harsh and, surprisingly, at times a technical triumph." ''Metal Temple'' gave the album a 6/10 score, also drawing comparisons to August Burns Red, believing that the band had a lot of potential, but that the album lacked personality. In April 2011,
Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...
named Texas In July to its "100 bands you need to know 2011" list.


Track listing


Personnel

;Texas In July *Alex Good - Vocals *Christian Royer - Lead guitar *Chris Davis - Rhythm guitar *Ben Witkowski - Bass *Adam Gray - Drums ;Production *Produced, Engineered, Mixed & mastered by
Chris "Zeuss" Harris Christopher Harris (born April 1, 1972), known professionally as Chris "Zeuss" Harris or simply Zeuss, is an American record producer. Biography Zeuss is best known in the worlds of hard rock, heavy metal music, hardcore punk, and metalcore. H ...
*A&R by Daniel Sandshaw *Management by Jeremy Weiss (The CI Companies) & John Daley (Blood Company) *PR by Natalie Bisignano *Booking by Dave Shapiro & JJ Cassiere (The Agency Group) *Artwork by Sol Amstutz (solamstutz.com)


Charts


References

{{Authority control 2011 albums Texas in July albums Equal Vision Records albums Nuclear Blast albums Albums produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris