"Sleeping Awake" (also known as "Sleeping Away") is the lead single by

P.O.D. P.O.D., an initialism for Payable on Death, is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of drummer and rhythm guitarist Wuv Bernardo, vocalist Sonny Sandoval, bassist ...

from '' The Matrix Reloaded: The Album''. The film soundtrack was released on May 6, 2003 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

/Maverick Records with the single itself available May 26. The US edition only includes the title track while the UK/Australia edition, released June 3, includes the video and two more songs. "Sleeping Awake" was later released as a

bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...

on P.O.D.'s studio album, ''

Payable on Death ''Payable on Death'' is the self-titled fifth album by Christian nu metal band P.O.D. It is the group's first album to feature guitarist Jason Truby following the controversial departure of Marcos Curiel, and their last album produced by Howard ...

''. The song's video and lyrics are directly inspired by ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...

''. The chorus features the line "dreaming of

Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Na ...

", which refers to the last human city of planet Earth as depicted in the film.

Video

The "Sleeping Awake"

radio single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

, which began playing April 5, and

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American music video director and filmmaker. Webb made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' 500 Days of Summer'', and went on to direct ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' ...

-directed

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

garnered significant airplay upon release. The video shows two versions of the band performing the song. In one room, the band is performing while dressed entirely in black with sunglasses, similar to characters in the ''Matrix'' films. This room is a representation of the computer virtual reality, known as the Matrix from the film trilogy. Vocalist

Sonny Sandoval Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval (born May 16, 1974) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He is best known as co-founder and the lead vocalist of metal band P.O.D. Biography Sandoval was born in San Diego, California. to a Chamorro-Hawa ...

is shown demonstrating abilities often used in the film by individuals who are aware of the nature of the Matrix, particularly the character Neo (the ability to warp the reality of the Matrix) to move objects via computerized telekinesis, in this case alphabet nursery blocks and form the word "ONE" from the word "NEO." (Neo is the central character in the Matrix films). The second room is a representation of the "real world" outside of The Matrix, and the band in this room are dressed in similar fashion to the Zionites in the Trilogy, garbed in old, and dirty clothes, although the level of degradation in the garments worn by the Zionites in the film is significantly more apparent than those worn by the band members in the music video. The two realities are shown to be mirror-images of each other, positioned and moving in the same manner as each other - the band in the Matrix are playing their instruments left-handed to further touch on the theme. At the video's end, the song's final note shatters the glass separating the two rooms, thus allowing the two bands to see each other. "Sleeping Awake" marked the P.O.D. video debut of

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Jason Truby Jason Truby (born June 1, 1973) is an American musician. He began his career in 1989 with Living Sacrifice as lead guitarist. He was also a member of P.O.D., but has also performed with Phil Keaggy, David Beegle, Ashley Cleveland and her husban ...

. During shooting of the video, Sandoval confessed that while the band had seriously considered breaking up after the departure of

Marcos Curiel Marcos Curiel (born September 9, 1974) is the lead guitarist of rock bands P.O.D., The Accident Experiment and Daylight Division. Curiel was born in San Diego, California, in 1974 and is of Mexican descent. He grew up in the neighboring city of ...

(who has since rejoined the band), "

ason was a prestigious hereditary noble title in Japan, used mainly between Asuka and Heian periods. At first, it was the second highest, below ''Mahito'', which was given to members of the Imperial family, but after Heian period it became the h ...

did us a favor by helping us out with this song, and then once it was all said and done it kind of confirmed that maybe we should keep doing what we loved—and that's making music... So now he's helping us do that."LAUNCH Radio Network
"P.O.D. Saved By 'Matrix Reloaded' Song"
Yahoo! Music (May 5, 2003). Retrieved on April 5, 2008.

Track listing

US edition

# Sleeping Awake

UK/Australia edition

# "Sleeping Awake" by

# "Bruises" (Album version) by

Ünloco Ünloco is an American nu metal band formed in Austin, Texas. History Ünloco was formed in 2000 by frontman vocalist Joey Dueñas, with Pete Navarrete on drums, Victor Escareño on bass, and Brian Arthur on guitar. That same year, the band relea ...

# "The Passportal" (Album version) by

Team Sleep Team Sleep is an American experimental alternative rock/post-rock group led by singer/guitarist Chino Moreno. Moreno is better known for fronting the Sacramento-based alternative metal band Deftones. Other current members include guitarist Todd ...

:* "Sleeping Awake" (Video)

Charts

References

External links

"Sleeping Awake" music video @ DailyMotion.com
{{Authority control 2003 singles P.O.D. songs Songs written for films The Matrix (franchise) music Music videos directed by Marc Webb 2003 songs Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Noah Bernardo Songs written by Traa Daniels Songs written by Sonny Sandoval