''Tracing Back Roots'' is the third 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

We Came as Romans We Came as Romans (sometimes abbreviated as WCAR) is an American metalcore band from Troy, Michigan. Formed in 2005, the band has gone through one name change and multiple line-up changes, and signed to SharpTone Records in 2016 after having ...

. It was released on July 23, 2013, 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 ...

. The album is noted for the band's shift from their signature metalcore sound to a more melodic, clean vocal driven sound, while still maintaining metalcore elements throughout. The album has been received with favorable reviews which praise the band's “go out and do something with your life with purpose” message. The album debuted at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 26,500 copies sold in the first week. As of June 2015, this album has sold 79,000 copies in the United States. The album's first single, "Hope", was released on January 4, 2013, and is also included on the '' Understanding What We've Grown to Be'' Deluxe Edition.

Background

During an on-air interview with Jay Hudson of 89X Radio, Joshua Moore stated that they would begin recording their new album with producer John Feldmann in March 2013. According to guitarist Joshua Moore, the band entered the studio on March 13, 2013, and would record the new record for the next seven weeks. Vocalist Dave Stephens announced via Twitter that he would be singing more on this record than the band's previous releases; and also announced on April 23, 2013, that recording had wrapped up. On May 20, 2013, the band, Equal Vision Records and Outerloop Management revealed via online studio updates and social media networks album cover artwork, track listing, and that the band's third full-length album, entitled ''Tracing Back Roots'' is scheduled for a July 23, 2013 release.

Videos

On Jan 31, 2013 the music video for the seventh track on the album, "Hope" was posted on the

YouTube channel. On 20, December 2013 the music for the sixth track on the album, "Never Let Me Go" was posted on the

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

YouTube channel.

Cover

The album's cover painting was done by Paul Romano, who also created the cover of the first two albums.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

;We Came as Romans * Dave Stephens –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Kyle Pavone – clean vocals, keyboards,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

* Joshua Moore –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Lou Cotton –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

* Andy Glass –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals * Eric Choi –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Additional personnel *

Aaron Gillespie Aaron Roderick Gillespie (born July 18, 1983) is an American musician, best known for being the drummer and clean vocalist for the Rock music, rock band Underoath, of which he is the only original member. He is also the lead singer and rhythm ...

– additional vocals on "I Survive" ;Production * Produced, mixed & recorded by

John Feldmann John William Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American musician and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the punk rock band Goldfinger. Early life Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing songs aro ...

Mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Joe Gastwirt * Additional

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

& mixing by Tommy English *

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

by Mike Mowery and Matthew Stewart * A&R by Daniel Sandshaw *

Art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

& artwork & design by Paul A. Romano * Legal by Adam Mandell * US Booking by JJ Cassiere * Canada Booking by Adam Sylvester * Asia / Australia Booking by Dave Shapiro * Europe Booking by Marco Walzel

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracing Back Roots 2013 albums Equal Vision Records albums Nuclear Blast albums We Came as Romans albums