Pain (The Letter Black album)

Pain is the fourth album by American Christian rock band the Letter Black. The album was released on May 26, 2017. This is the first album under the band's current name to be released independently.[1]

Pain
Studio album by
The Letter Black
ReleasedMay 26, 2017
Recorded2016–2017
Genre
Length48:46
LabelEMP Label Group
ProducerMark Anthony
The Letter Black chronology
Rebuild
(2013)		 Pain
(2017)
Singles from Pain
  1. "Last Day That I Cared"
    Released: April 28, 2017

Overview

On November 19, 2016, the band previewed a new song on their Facebook page for their upcoming fourth studio album which will be released by early 2017. According to the band, this will be their heaviest album to date.[2] They announced that they had left Tooth & Nail Records and would record their next album independently. The band ran a successful $25,000 Kickstarter campaign to record the album.[3] On February 7, 2017, they released a full-length demo for the album.[4] The band signed with EMP Label Group on March 14, 2017.[5] They announced that the album title would be Pain and the cover art was also revealed.[6] The first single, "Last Day That I Cared", was premiered on Revolver on April 28, 2017.[7] A lyric video for "Rock's Not Dead", was premiered via Facebook on May 19, 2017.[8]

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews. Mary Nikkel, staff editor of New Release Today, wrote, "Pain sees The Letter Black navigating into a heavier rock sound with a sense of renewed energy and intensity that lends fire to the lyrical themes of fighting back against anything preventing us from reaching hope." She noticed that the "album packed with fight songs". She mentioned the track "Last Day That I Cared" as an "anthem pushing back against the harmful opinions of others as well as against our own internal demons..." [9] CCM magazine said, "No noticeable drop-off's [sic] in production value, and the band really sounds as if they’ve rejuvenated their efforts just for you." It later praised the track "Last Day That I Cared".[10] Rob J of Indie Vision Music calls the album "a blistering array of songs that are sure to please just about anyone who is into hard rock." [11]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
New Release Today[9]
CCM magazine[10]
Indie Vision Music[11]
Jesus Wired85% [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Anthony, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fear" 3:45
2."Last Day That I Cared"M. Anthony, Stacy Hogan3:26
3."Pain"M. Anthony, Sarah Anthony3:34
4."Rock's Not Dead" 3:26
5."Kill the Devil"M. Anthony, Sarah Anthony3:46
6."Meant for You"M. Anthony, S. Anthony3:43
7."Alive" 4:59
8."Rise from the Dead" 3:10
9."Tear You Apart" 3:27
10."Breathe" 3:44
11."I Am" 3:26
12."Holding On" 7:06
Total length:48:46

Personnel

All credits from Allmusic.[13]

The Letter Black
  • Mark Anthony - lead guitar, vocals, engineer, producer, programming
  • Sarah Anthony - lead and unclean vocals
  • Justin Brown - drums
Addition personnel
  • Jay Pfeifer - string arrangements
  • Paul Pavão, Ben Grosse - mixing
  • Ted Jensen - mastering
  • Rick Fike - artwork, digital editing
  • Brandon Hay - assistant arranger
  • Natascha Pehur - photography

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Album Sales (Billboard) [14] 86
US Christian Albums (Billboard) [15] 6
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [16] 11

References
  1. "The Letter Black". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  2. "The Letter Black - New Music Preview". The Letter Black (via Facebook). November 18, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  3. "The Letter Black New Record". The Letter Black (via Kickstarter). Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  4. "The Letter Black Releases Full Length Demo". New Release Today. February 7, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  5. "The Letter Black Sign With EMP Label Group". New Release Today. March 14, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  6. "The Letter Black". Facebook. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  7. "The Letter Black premiere New Song". Revolver. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  8. "The Letter Black". Facebook. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  9. Nikkel, Mary (May 18, 2017). "Pain by The Letter Black Review". New Release Today. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  10. "Pain by The Letter Black Review". CCM. May 15, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  11. J, Rob (September 10, 2017). "Pain by The Letter Black Review". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  12. Stephanie, Crail. "Pain by The Letter Black Review". Jesus Wired. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  13. https://www.allmusic.com/album/pain-mw0003030765/credits
  14. "Top Album Sales for June 17, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  15. "Top Christian Albums for June 17, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  16. "Top Independent Albums for June 17, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.