Runes (album)

Background and release

The band felt pressure during the recording of Runes in it being a follow up to The Union of Crowns. At the end of the recording process Daniel Winter-Bates reflected positively on Runes saying that although this was the first time the band had recorded an album being apart of a record label, since he didn't think about it, it didn't affect his performance. He further noted the band thrives under the pressure of feeling alone in the process and pushing themselves.

The album's title "Runes" is derived from the Runic language system and the poems which describe each letters meaning.

The band's first song from the album, 'Watcher' debuted on BBC Radio 1 late night Rock Show on 6 January 2014 and a few days later was made available to stream. Preorders became available on 20 February, and were announced on the band's official Facebook, along with bundle packs with other promotional material. They intend to release a regular and a bonus version of the album; the original will contain the 13 tracks, whilst the 'Bonus Version' will contain three exclusive tracks, along with a music video for the album's first single 'Man On Fire' which was released on 25 February. The second single and music video was released on 13 May, for the song "Of Glory". The album was made available for exclusive streaming by Rocksound on 21 May 2014.

Musical

Daniel Winter-Bates has commented that the record is "much heavier and faster than anything we've done before". However, he noted that because of the band's stylistic diversity they have room to incorporate heavier and lighter elements with ease.

Daniel Winter-Bates has commented that with the addition Kristan Dawson the band was able to include much more technical guitar riffs into their style. The band had often referenced an affection for Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying and the influence these band's had on both Runes and the band as a whole. And have gone as far to say they want to "fly the flag" for old school metalcore.

Lyrical

Dani Winter-Bates explains that each song on the album draws inspiration from a runic symbol. 'Man Of Fire' is explained to be about "...the struggle of humankind’s sanity in an ever-changing world. The song itself is linked with the Rune for Man/Humankind and follows lyrically the ideas of a figure fighting their own thoughts and their fears getting the better of them." Mannaz (ᛗ) is the rune that represents Man On Fire as they sold shirts with that rune representing that song. When the second single "Of Glory" was released, Bates explained that the song "...is about making it through the struggles in life and disregarding naysayers and people that bring negativity.”

Each rune is linked to a song, which according to the album track listing are:

Critical reception

Writing for All About The Rock, Zack Slabbert said "If you’re a metalcore fan then this is another album to add to your collection. It’s filled with awesome breakdowns and the guitar riffs on this album are so catchy and get stuck in your head instantly".

Commercial performance

Runes enetered the Official UK Chart at number 34. It also debuted on the Official Rock Chart at number 1. The album also had success in the US, reaching number 16 on the Top Heatseekers chart.

Track listing

All music composed by Bury Tomorrow.

Personnel

Bury Tomorrow