Let It Enfold You


Let It Enfold You is the debut studio album by American rock band Senses Fail, released through Vagrant Records.

Background

Senses Fail was formed in August 2001 by guitarist Garrett Zablocki and vocalist Buddy Nielsen. Zablocki posted an advert on the message board NJska looking for people to play local VFW halls for fun. Nielsen saw the advert, and the pair began jamming. They struggled to bring in new members and went on break in October. They returned in February 2002 with the addition of new members. Zablocki recruited drummer Dan Trapp and guitarist Dave Miller after their previous band broke up. Bassist James Gill was also brought into the fold. After writing a handful of original songs, the band started playing in VFW halls and small clubs in New Jersey. The band tracked two three-song demos, which were eventually released as From the Depths of Dreams in August 2002 through ECA Records. They supported its release with tours alongside Finch, Millencolin and The Starting Line. Within two months of its release, the band sold all available copies of the EP.
They were soon attracting a bigger fanbase through promotion online, and garnered interest from record labels. The group were then contacted by independent label Drive-Thru Records and owners Richard and Stephanie Reines flew out to watch the band live. After the performance, the group were offered a contact with the label. The band, who were fans of the label, signed with them in late 2002. Before signing with Drive-Thru, Gill was replaced by Mike Glita, formerly of Tokyo Rose. In November, Nielsen said the band were aiming to record their debut album in early 2003. From the Depths of Dreams was reissued through Drive-Thru Records in April 2003. As a partial result of widespread file sharing, the EP charted on the Billboard 200. The reissue was successful with the EP going on to sell over 300,000 copies, which caught the attention of Drive-Thru's major label distributor, MCA Records. They had a distribution deal that allowed MCA to acquire Drive-Thru Records' bands over a period of time.

Recording and composition

Sessions were helmed by producer Steve Evetts. Recording took place initially in April 2003 at Trax East in South River, New Jersey, Showplace Studios in Dover, New Jersey, Frankensound Studios in North Brunswick, New Jersey, and Evetts' house. Drive-Thru Records rented a house for the band to live in while they recorded. According to Miller, the atmosphere was "like a constant party... inviting girls over and.. smoking weed and drinking all night. The record label wanted to strangle us." "Buried a Lie" and "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning" were recorded between October 20 and 22 at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, New York. Evetts mixed the recordings at the Snuff Factory in Helmetta, New Jersey, while Alan Douches mastered them at West West Side Studios. Nielsen said of the recording process: "We killed ourselves over and over trying to say what we wanted, and make the record the best it could be."
Musically, the album has been classed as emo and screamo. It sees Nielsen switch from screaming to singing vocals, which were pop-influenced. All of the songs were written by the band with lyrics written by Nielsen. According to Trapp, Zablocki would come up with a riff, lead guitar part or a rough draft of a song. From there, the rest of the band would add their ideas to it and change it into a song. A number of songs on the album take influence from poetry and literature. "You're Cute When You Scream" incorporates metal guitar riffs. "Slow Dance" contains lines from the Dao De Jing. Nielsen explained he was fascinated with Daoism for a period and wanted to write a track explaining what it is. "NJ Falls Into the Atlantic" sees Nielsen singing about their homestate; it is followed by the title track, which was named after a poem by poet Charles Bukowski. "Irony of Dying on Your Birthday" was inspired by the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell.

Release

MCA Records was absorbed by Universal Music Group subsidiary Geffen Records in mid-2003, which resulted in its staff and roster being moved to Geffen. As a result of this, the band's debut album was shelved for eight months. Geffen Records wanted the group to come up with a hit single. Nielsen said the group were not interested in writing radio-friendly material. The group approached Rich Egan, owner of independent label Vagrant Records, with the intention of releasing their debut album. At the time, Vagrant had a deal with Interscope Records, who owned Geffen. The band were then moved from Geffen to Interscope to Vagrant. On January 26, 2004, the group posted "Buried a Lie" on their website. On February 3, Melodic reported that the group's debut would follow in the spring.
In mid-June, the band filmed a music video for "Buried a Lie" on the set of Guiding Light. On July 16, it was announced that the band had signed to Vagrant Records. The "Buried a Lie" music video aired on Fuse's Oven Fresh program in mid-August. On August 13, the band posted "Buried a Lie", "Let It Enfold You" and "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning" on their PureVolume account. Let It Enfold You was released on September 7 through Vagrant Records. The album's artwork was created by James Rheem Davis. Alternative Press said it featured "a man staring at the tortured soul that is himself." Initial pressings also contained a bonus DVD.
"Buried a Lie" was released to radio on February 8. While on tour, the band filmed a music video for "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning" in Toronto, Canada with director Chris Mills. The video was released online on May 26; it sees the group performing in the belly of a ship, before moving to the upper deck for the chorus section. After suffering from addiction and emotional issues, Miller left the band in early September. He was replaced by Heath Saraceno, formerly of Midtown. On September 11, "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning" was released as a single. On November 1, a deluxe edition of the album was released. It included three acoustic versions of previously released songs, a new track, a cover of "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies from Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and a DVD.

Touring

In January and February 2004, the band went on a co-headlining US tour with Moneen. They were supported by the Beautiful Mistake, Boys Night Out and Folly. In March, the group supported Hundred Reasons on their headlining UK tour. In April and May, the group supported Rufio on their headlining US tour. Also in April, the band performed at Skate & Surf Fest. In June and July, the band performed on the Warped Tour. Following this, the group went on a US tour with My Chemical Romance and the Bled. To promote the album's release, the band did a few in-stores acoustic performances. In September and October, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from The Bled, Name Taken, Silverstein and Moneen.
In November and December, the band went on the Vagrant Across Europe Tour alongside From Autumn to Ashes, Moneen, and Emanuel. Following this, the group played three US shows with Paulson, Midtown and Moneen. In early January 2005, the band played at a benefit concert for victims of the 2004 tsunami. From mid-February to early April, the band performed as part of the Taste of Chaos tour in North America. Between mid-June and mid-August, the group toured as part of the Warped Tour. From mid-October and to mid-December, the group went on a US tour with Saves the Day. They were supported by the Early November and Emanuel.

Reception and legacy

The album was met with generally positive reviews. Alex Henderson of Allmusic wrote, "on Let It Enfold You, Senses Fail doesn't bring anything new or different to the table; originality isn't a high priority on this album. Nonetheless, most of their material is catchy enough... and Senses Fail does have a knack for coming up with intriguing song titles—for example, "The Irony of Dying on Your Birthday," "NJ Falls Into the Atlantic" and "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning."
The album has sold over 600,000 copies worldwide since its release. It was certified gold by the RIAA on March 20th, 2020. In May 2012, the band released a greatest hits compilation which featured "You're Cute When You Scream", "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning", "Lady in a Blue Dress", "Bite to Break the Skin" and "Buried a Lie". That same month, Let It Enfold You was released on vinyl. In 2014, the group celebrated the album's 10th anniversary with a month-long tour where they performed the album in its entirety. They did additional shows performing the album between February and April 2015.

Track listing

All songs written by Senses Fail, all lyrics written by Buddy Nielsen.
  2. "Institutionalized" – 3:48
  3. "American Death" – 3:32
  4. "Lady in a Blue Dress " – 3:21
  5. "Buried a Lie " – 3:04
  6. "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning " – 3:04
Original release DVD

Then and Now:
  1. Original "187"
  2. "Steven" Short Cuts
  3. Worcester "187"
  4. First Tour
  5. Oxford
  6. Taco Bell Dumpster
  7. The Stripper
  8. "Free Fall Without A Parachute" Video
  9. In The Studio
  10. "Bastard Son" Video
  11. I Want To Pee!
  12. "Let It Enfold You" - Buddy Explains
  13. The U.K. And Shakespeare
  14. "Rum Is For Drinking, Not For Burning" Video
  15. "Lady In A Blue Dress" Video
  16. You're Cute When You Scream: The Movie
  17. "You're Cute When You Scream" Video
  18. In The Beginning...
  19. Credits And Thanks
  20. The Future...
Deluxe edition DVD

Live from the Taste of Chaos tour:
Music Videos:
Personnel per booklet.
Senses Fail
Production