Life Through a Window is the second studio album by Canadian metalcore band Structures released on May 13, 2014 by Sumerian Records. It was produced by Will Putney and Randy Leboeuf, and recorded at the Machine Shop in Belleville from September to October 2013. It was the last album produced before the band's indefinite hiatus.
| Life Through a Window | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 13, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | September – October 2013 | |||
| Studio | The Machine Shop, Belleville, NJ | |||
| Genre | Metalcore, djent | |||
| Length | 40:27 | |||
| Label | Sumerian | |||
| Producer | Will Putney, Randy Leboeuf | |||
| Structures chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Life Through a Window | ||||
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Background and promotion
editThe first single of the album "The Worst of Both Worlds" featuring guest vocals by Drew York from Stray from the Path was released on April 4, 2014. On April 15, the band released their second single "Extinction". A music video for their track "Earth Gazing" was released on June 19.[1] The album was then released on May 13, the track "Follower" contains guest vocals from then-vocalist of Northlane – Adrian Fitipaldes. The album artwork contains the cover of their debut EP All of the Above in the background.
The band had planned to make an appearance at the 2014 AllStars Tour, however they were barred from entering the US by border security for unknown reasons.[2] In August, the band played at Hevy Fest in the UK.[3] On October 18, Structures issued a statement via their Facebook that they were going on an indefinite hiatus after performing a Farewell Tour in December. They also announced that founding vocalist Nick Xourafas would return to perform one last tour with the band.[4]
Composition
editThe genres of the album has been described as death metal, heavy metal,[5] metalcore,[6] and tech metal.[7] The album was also criticized for sounding too similar to Stray from the Path.[8]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Dead Press |   [9] |
| Heavy Blog is Heavy | [10] |
| Kill the Music | 6/10[8] |
| KillYourStereo | 85/100[11] |
| The Prelude Press | 4.5/5[12] |
| SputnikMusic |  [6] |
The album received mixed to favorable reviews. Matt Sievers from KillYourStereo rated it 85/100, saying: " If you like your music full-on, heavy, powerful or strongly influenced, this record will most likely find a home on your shelf or iTunes library."[11] AllMusic gave it a favorable review, calling their range: "...more to offer the world than just angsty diary scribblings and atonal, palm-muted harmonics."[5] Dead Press in a positive review, described the album as: "a record which bludgeons as ruthlessly as anyone in the game, thrusting forth both a sonic and emotionally textured statement which displays them as genuine future contenders."[9] Kill the Music rated the album lower, saying: "The album kept us on our toes in the opening acts but in the end let listeners down. Whether it was the Stray From the Path borderline copy-cat/ influence scenerio [sic], to the poor song structure."[8] In a favorable review, SputnikMusic said the album was: "not the Structures you know and that's a good thing."[6] Heavy Blog is Heavy gave the album a negative review calling it "...further degeneration in the life of an already weakened genre."[10] In a positive review from The Prelude Press, Sam Lang said: "Structures’ musical approach remains the same; struggles with reality, inner-torment and regret/guilt feed this beast as thundering breakdowns and chaos-inspired guitar riffs leave you gasping for air."[12]
Track listing
editTrack listing adapted from Spotify.[13]
All tracks are written by Structures
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Buried" | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Nothing to Lose" | 3:49 |
| 3. | "The Worst of Both Worlds" (featuring Drew York) | 3:20 |
| 4. | "My Conscience" | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Broken Telephone" | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Extinction" | 2:52 |
| 7. | "Alien" | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Requiem" | 4:20 |
| 9. | "Earth Gazing" | 3:37 |
| 10. | "Follower" (featuring Adrian Fitipaldes) | 3:49 |
| 11. | "Life Through a Window" | 4:38 |
| Total length: | 40:27 | |
Personnel
editCredits retrieved from AllMusic.[14]
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Charts
edit| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hard Rock (Billboard)[15] | 21 |
| US Heatseekers (Billboard)[16] | 9 |
References
edit- ^ Sumerian Records (June 19, 2014). "STRUCTURES – Earth Gazing (Official Music Video)". Retrieved February 17, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ "STRUCTURES – "Sorry to everyone who was coming to see us on the AllStars tour, we will unfortunately be missing it for reasons out of our control."". Twitter. July 12, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Hevy Fest adds Finch, Kvelertak, Structures and more". Festivals For All. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ "STRUCTURES – We are saddened to announce that Structures..." Facebook. October 18, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c Monger, James Christopher. "AllMusic Review: Life Through a Window – Structures". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c Grizzlypyro (May 13, 2014). "Structures – Life Through a Window (album review 2)". SputnikMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ "Structures – Life Through a Window CD". Impericon. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Hamm, Alex (May 13, 2014). "Review: Structures – Life Through A Window". Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Redrup, Zach (May 13, 2014). "ALBUM: Structures – Life Through A Window". Dead Press. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Kupermintz, Eden (May 16, 2014). "Structures – Life Through A Window". Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Sievers, Matt (May 9, 2014). "Structures – Life Through a Window". KillYourStereo. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Lang, Sam (June 3, 2014). "Structures – Life Through A Window". Retrieved July 1, 2019.
- ^ "Life Through a Window by Structures on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Life Through a Window – Structures". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Structures Life Through a Window Chart History". Billboard 200. Billboard magazine. May 31, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Structure Chart History". Billboard magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2019.