Through the Eyes

Through The Eyes
Studio album by Flaw
Released October 30, 2001[1]
Genre Nu metal[2][3]
Length 61:18[1]
Label Universal/Republic
Producer David Bottrill
Flaw chronology
Drama
(2000)		 Through The Eyes
(2001)		 Endangered Species
(2004)
Singles from Through the Eyes
  1. "Payback"
    Released: 2001
  2. "Whole"
    Released: 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Through the Eyes is the first major label studio album by the rock band Flaw. It was released in 2001 on Universal Records/Republic Records.[4][5] The album debuted at #119 on the Billboard 200 chart. The songs "Only the Strong", "Payback", "Inner Strength", "Out of Whack", "Scheme", "Amendment", "Reliance", "Away", "No Time" and "One More Time" were all re-recorded from the band's previous independent releases American Arrogance, Flaw and the Drama EP. The song "My Letter" is a revised version of "Anorexia" from American Arrogance. One song from Flaw's 1998 album Flaw, "Fall Into This", was meant to be on the album, but was rejected by Universal Records.

The album produced two singles. "Payback" would serve as the album's lead single in the summer of 2001, backed by a music video, while "Whole" followed as a second. The opening track, "Only the Strong," was also featured in the Scorpion King soundtrack. "Payback" was also a featured song on their older material before their underground success and Nik Houpt provided the drums. "Get Up Again" was featured on the soundtracks for UFC 2009: Undisputed and xXx, respectively.

Music and lyrics

The album features a both clean singing[1] and screaming.[1][3] It also features aggressive guitar riffs and melodic instrumentation. Songs such as "Get Up Again" and "Reliance" focus primarily on an aggressive sound while "My Letter" and "Best I Am" are softer songs. The album has been compared to bands such as Disturbed[3] and Tool.[3][4]

The album's lyrics are about Chris Volz's life, including his childhood.[2][6][7] The album has music about Chris Volz's time in rehab.[2] Songs such as "Inner Strength" and "Only the Strong" reflect Flaw vocalist Chris Volz's inner growth.[4] The song "Whole" is about the suicide of Flaw vocalist Chris Volz's adoptive mother.[2][6][7] Chris Volz spoke about the song "Whole" and his adoptive mother saying "Everything in that song touches from sadness to anger to grief to blaming myself to confusion," Volz said. "I just really wanted to go as deep into it as I possibly could and still be able to come back. She was the one who got me into music. She was an operatic singer, and for me to go wholly into music has kept a part of her alive inside of me".[2]

According to MTV, songs on the album such as "Inner Strength", "Get Up Again" and "Reliance" are about trauma and frustration.[2] MTV News wrote about the album, "if art could accurately imitate life's many nuances, Flaw's Through the Eyes would be one of the most powerful, traumatizing nü-metal records ever."[2] Flaw's vocalist Chris Volz spoke about the meaning of the band's song "Get Up Again", saying, "It's about never letting one thing or one circumstance get the best of you and try to turn a negative around into something positive. So, whether it was because I was adopted or my mom's suicide when I was younger or having to take my dad to court so I could take charge of my life, that song kinda stands for dealing with life's problems and never feeling sorry for yourself and actually coming out on top".[6] Chris Volz spoke about the album's emotions and sound saying "Well, I would say that it's a very diverse album in terms of musical content. I mean, we touch on a lot of different areas from a really straight-forward heavy metal sound to all kinds of different layers and textures. We all like different kinds of music and so we didn't want to make an album with one kind of sound. We wanted it to be very diverse because life is like that. There's times when you feel angry, when you feel sad, when you feel happy or even lost. We wanted to incorporate all those feelings into a sound that would actually give the industry a hard time of labeling us."[6]

Album cover

The album cover shows a 12-year-old little boy with a zippered-shut mouth who doesn't look like he's in pain, but looks like he has a lot of things to say. Flaw's lead vocalist Chris Volz says that's how he felt throughout most of his childhood.[2]

Personnel

Main personnel

Additional personnel

Tracklist

No. Title Length
1. "Only the Strong"   4:20
2. "Payback"   4:02
3. "My Letter"   4:35
4. "Get Up Again"   2:56
5. "Whole"   3:52
6. "Amendment"   5:20
7. "Scheme"   3:47
8. "What I Have to Do"   5:40
9. "Inner Strength"   3:43
10. "Best I Am"   4:36
11. "Out of Whack"   3:47
12. "Reliance"   3:26
13. "One More Time (Hidden Track: Only the Strong (Piano Version) at 6:19)"   11:08
Total length:
 61:12

Chart positions

Chart Peak position
Billboard 200 119[8]
Top Heatseekers 1[9]

Sources

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Allmusic review
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Flaw’s Metal Fueled By Singer’s Tormented Upbringing". MTV. 20 May 2002. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Flaw — Through the Eyes". Andy Schwegler. Date: April 14th 2010 | Retrieved: August 27th 2015
  4. 1 2 3 "Flaw - Biography". Billboard.
  5. ↑ "Sevendust Plans Road Race". Billboard. January 15th 2002
  6. 1 2 3 4 Don Still. "Through the Eyes of CHRIS VOLZ". Ballbusterhardmusic.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2004.
  7. 1 2 Eleanor Ditzel. "Flaw | Biography & History". Allmusic.
  8. ↑ "Flaw - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved: August 27th 2015
  9. ↑ Flaw | Awards | Allmusic
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