The Amity Affliction Stick It To Previous Label With 'Let The Ocean Take Me' Re-recording

The Amity Affliction are set to release a re-recorded version of Let The Ocean Take Me as they look to reclaim the seminal album.

The band’s fourth LP, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and was originally released on Roadrunner Records, will resurface on September 27 as Let The Ocean Take Me (Redux), produced by guitarist Dan Brown.

“We re-recorded this album for a few reasons, but it would be foolish for me not to mention the more monumental of these, that being that our deal with our previous record label had them taking the vast majority of all revenue from what has been our most successful album until recently,” vocalist Joel Birch said.

“When you spend over two decades in an industry you get to see how predatory it can be, and the main victims of this predation are young bands that are wined and dined into deals that all but guarantee the band will only make money for the label and not for themselves.

“This is what happened with us; we were never a group of people who were gunning to be massive or successful, we didn’t really look to the future at all, instead we were completely taken by the treatment we received and the promises that were made and only when it was far too late and we were far too far along in our contract to do anything about it.”

A press release about the move states that Let The Ocean Take Me (Redux) is “the band’s chance to take back ownership of their art, and move on from a difficult situation that has weighed immensely on the band in recent years”. 

Birch added: “Let this be the canary in the coal mine for younger bands, in this day and age you can find ethical and equitable deals, you don’t need to believe the bullshit larger labels will feed you, and you can maintain control over your masters and own your own songs.

“Thankfully we’ve always told people to get fucked when they’ve tried to meddle in our music or this could have been even worse, in any case, I hope that you guys enjoy this and give it a thrashing, we are personally much happier with this new recreation.” 

Let The Ocean Take Me (Redux) arrives following the departure from their previous label, who they worked with from 2012’s Chasing Ghosts until 2018’s Misery.

After debuting at #1 upon release, the original version of Let The Ocean Take Me peaked at #34 on the US Billboard 200 and was nominated for six ARIA Awards. The album features Pittsburgh, Don’t Lean On Me, The Weigh Down and more. 

At the time, The Music declared the release “proof that sometimes passion and honesty can turn a decent album into a great one”.

You can check out the first taste of Let The Ocean Take Me (Redux) via My Father’s Son below.

After performing at Queensland’s Big Pineapple Festival in October, The Amity Affliction will embark on a massive Aussie tour in November with support from Ice Nine Kills, We Came As Romans and Heavensgate.

It’s expected that the Aussie dates will see the return of bassist and singer Ahren Stringer, who departed their US tour early back in May. The band posted that Stringer would be returning to Australia, writing that he needed mental health support.

Shortly after, Stringer took to social media and claimed he’d been “booted” from the tour, but last month stated he’d return for their Aussie shows celebrating Let The Ocean Take Me.

Last May, The Amity Affliction released their self-produced eighth album, Not Without My Ghosts, via Pure Noise Records. It was another instantaneous success, debuting at #2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. You can find The Music’s cover story interview with Ahren Stringer in promotion of the album here.

THE AMITY AFFLICTION

‘LET THE OCEAN TAKE ME’ TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS ICE NINE KILLS, WE CAME AS ROMANS & HEAVENSGATE

Friday 8 November – Meanjin/Brisbane, Riverstage
Saturday 9 November – Eora/Sydney, Hordern Pavilion – SOLD OUT
Thursday 14 November – Naarm/Melbourne, John Cain Arena
Friday 16 November – Kaurna/Adelaide, The Drive
Saturday 17 November – Boorloo/Perth, Red Hill Auditorium