Ever After (Marianas Trench album)

Ever After is the third studio album by Canadian rock group Marianas Trench. It was released on November 21, 2011, in Canada and December 21, 2011, in the US. The album was certified Double Platinum by Music Canada in January 2018. Five singles were released from the album, including the Canadian Hot 100 Top 10 hit "Haven't Had Enough" and the Top 20 Canada Hot AC airplay hits "Stutter" and "By Now". The album's first four singles have been certified Double Platinum by Music Canada.

Composition
After months of anticipation, lead singer Josh Ramsay announced on Twitter that the album will be titled Ever After. The band announced that the album would be released on November 29, 2011, however this date was later pushed up to November 21. The band announced that there would not be any breaks in between the tracks on the record, and would instead have a new track start as soon as the previous track ended, without a pause, making it an hour-long continuous piece of music. Production on the album began in the beginning of 2011.

The album was produced by Ramsay and was recorded at his studio, Umbrella Factory, in Richmond, British Columbia. Through YouTube, the band previewed recordings of a gospel choir for their song "Stutter", as well as a few recordings from the band. The album cover was revealed on the band's Facebook page on October 17, 2011, and it features a series of toys on a shelf.

Storyline
Ever After is a concept album based around a fairytale concept. In addition to the fact that there is no pause between the tracks, Ever After also has a storyline told through the album's songs as well as its booklet. The story tells of a fictionalized Josh Ramsay and his adventures in the fantasy kingdom of Toyland.

It tells a story of a man awakening in a land run by Queen Carolina, who uses her factory to build toys that steal hearts. The man goes on a mission to find Porcelain: the missing, heartless, adopted daughter of the former king. She holds a piece of a key that opens a chest that will allow him to return home.

Singles
The first single on the album, entitled "Haven't Had Enough" was released on July 19, 2011. The music video for the song was released on August 26, 2011. "By Now" was released as a free download to people who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition of Ever After on iTunes. The second official single, "Fallout" was released to iTunes on November 14. On February 1, 2012, a music video for "Fallout" premiered via MTV. A behind-the-scenes video was also released. The third single "Desperate Measures" was released on July 4, 2012 and had its music video premiere the same day. The fourth single "Stutter" was released on December 4, 2012. Although not playing the character of Princess Porcelain, actress Olivia Ryan-Stern was heavily featured in this video as well. The music video premiered on the MuchMusic Top 10 on December 17, 2012. The fifth and final single, "By Now" was released for radio airplay on June 10, 2013. The music video for the song was released on August 1, 2013.

Promotion
They toured with The Ready Set, Allstar Weekend, and The Downtown Fiction in the 2011 Glamour Kills Tour. In October and November, the group supported Simple Plan on their headlining US tour. They toured in Canada with Simple Plan, All Time Low, and These Kids Wear Crowns in February. In April, the group planned to go on a tour of the US. However, they had to cancel it due to illness.

In May, the group appeared at The Bamboozle festival in the US. Following this, the group appeared on the Journeys Backyard BBQ Tour, which included indoor and outdoor performances at malls in the US. Further US shows took place following the conclusion of the tour. Some of the shows were performed with The Audition. In September, the group performed at the Bazooka Rocks Festival in the Philippines. In May and June, the group went on the Noise Tour with Air Dubai. A deluxe edition of the album was released in March 2014.

Release
The album became available for full preview on the MuchMusic website a week before the release. The album was released on iTunes the morning of November 20. Hard copies of Ever After became available on November 21. Some stores such as Wal-Mart, are selling limited edition "Fan-packs" of Ever After that include a Marianas Trench T-shirt.

Critical reception
Ever After was met with positive reviews from music critics. Joe DeAndrea of AbsolutePunk called the album, "damn near flawless" and said it could be a "top candidate for one of the best pop-rock albums of 2011." He praised the slower tempo tracks such as "Porcelain" and "So Soon" for its instrumentation and called "Desperate Measures" and "Stutter" as standout tracks. Timothy Monger of AllMusic stated, "Their pop-punk core remains intact, but is tempered by strong elements of synth and dance-pop, like on the gospel-inspired 'Stutter' and the lead single 'Haven't Had Enough'." He however criticized the production calling it, "overtly over the top." Johan Wippsson of Melodic described the album as a "blend of classic symphonic rock like Queen with newer punk pop. He also added, "Smart electronic elements and fantastic arrangements is delivered and gives the album a fresh and modern touch, but in a classic way."

Personnel
Credits for Ever After adapted from AllMusic.


 * Marianas Trench
 * Josh Ramsay – lead vocals, arranger, bass, composer, drums, engineer, guitar, harmonica, mixing, piano, producer, programming
 * Matt Webb – guitar, piano, vocals
 * Mike Ayley – bass, rhythm bass, vocals
 * Ian Casselman – drums, percussion, vocals


 * Additional musicians
 * Tania Hancheroff – vocals
 * Carolynn Hanney – vocals
 * Camille Henderson – vocals
 * Saffron Henderson – vocals
 * Sarah Johns – vocals
 * Luren Music – vocals
 * Nik Pesut – floor tom
 * Miles Ramsay – vocals
 * Sara Ramsay – vocals
 * John Stamos – lute


 * Production
 * Hal Beckett – conductor
 * Zach Blackstone – assistant
 * Josh Bowman – assistant
 * Scott Enright – A&R
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * Martin Kierszenbaum – A&R
 * Roger Monk – engineer
 * Eric Mosher – assistant
 * Dave Ogilvie – mixing
 * Ivan Otis – photography
 * Brad Salter – assistant
 * Jonathan Simkin – A&R
 * Vancouver Film Orchestra – strings