same way they would if the band focused on the melodies and vocals. Composition Musically, the album has been described as emo, post-hardcore, alternative rock, pop-punk and screamo. Alan Sculley of The Morning Call said the tracks were in "a middle ground between the heavy rock" style of the Deftones and the "poppier side" Story of the Year had developed prior to moving to California. The band drew comparisons to Thrice, Finch and the Used, an act that Feldmann also produced. Feldmann tried to separate Marsala, who was more of a trained singer, from the Used frontman Bert McCracken, who had a unique voice. He added that the band's riffs leaned to a more progressive sound than the Used, who were more chaotic. Sneed said that while recording in California, the album "took on like a whole sentimental, missing-home type of vibe" with most of the songs being about "missing home and missing friends and memories". Page Avenue was named after a popular east-west freeway close to St. Louis, Missouri. Marsala said it "reflects a bunch of dudes determined to get out of St. Louis and make our dreams happen and while we were doing that we realized how very important our home really was to us". Marsala came up with the guitar riff for "And the Hero Will Drown" and proceeded to show Phillips, who immediately suggested jamming. As the band wrote the track, they knew it would work as an upbeat, in-your-face type of song. They wrote it with a live setting in mind; Marsala thought the track sounded like Refused. "Until the Day I Die" was written in the group's van while they were touring. Wills wrote the first verse of "Anthem of Our Dying Day", before jamming out the rest of it with the band. Working on the lyrics, Russell had Saves the Day and Glassjaw in mind; Sneed said the track was about ghosts. The initial version of "In the Shadows" sounded much different before the band entered the studio. The group did not like Feldmann's suggestion they make the chorus more chilled-out compared to the heavy nature of the verses. "Swallow the Knife" is about the band's former guitarist; "The Unheard Voice" was initially intended for inclusion, but was dropped in favor of "Swallow the Knife" as the band felt the album did not have enough slow-tempo songs. Marsala said the title-track summarized the