Gutter Phenomenon

Gutter Phenomenon is the third studio album by American metalcore band Every Time I Die.

Following tours of Japan and Australia in February 2005, the band planned to finish up the writing stage for their next album. Later in the month, the band began recording Gutter Phenomenon with producer Machine. On April 1, Kevin Falk of Between the Buried and Me was announced as the band's new bassist. On May 23, it was announced that the band was wrapping up the recording process.

Gutter Phenomenon was produced and mixed by Machine with engineering done by Jakob Nygard. Recording was done using Pro Tools, which was handled by Nygard and Jerry Farley. Drums were tracked at IIWII Studios in Weehawken, New Jersey, and were engineered by Nygard and Machine with assistance from Sal Mormando. Guitars and vocals were tracked at the Machine Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey, and were engineered by Nygard and Machine. The album was mixed at the Machine Shop and mastered at Joe Gastwirt Mastering. On June 22, the band announced that Falk had been kicked out for unspecified personal reasons. In the same announcement, they said Chris Byrnes of Nora would be Falk's replacement. On July 6, 2005, "Bored Stiff" was posted online. In late July, MTV reported that actor Michael Madsen would feature in an upcoming video for "Kill the Music". Director Darren Doane, who at the time had recently filmed a movie with Madsen, received a message from the band about featuring Madsen in a music video. Doane called the band and said Madsen was up for the idea. According to Chris Harris of MTV, in the video for "Kill the Music", Madsen "plays a callous music video director, prone to sudden bursts of unbridled rage." Upon returning home from the video shoot, Madsen called Doane "and was anxious to know if we thought he had done well — like he was contemplating whether he could have done better", according to Buckley. On August 3, 2005, "Champin' at the Bit" was made available for streaming via an E card. Gutter Phenomenon was released on August 23, 2005 through Ferret Records. Three days later, the "Kill the Music" video was posted online. On April 6, 2006, the band filmed a music video in Los Angeles for "The New Black" with director Dan Rush. Buckley said Rush "has such an awesome sense of humor." On June 13, a deluxe edition of Gutter Phenomenon was released; the DVD included an edited version of their forthcoming video album Shit Happens, which consisted of footage from their tour with Bleeding Through. At the end of their set at Dirtfest on August 19, the band announced that Byrnes would be leaving the band. Byrnes said the split was "amicable, but something that I had to do. For the sake of not stirring up controversy I won't go into the details. All I can really say is that it was not an easy decision to have to make." Buckley said Byrnes departure was due to money, "He really couldn't afford it on our touring schedule and salary". He was replaced by former the Chariot member Keller Harbin. The Shit Happens video album was released on October 31, 2006. The album was reissued on vinyl as part of a box set along with Last Night in Town (2001) and Hot Damn! (2003). The box set was released on December 12 through Suburban Home Records. Both Hot Damn! and Gutter Phenomenon were repressed in September 2008.

In early June, the band performed at the Flame Fest: Gods of Metalcore 2005 festival in Italy. In June and July, the band participated in the Sounds of the Underground tour. In September and October, the band embarked on a US tour with High on Fire, the Red Chord, the Chariot and Esoteric. Every Time I Die went to mainland Europe with My Chemical Romance, and then a tour of Australia with Parkway Drive. In January 2006, the band supported Story of the Year on their headlining US tour. Prior to the start of the tour, the band crashed their tour bus, resulting in them not joining the tour until January 11. From February to April, the group toured across North America with Bleeding Through. In early May, the band performed at the Bamboozle festival. Later in the month, the band toured the UK with support from Protest the Hero and It Dies Today. The band went on the 2006 edition of the Warped Tour. While on the tour, the band was initially attracting crows of 300 people, however, as it continued they were drawing 6,000 people. Guitarist Andy Williams said that unlike Sounds of the Underground and Ozzfest, "you're playing in front of thousands of people that have never heard you", mentioning people who were accustomed to bands such as My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. before supporting Underoath on their US fall headlining tour. In October and November, the band supported Atreyu on their tour of the US. During the tour, the band performed at Saints & Sinners Festival.

By August 2006, the album had sold over 68,000 copies. Revolver picked the album as their Album of the Year.