Following the touring cycle for Changing Tune, Island Records gave the band an ultimatum.

The result of which ended with the band taking a label advance and building their own recording studio in Watford in July 2013.

Discussing new material, vocalist/guitarist Mike Duce called the lyrics "quite vague" compared to his previous autobiographical work.

The band soon moved to Peter Miles' studio in Devon to record drum tracks.

The Black Edition of the album was released in November and features an extra disc of bonus material.

Lower Than Atlantis released Changing Tune in October 2012[3] through major label Island Records.

[4] The album had an arena rock sound that showed the band's progression and an attempt to enter mainstream consciousness.

"[8] Island Records gave the band a choice: "We're legally obliged to make your [next album] but we’re not really up for it.

"[14] Following this, the band members proceeded to go their separate ways: Duce co-wrote songs for artists such as 5 Seconds of Summer, Sansom and bassist Declan Hart did production work, and drummer Eddy Thrower did session work for groups such as One Direction.

[11][nb 1] The band brought Lancaster in because of his pop credentials, his heavy rock background and the ability to merge the two.

[18] Electronic beats were used during recording, which resulted in Thrower changing his thought process to that of a session player.

"[6] He wanted to expand beyond the guitar-bass-drums structure, incorporating hints of electronic music throughout the album.

[7] Hart listed "Domination" by Pantera, "Down the Road" by C2C, and "Chocolate" by The 1975, among others, as songs that influenced the album.

[25] The intro to "Ain't No Friend" is the producer's voice in single notes that the band made to sound like chords.

[25] The post-chorus guitar riff consisted of a single note that was cut and pasted in Pro Tools.

[25] After realising he was stretching a two-syllable word over a three-syllable melody, Duce substituted Rosie for Emily.

[25][nb 2] The middle eight section in "Stays the Same" consists of several percussion instruments recorded in a live room.

[34] A music video was released for "English Kids in America" on 13 August and features the band driving around the US.

[36] "Emily" was made available for streaming on 8 September,[37], the day after its world exclusive premiere on BBC Radio 1 with Daniel P Carter.

[46] In November, the band supported A Day to Remember on their All Signs Point to Britain tour of the UK.

[58] Thrower came up with the concept for the video, Duce explained that the band have "done a few different bits on this record and I think we wanted something that was direct but also a little more cinematic.

[62] The album was reissued with a whole extra disc of bonus tracks, under the name Lower Than Atlantis: Black Edition, on 20 November.

[63] The band went on a tour of the UK in December[64] with support from Moose Blood, As It Is, Brawlers and Black Foxxes.

[73] Lower Than Atlantis was included at number 1 on Rock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.

"[75] He noted that all of the songs "present[ed] not only a massive step up in quality" but also "an equally gargantuan sound".

"[75] Bird mentioned that the majority of the songs featured on the album "could easily nestle among the Top 40.

"[75] Overall, he said it was "a diamond in the rough; an album fully justified of every bit of praise throw its way.