Metalcore as many know is a genre in decline. The heydays of Taste of Chaos long behind, almost everyone was left in the dust by Killswitch Engage a sole phoenix to rise from the Metalcore ashes. Many others fell by the wayside and some adapted. Certain bands fared well adapting to their new environment others not so much and then there was All That Remains.
First picking up their now eponymous (at least for me) The Fall of Ideals I was immediately blown away. No doubt helped by their airplay on Guitar Hero of their Metalcore riffer ironically played as seventh track, titled “Six“. Here was an album that mixed the clean vocals of Metalcore with direction of harsher tones yet had absolutely brilliant lead lines. Being one of my personal favourites Oli Herbert is a brilliant guitarist who had some truly inspired riffs. Pristine mid 00’s production, treble turned up high and gain on full the production let sections on guitar positively sing. Riding the wave of success garnered from The Fall of Ideals the band then released their return with 2009’s Overcome.
Immediately apparent that the band wanted to go faster, further and in some cases heavier, this wasn’t always a good thing. Aside from “Chiron” and “Forever In Your Hands” and of course single and omen of their radio friendly sound “Two Weeks“, the album itself was, when hot off the presses what I thought a brilliant album. Yet as time wore on riffs lost their staying power, solos waned and Labonte just drained. Perhaps a slight misstep on their part the record was a slight misfire.
We call this the Labonte effect. Not quite steering the ship just yet, we had one more attempt at returning to their roots. Releasing For We Are Many, intro track “Now Let Them Tremble” instantly pricked up my ears. Here was a sound that could be beneficial to the world of music. “Aggressive Opposition” again had all the potential for sounding great, great dynamics with searing solos that sounds like a knife through hot butter. Harmonies in “The Last Time” but it became apparent that Labonte was beginning to hog the mic, an awful lot. Thinking this was just a worry perhaps the band would build on this return to form on their new record? How terribly wrong I was.
Chasing the radio friendly crowd the band brought out A War You Cannot Win. Losing almost all credibility the band had garnered over the years in an instant the cries of “Sell out” were deafening. The likes of “Asking Too Much” painful to listen to with Labonte’s autotuned voice being inescapable. What used to be a well placed marriage of screaming and cleans was now just an irritant. Not to mention a track called “Intro” in the middle of the bloody album. The Staind / Tough guy roidhead anthem that was “What If I Was Nothing?” really won gold however. Everything about the band from before had gone and people…loved it.
The public loved the record so much that the band went on to perform in venues that would be full, particularly in America, despite Labonte’s blatant homophobic comments. Not such a great look. Leading to the band’s and potentially most uninspired album title ever The Order Of Things. Now, as a faithful fan thinking perhaps with their track record their might be a redeeming quality herein? It had simply been exaggerated. The vocals again, pushed forward, guitar pushed back and awful production that led to a drum kit sounding like a cardboard box. I still remember hearing “No Knock” and thinking not again… Yet, they did well! It’s commendable truly that the band are able to be profitable off the back of these releases and despite my sad change of heart towards the band are doing pretty well!
Premiering two tracks simultaneously just this week “Madness” and “Safe House” are both incredibly different. A ballsy decision indeed. First of all opting to go the way of crowdfunding the band crowdfunded their new record. Leaving production at the door if the singles are anything to go by. Most importantly though however, the band are an entirely different entity. Sounding almost like a Corey Taylor impersonator “Madness” has hook that will get into your head. A well constructed song it has to be said. “Safe House” however isn’t quite the same. Boring, bland and ultimately nothing different it’s just middle of the road fast riffing Metalcore.
So what is it that All That Remains do? What went wrong? One man Shannon Lucas. Departing the band to put his energies into the far superior The Black Dahlia Murder, personally ever since the sticks man’s departure the band have never quite been the same. Hitting so hard the man knew just exactly what to put where, when a cymbal should ring and when a double pedal should obliterate you. Perfectly exemplified on last year’s debut the vicious collaboration between Killswitch guitarist Adam D and Cannibal Corpse gobbler George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. Carrying the rhythmic stance of the band forward he was the driving force behind the brilliance that was The Fall of Ideals. Exiting before Overcome, whose drums were boring and predictable the pattern followed the band right up to the modern day.
Perhaps it could well be Labonte, a bonehead, writes for the boneheads who draws in the masses with his relatable lyrics. Who better to know exactly what people would want if they were a Five Finger Death Punch fan! Either way, All That Remains are a total wild card. As a long time fan I have had to try and follow them but with their new album coming soon, it does question my loyalty to the band a fair bit. As much as the new band might be successful, the ideals of the original have well and truly fallen.
