Editors Note: This post was written in 2020, directly after the last All That Remains Review I posted. For some reason, I forgot to post it. As a result, some of the references are hella outdated and won't make any sense.
To be clear before we get started. I'm not making a return. Not just yet. Here in the States, it's labor day weekend. That means I have one more day, to not have to do anything. And I'm taking advantage of that day, to work on finishing this review series. Now that that's out of the way. Let's get started.
First off, fuck Fuck the Fall of Ideals.
This is the way, I probably sound to y'all right now.
I didn't want to talk shit about it during the review, but Jesus, that's got to be the most overrated record ever. Even the opening song of this record is tons better than anything on The Fall of Ideals. And I honestly think that All That Remains don't get the recognition they deserve because most of the spotlight is placed on TFOI. And there are three, maybe four good songs on there, tops. Everything about this record is better than The Fall of Ideals.
For starters, this album was produced by one of the best men in the game; Jason fucking Suceof.
He usually works with heavier acts than ATR like Carnifex, and Whitechapel. Which is why the screaming is mixed so well on this record. He also produced Trivium's first few records so you know he doesn't just completely turn down the low-end like some kind of asshat elitist.
Picture may or may not be related to the above statement (for legal reasons)
Y'all know I love Adam D to death, but if you ask me the band should've stuck with Jason as producer. This record is the best they've ever sounded.
Before the Damned
I was not joking when I said the opening track was better than anything off of The Fall of Ideals. This song is a perfect mixture of heavy guttural screaming and hopeful singing. And it's all underscored by some heavy-hitting bass and sexy riffing. (That's what you get when you use a deathcore producer.) This opening track sounds amazing on every level and it's indicative of their entire album.
Two Weeks
Before we cut into the track, I want to tell a short story. "Two Weeks" is the first All That Remains song I ever heard. And for most of my teenage years, it was their only song I knew. For the majority of my life, I thought of them as the band with the bald singer who sang with a lisp and looked like he was both 20 and 50. All based off of this song and its music video. Back then, I never could've imagined this would become one of my favorite bands.
This song is pretty decent. Oli has an amazing solo. I'll say that again. Oli has an amazing solo. I love the way Phil scream-sings during the verses. It's a very distinctive vocal style we haven't heard on the last couple of albums. I love this song just as much as when I first heard it.
Undone
This song really highlights how they played to their strengths on this record. You've got the crispy guitar tone. The crazy chugging and evil double bass. And then Phil screaming like a madman and singing just because he can. And as always Oli starts showing off with his axe. You start to feel like Oli has opened up a portal to Guitar Land and snatched you right in. Riffs this amazing should not be possible on this mortal plane. Oli fucking tears up this song.
Forever in Your Hands
This was the first ATR record that they tried to be a little bit more commercial-friendly with. And it shows in that there are two versions of this song (Three if you count the amazing acoustic version. https://youtu.be/Tb1rRrSwQrI) The album version sounds more aggressive and it's difficult to understand the lyrics because Phil snarls out the words. The single version shaves off twenty seconds of the intro and removes the screaming. As a lyrics guy, I like the single version, because the screaming takes away from the melancholic, regretful lyrics.
The guitars shine from the start of this song from start to finish. The intro is amazing, all of the riffs are earworms, and the solo is great. They made the right choice by picking this as a single and as one of their staple live songs. It's hella fun to listen to.
Chiron
This is hands down, the heaviest song on the record. And it still manages to sound as melodic as the rest of the songs. You know that high-pitched shriek that Phil usually reserves for the intros of songs or for the ends of verses? He's doing it in every verse of this song.
Days Without
I know I said it before, but I'll say it again.
There ain't a bad song on this record.
And this is probably the best song. Boy, I don't need to explain to you what that means. Everything is amazing. The vocals, the screaming and the singing. The riffing. That song has one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard. If you play this song out loud the drumming will make the room shake.
And that intro. Goddamn, that intro. That fucking intro.
Do you hear how expertly that motherfucker played that shit? No missed notes. No fret buzz. Do you know how hard that shit is to pull off?
In all honesty, I've probably replayed the first thirty seconds of this song hundreds of times. I WAS not joking when I said that Oli inspired me to play guitar. Oli was one of the fucking best to ever play.
A Song For The Hopeless
This song tricks you into thinking that it's going to be soft and then that first chorus hits you like a sucker punch. Especially if you're listening to the lyrics. There's just something about Phil screaming "And I am still my own!" that's inspiring. Especially after hearing this band drastically progress and change in image and sound over the last month last few months. It feels like those words are a direct response to someone or something. It's like Phil is saying that he'll never change and he won't sell out.
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| I'm just going to leave this picture here for no particular reason. |
Do Not Obey
When I was first getting into heavy music Phil Labonte was making a storm online, getting into Twitter fights damn near every week. And the bulk of those fights stemmed from Phil being aggressively anti-PC or because someone made fun of him for posting cringy pictures.
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| And in hindsight, the latter was probably justified... |
Which Phil would always double down on by turning up the offensiveness. You see Phil is a libertarian. A die-hard libertarian. I've met Ron Paul and he isn't even as much of a Libertarian as Phil. Phil is so libertarian he got arrested after a 2AM bus crash (which he wasn't at all liable for) because he refused to identify himself.
Why? Because it was "unconstitutional."
And a big part of being a Libertarian is not wanting to be told what to do. Hence this song. I brought this up because For We Are Many is damn near exclusively 2008-era libertarian commentary. Down to some of the song titles being references to Libertarian slogans. This is our first glimpse of his ideals mixing into his songwriting.
Relinquish
Interesting. This one switches it up. It has a hopeful feel to it. Especially the ambiance after every chorus. I even felt like headbanging toward the end. Again, this is another example of Phil splicing in some political commentary.
There's a certain point where hammering in a message detracts from the song. I didn't understand half of the lyrics so just going off the song title and the chorus had me confused. And it took me out of the song. This song sounds way too aggressive and incoherent to shove a "Fuck the sheeple" into. Especially into the chorus of the song no less.
Overcome
This one is just as dope as the rest. They really kept the energy going for this entire record. And it makes for an amazing title track. But to be fair, the only ATR record so far to have a bad title track was The Fall of Ideals.
Because it's the only one that hasn't had one.
Believe In Nothing
Jesus Christ, talk about leaving the best for last. This is a completely somber ballad about the nature of hope. It's a cover, and the original song is by Nevermore. I'm not too familiar with them, and I honestly like this version better. It's definitely a change of direction from the rest of the record.
Frozen
This one is a bonus track off of the Japanese edition. I'm not Japanese, so it's not on my version. I'm still reviewing it because it just may be my favorite song off of the record. There ain't too much different about it from the rest of the songs but it somehow feels like it blends that melody and aggression a tad bit better.
Final Verdict
This is my favorite All That Remains record. I could listen to it end to end any day. And I believe part of what makes it my favorite is how consistent the songs are. I'm not saying all the songs sound the same. But they're all structured very similarly. And because that song structure is one the band is comfortable with, (and damn near invented) it never gets old. It seems like the whole band was playing to their strengths. Phil screams and sings sometimes with vocal effects added. The drums blast hard. Oli riffs and shreds and solos on every single song. The lyrics are always well-written (albeit not always genre-appropriate). And the stellar production from Jason Seucof enhances everything. This album sounds amazing.
What more could you ask for from this band? For most of the songs, I was tempted to write "This song is good. Listen to it." Honestly, the worst thing I can say about this record is that maybe you could get tired of listening to it because the songs are so similar. I didn't.
Anyways, enough dick-sucking.
Next time we listen to ATR's last metalcore record For We Are Many.
What do I mean by their last metalcore record? Oh, you'll find out soon enough.
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