ALL THAT REMAINS
A War You Cannot Win
Razor & Tie (2012)
Rating: 7/10
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When it comes to metalcore, Massachusetts quintet All That Remains are one of the most exciting acts out there. While many people may contest that the band closely copies bands like Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall, the fact is that all of the members of those bands come from the same scene and, for me, it’s logical that they all have a similar approach, not at all unlike the pockets of hardcore throughout the country in the mid-90s that each had their own sound.
Unlike the aforementioned bands however, All That Remains have evolved in a few different ways, allowing them to expand their sound without completely alienating their audience.
There are plenty of completely bright sounding moments here that make it feel like a hard rock record. For example, ‘Stand Up’ is groovy, as-commercial-as-metal-can-be anthem featuring mostly clean vocals. It really showcases how much Phil Labonte has grown as a vocalist. Like all great fist-pumpers, it makes you want to put your hands in the air and unite with the crowd around you.
‘Sing For Liberty’ is another moment that is dominated by the melody that the metalcore scene pulled from the Gothenburg scene. The guitars, in particular, here really drive the song along and the lead solo is probably one of the best offerings on any All That Remains record.
When you take these songs and place them alongside the inspirational sound of ‘Not Fading’ you have an album full of really great songs that make you wonder if these guys should just drop the heavy parts, because they are so damn good with the melodies.
There are plenty of solid heavy moments here as well, however. ‘You Can’t Fill My Shadow’ is the most noticeable, with a breakneck approach that will likely inspire plenty of pits. The angrier lyrics make it stand out a bit from the pack as well. ‘A Call To All Non-Believers’ starts off kind of light but quickly evolves into a beast with plenty of bottom end, particularly musically. ‘Down Through The Ages’ is metalcore-by-the-numbers for sure with heavy verses and soaring choruses, but it’s also a great example of how awesome the genre can be when in capable hands.
The main points here are that everything is bigger and brighter and more commercial sounding. The heavy moments are still heavy but they are a lot fewer than the band’s last couple of offerings and certainly not as plentiful as their early albums.
The big sound is going to bother some longtime fans and will certainly piss off those that already have it out for this sound. As far as I’m concerned, All That Remains are great songwriters trapped in the cage of metal. The partly acoustic ‘What If I Was Nothing’ is perhaps the perfect example of what diehard genre fans will hate and a moment that stands out like a sore thumb in the band’s catalogue. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a solid song though.
Whether or not you like A War You Cannot Win will most certainly depend on what you want from it.
Mark Fisher
