All That Remains is a band that is definitely known for their impressive discography. In the 15 years that they’ve been active, they’ve mastered their instruments incredibly well and succesfully blended multiple metal subgenres together. Genres such as melodic death metal, heavy metal, and metalcore. Three years after ‘A War You Cannot Win’ (which reached number 2 at the US Top Hard Rock Albums charts) they deliver us their seventh album ‘The Order of Things’.
The first song “This Probably Won’t End Well” begins with a soothing piano melody to get the listener’s interest. Not soon after, the guitar joins in to set a great atmosphere. The verse begins with clean vocals, and harmonic guitars. The drums in the song are really on point as well. They feel just right, as they add a lot of power to the song as a whole. During the chorus, the singer shows off his great voice with vocal harmonies. So far, this album is off to a great start.
“No Knock” starts off with pounding drums, guitars and unclean vocals. The song is a great contrast to the more melodic first song. Everything that the first song lacked in brutality, this song makes up for it.
The fourth song “The Greatest Generation” does not leave you waiting, and treats you with harmonic guitars and clean vocals. A lot of modern metalcore bands that incorporate clean vocals, tend to get a more ‘poppy’ sound. With All That Remains, this is not the case at all. The clean vocals do not detract from the energy of the band, and they definitely have added value. Another thing that stands out to me, are the guitar riffs. The band surely uses breakdowns in their songs, but in between, they make use of pure metal riffs to keep things from getting boring.
The final song “Criticism and Self Realization” begins with an acoustic intro. After the intro is finished, distorted and harmonic guitars jump in to carry the song. When the distorted guitars make their entrance, so do the unclean vocals, and the song gets a brutal touch. During the chorus, clean guitars and harmonic vocals take the lead to turn the song into a beautiful masterpiece. After the third chorus, we’re treated with a guitar solo during which the song fades out. When all has become silent, a soothing piano version of the chorus comes in as the cherry on top of the cake. A great way to end the album.
Rating: 8/10
Written by Geert Prins
Tracklist:
1. This Probably Won’t End Well
2. No Knock
3. Divide
4. The Greatest Generation
5. For You
6. A Reason For Me To Fight
7. Victory Lap
8. Pernicious
9. Bite My Tongue
10. Fiat Empire
11. Tru-Kvlt-Metal
12. Criticism and Self Realization
Band members:
Philip Labonte – Vocals
Mike Martin – Guitars
Oli Herbert – Guitars
Jeanne Sagan – Bass
Jason Costa – Drums
Record Label: Razor & Tie, Feb. 2015
Discography:
“All That Remains” [Demo] (1999)
“Behind Silence and Solitude” (2002)
“This Darkened Heart” (2004)
“The Fall of Ideals” (2006)
“LIVE” (2007)
“Overcome” (2008)
“…For We Are Many” (2010)
“All That Remains – Jasta” [Split)] (2011)
“A War You Cannot Win” (2012) [Review]
“The Order of Things” (2015)
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Video below ‘This Probably Won’t End Well’
Video below: ‘No Knock’ (audio)