Overcome Review

Released: Sep 16, 2008
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Prosthetic Records
Number Of Tracks: 11
The melodic side of All That Remains is emphasized on the band's 4th release on Prosthetic Records, Overcome.

Sound:	8.6
Lyrics:	8.1
Impression:	8.3
Overall rating:	8.3
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	77

overall: 7.7

Featured review by: UG Team, on september 18, 2008

Sound: For All That Remains, having Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz as a producer always weighed heavily in their favor. When you added in another ingredient -– namely having a song included in Guitar Hero II -– that sweetened the pot and it showed up in terms of record sales (the last album The Fall Of Ideals has sold more than 175, 000 copies). For the latest album Overcome, the band opted to go with producer Jason Suecof at the helm and time will tell if it’s a smart move. In the grand scheme of things, the biggest change comes in the fact there is a definite emphasis on the melodic vocal area.

There have been interviews where vocalist Philip Labonte has mentioned that Overcome is a heavier offering from All That Remains. You do get a good dose of the band’s aggressive side, but there seems to actually be a pretty good balance in heaviness and melody. The opening track “Before The Damned” is one of the best on the CD, and it’s a pretty good template for the entire record. You get amazing double bass pedal, sweeping guitar sections, and the back-and-forth growls and singing. Melodically it’s one of the most memorable and was a wise starter for the album.

Labonte does give a good deal of time to his traditional singing on the album, which may be the influence of Suecof, who also worked with Trivium. That may be the case, but there are still plenty of the “death” vocals within the album. A prime example is “Relinquish, ” a short and sweet track that explodes from the get-go. The death vocals own this song and no singing is necessarily needed. The energy is nonstop and it delivers everything you want in an aggressive song: lots of distortion in the chorus, double bass pedal, pinch harmonics, and a killer solo.

While many of the tracks do have a similar feel, there are a couple that stand out for going to the next level. One is “Chiron, ” which is an all-around cool song that is aided by classical acoustic work at the halfway mark. There is also a change in the energy with the closing track “Believe In Nothing, ” a cover of the 2000 Nevermore ballad. Not a lot has changed in terms of the interpretation, but it makes for a nice contrast on Overcome. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: Introspection is key on Overcome, and most of the tracks do basically reflect upon anger, fear, regret, etc. It’s a solid collection of lyrics, although only a few jump off the page. The opening track “Before The Damned” takes more of a third person approach and there’s more of an over-the-top feel that works for a dramatic introduction. Labonte sings, “Fallen feed on fallen now; Let the wretched have their fill; Feast not with the beast of old; Taste the fruit of I'll will.” Most of the lyrics usually stick with topics that are more personal and familiar, so having a song like “Before The Damned” is actually refreshing. // 7

Impression: If you’re expecting a much heavier sound than what we’ve heard from All That Remains in the past, you won’t necessarily get it. However, that doesn’t mean the quality isn’t there. “Undone” features an incredible intro and solo scale work, while “A Song For The Hopeless” includes a very impressive harmonized guitar section at the end. About half of the songs do stick to the same basic formula, but they still end up being very listenable thanks to the reliable guitar team of Mike Martin and Oli Herbert. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Pete.g, on september 18, 2008

Sound: Ok so I've been waiting for this album for almost a year, waiting for some sort of sign of new material since the announcement of this album came about. Now that I have it let me tell you this album is not at all disapointing whether your an ATR fan or not. The album starts with a barrage of thrashing guitars and drums that pale in comparison to the last three albums thanks to the addition of Jason Costa. The vocals have a feel of ease at the same time as being the blood curdling screams that we're used to as Phil Labonte. the solo's are all short but sweet and well shared between oli herbert and mike martin, and fluently accented by flawless jeanne sagann's bass work. The first half of the album comes to a close with a break in the thrashing with "A Song for the Hopeless" leading in with acoustic guitar and clean vocals, and then barraging back in for about 45 seconds until the first second solo before the second verse then the thrashing begins again in this truly unique halfway point in the album. I am listeneing to it right now and I still can't believe how organized yet amazing this album is, a full 39 minutes of utter east coast talent! // 10

Lyrics and Singing: What makes this album different is the use of clean and screaming at the same time in many spots on this album. The clean vocals in chiron are done in such a way that phil labonte makes it sound like he's using both spectrum's of his voice at the same time, which is brilliant and adds life to the songs. bu don't take what you've just read wrong, the Blood curdling screams still happen by themselves, "relinquished" puts you in a place as "become the catalyst" did for fall of ideals. Phil's vocals sound well thought over and placed on this album, a step in the right direction if you ask me. But What specifically sets this vocalist away from others of his genre is the fact that whatever type of vocal he submit's you can always hear virtually every word he says which makes listening to this music more like a AH HA! than a HUH? // 10

Impression: Now the last thing I want to point out is the reason why I've been waiting for this album since the Track list was released. The Cover Of Nevermore's Believe In Nothing. My favorite nevermore song os displayed in a perfection nevermore should be proud of. The song isnt cut up and no parts are skipped, both solo's are in tact and for not using seven strings this band does it and does it well with the best in their abilities and an amazing respect for a legendary metal pioneering band. This album is a lot more organized as I said before. A bit more than "fall of ideals", a lot more than "this darkened heart" and well you know where I'm goin with that. The band picked two really amazing songs for their first two singles: Chiron is amazing with it's brutal feel combined with it's driving force and two weeks is a song that you can't keep still to thanks to perfected combination of drums and guitars complimenting each other. I love this band and everything about this album. Buy this album at all cost! // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: ljhrocks, on july 08, 2009

Sound: To start off with I just want to say that All That Remains HAVE NOT sold out to mainstream there is still way too much screaming for that. All That Remains are clearly all very talented musicians, so it goes without saying that they will want to use their talent to it's full petential so it's only natural that they woul[d add more melody sonner or later. It's hard to say which album I prefer out of this and The Fall Of Ideals, but this is one of their best!

The opening track "Before The Damned" is an amazing song and a great mood setter with it's fast double bas and heavy guitar. The verse consists of deep growls followed by a kick ass singing chorus. "Two Weeks" is by far the best song on the album, despite the lack of screaming. The main vocals that you hear are all singing, but you still get the screaming in the background. The guitar work in the song is amazing and it really is one of those songs that you will listen to over and over again and never get bored of it.

Oli Herbert is an amazing guitar player which he shows more and more of with each album, but I feel that even this does not do him justice and he has great things to come for him. Phil Labonte is also one of the most talented vocalists I ave ever seen, he is actually the first person I have ever considered to be better than Corey Taylor (SLipknot/Stone Sour). The overall sound of this band is just through the roof and this album is a great step forward, don't get me wrong though, all of their other albums are amazing. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: What's unique about this band is that their lyrics aren't all about death, misery etc. Generally speaking their lyrics are about bad relationships, there are exceptions to this (Song For The Hopeless for example), but genearally this is the main theme. Forever In Your Hands is odd because the chorus seems like a love song "trust in me the way I trusted you, I know we could have done this together. Believe in me like I believed in you, my heart would be forever in your hands" but the verse and bridge stick to the bad relationship theme "yet that conflict still filling me, mistrust venom inside of me".

This band are also different from most metal band in the fact that you can understand almost everyword the Phil screams. The lyrics and vocals are amazing and Phil delivers them perfectly. This album blends agression and melody perfectly. A Song For The Hopeless is a perfect example. The song starts very melodic with really calm vocals but soon kicks in with nice agressive screams. // 10

Impression: This album is amazing and is well worth the money. I strongly reccomend that any metal fan goes out today and buys every All That Remains CD and the DVD they really are that good! If I lost any ATR CD or the DVD I would buy them again without even thinking twice about it! // 10

overall: 8

Reviewed by: firelord251, on june 10, 2009

Sound: This album really has helped All That Remains become even more increasingly popular in the main stream following the band's previous album "The Fall Of Ideals". For metal bands like this it is indeed an achievment for them to come out onto the mainstream as quickly as they have been able to. With their incredibly rare sound though it is only appropriate that this band and this new album "Overcome", which is coming to show the new side of the band's metallic/hard rock sound, be placed with higher then normal ratings. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The clean cut metallic sound from the lead singer is indeed a rare find in metal bands witch makes them a well to be worshiped band when it comes to vocals. Also the vocals go incredibly well with the musics hard thrasing sound which is to say that this metal band actually comes to state a sense of purpose on like some of the random nonsense you usually find in metal today. Even when the lyrics are not always as strong in some places in the album, its meaning and power are saved by the incredible vocalization of the bands lead singer, which again is often mistaken as being very under-rated for the extreme talent that he truely consumes. // 7

Impression: It is a new age and a new band for what will probably become a historic start for the next generation of metal/hard rock culture. With the addition of this album, All That Remains is continuing to do what they do best: Rock! Which makes this an album definentely worth buying and adding to any true rocker's collection. // 8

overall: 7

Reviewed by: Cyanide86, on september 19, 2008

Sound: Even though I'm not a big ATR fan, their new album 'Overcome' has really surprised me in positive way, it has more melody than previous material, more singing and (little) less more screaming, fast riffs (as always), melodic and short solos, and (again, as always) death metal influenced drums. Great songs like 'Chiron', 'Overcome', 'Undone'. One thing I don't like about All That Remains and this new album is similarity.Concept of every song (and whole album) is the same, opening - verse - melodic chorus - (one more time everything) - solo - chours. In just every song! Although with different riffs and melodies it still sound sometimes boring.

The other thing which also isn't good is unevenness (at times), parts of screaming (or verses) and melodic choruses, because at some point Philip Labonte screaming as hard as possible and second later it goes, well, I cannot say too melodic chours, but chours which just isn't right for the song or doesn't sound good in that context.

01. Before the Damned
02. Two Weeks
03. Undone
04. Forever in Your Hands
05. Chiron
06. Days Without
07. A Song for the Hopeless
08. Do Not Obey
09. Relinquish
10. Overcome
11. Believe in Nothing (Nevermore cover) // 7

Lyrics and Singing: Most lyrics are very good, especially parts about inner strength, pride, self-determination, and how people should be looking things in positive way.The rest is mostly about struggling with bad things in life.Phil is singing a bit more than usual (which may be little disappointing for 'hardcore' ATR fans), but still this is good change, which makes this album better. // 8

Impression: This is the best All That Remains album so far. As I said before, this album has some great parts, like 'Chiron', 'Overcome', 'Undone', and it's better than most of
'current - temporary - metalcore bands'. But despite of all that 'Overcome' is just another average metal album. // 6

overall: 6.7

Reviewed by: mr. riff, on september 18, 2008

Sound: I'll get right to the point. This album sounds much like their last effort, The Fall of Ideals. There is much crazy guitar riffs and fast, pounding drums to be heard on Overcome. The guitars sound tighter and slightly more technical and the drums are still fast and in your face. There's even the occasional acoustic guitar interlude (Chiron). This time around, though, some of the guitar melodies don't seem as memorable as the ones from the last album. The only important thing ATL skimped on as far as the sound is concerned is the bass. Jeanne's bass lines were almost unheard in TFoI and it's the same case with this album. Overall, Perhaps it's because the dynamics of the band's sound and song structure haven't changed much that Jeanne's bass doesn't shine through. I'd say their sound hasn't changed significantly from the last album. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: Lyrically, this album doesn't try very hard. It's the same old themes that is so common in metalcore: struggles, pain, etc. But with the cliche album title "Overcome" what would you expect? The singing isn't too original either. It's your standard screaming verses and melodic choruses. This time however it sounds like they took this formula to extremes. Vocally, the verses are heavier and the choruses are more melodic than ever. A couple songs break the formula by using clean vocals for the whole song or the majority of it (Two Weeks, Believe in Nothing) but the album as a whole still relies on that formula. My biggest gripe with the singing is that it is over-produced. Most of the songs are so layered with vocals it makes Phil sound so fake, which is a shame because their past efforts really show off how great and talented he really is. // 5

Impression: Overcome is a decent album and is bound to satisfy most of those who fell in love with TFoI, but some may be left disgruntled by the fact that ATR haven't progressed their sound very much, if at all. I would go as far as to say this album is essentially TFoI part 2. Best songs on the album? I struggled with that question when I first listened to TFoI because almost every songs was memorable but now I struggle finding my favorite songs on this album, but for the opposite reason. As melodic and heavy as Overcome is, it doesn't have the memorable moments that their other albums did. Overall Overcome relies on the same bag of tricks that are so common in metalcore. It's not bad, but not great either. // 7

overall: 8.3

Reviewed by: a7x19862008, on october 24, 2008

Sound: First off All That Remains (ATR) has been a constant presence in my music library since the release of The Fall of Ideals. ATR has to me, a different sound compared to the majority of the "Metal-Core" genre. What hooked me to ATR in the beginning was the balance of clean and unclean vocals. This was probably because of Adam D. from Killswitch producing The Fall of Ideals, because compared to their previous album This Darkened Heart the balance weighed to the unclean vocals, and a less polished music sound overall. Don't get me wrong I like This Darkened Heart, I can just really see the growth and progression ATR has made in the last few years. The one thing that impresses me the most about ATR is Phil's voice is the range of unclean vocals and the surprisingly melodic sound of his clean vocals. I'm becoming more convinced that the reason for the change to more melodic vocals is because the strain hardcore singers put on their vocal chords. M. Shadows has had surgery for torn vocal chords, and so has Matt from Bullet for My Valentine. Maybe more unclean vocalists will start to lean towards finding a balance to save their voices? Only time will tell. On to guitars, Mike Martin and Oli Herbert have shown that they are indeed one of the strongest guitar duo's of our time. Jason Costa has continued to surprise me as a drummer, as he has progressed he seems to get tighter and more polished for type of music he is playing. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: This is one of my favorite things about ATR. Phil in my personal opinion is one of the best lyrical writers in the genre. The Fall of Ideals showed some fantastic writing, and it has only gotten better in Overcome. My favorite track by far has to be 2 Weeks. It shows some of the lighter, more "motivational" side of Metal. With lyrics like "I could see it as you turned to stone, Still clearly I can hear you say, Don't leave, don't give up on me, Two weeks and you ran away, I remember don't lie to me, You couldn't see that it was not that way, Swear I never gave up on you" Not to mention the way he goes about this song vocally just puts the icing on the cake. Some have argued that his voice is becoming weaker, I disagree. I believe that this is the progression that ATR has chosen to do, and so far for me, it works. Other notable songs on the album are Undone, Forever In Your Hands, Chiron, and Days Without. Do Not Obey, Relinquish, and Overcome are more "old school" ATR that will please most ATR fans. However I am not a fan of I Believe In Nothing. it's a cover, I understand that, but I would rather have seen them write their own ballad. // 9

Impression: Overall this album is my favorite of theirs to date, I love the change up on the vocals. This has some radio friendly songs, which I hate to say. But I think this album shows more of their image, other than The Fall of Ideals which seemed to be more of an Adam D. project. This album isn't raw, but more medium-rare. They have gone back to their sound, but have improved on just about every angle. I know there will be fans out there that will hate this album. This year there have been so many bands that have released "different" records that tend to split critics down the middle. Saying you will love it or you will hate it. This album is different, however saying you would rather see a band release the same album over and over again with different song names than grow and refine their sound is refusing to respect them as musicians. So go out pick Overcome up and give it a listen, I'm sure just about everyone will find something they like about this album. // 8

overall: 9

Reviewed by: ShallowEndings, on december 18, 2008

Sound: Overcome is the latest album to be released by metalcore band All That Remains, the album was released on 16 September 08. I pesonally think it's one of the best albums ATR have ever released. As opposed to their previous albums, they took a different road with a new producer, and more emphasis on their singing and guitars, rather then full blown metalcore.

This album is the first to be released with drummer Jason Costa (ex-Diecast) in it. His drumming skills are part of what made this album what it is. His style is one of the best I've ever seen, and his bass drumming is the backbone to his amazing skills.
Oli Herbert has stated that his leads have been improved when it comes to speed and technique, which I agree with him 100%. My favourite solo to watch, is Chiron. He does very well to write the music how he does. Mike Martin has also made a great achievement in the rythm section. His blazing sounds that he makes are what makes songs what they are. Jeanne Segan, well although she's an amazing bassist, her sound is held back by the other instruments, unless I'm deaf her talent isn't being shown as much as it should. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: Like I said, this is one of the best albums ATR have ever released. I was impressed at Phil Labonte's vocal range, I think it's really versatile that a singer can switch between harsh vocals to a soft melodic tone. The lyrics are well written to me, but I think the main part of the songs is Phil's tone, they make it sound better then it should be. it's mainly hung around the topic of fear, anger etc. Which I think makes it sound more personal, and interesting. // 9

Impression: This isn't like their previous albums, so there isn't as much of the heavier sounds your used to. This isnt to say that it's not a great sounding album, because it's something everyone should check out. What makes it sound like a great album is the characteristics of guitars, drums, bass and vocals mixed together. I strongly recommend it. If it were lost, well I have every track on my ipod, but if that and the CD were lost, I'd get it again without a doubt. Well done ATR. // 9

Comments

[Reviewer Pete]

Average album, not very impressed. Cool Nevermore cover though.

[CrazyPigeon]

Wasn't a bad album, I was rather disappointed in the lack of screaming though, The Fall Of Ideals and This Darkened Heart were brutal, whereas this far too melodic.

[Cheesepuff]

Cool, I love melodic stuff.

[wokandmurrys]

all that remains are awesome.

i haven't heard the new stuff, so ill i cant comment on that, but yeah.

woooo

[savio23q]

Will definitely check this out.

[Bkennedy88]

I think the change for them works; they are, like most other good bands, trying to destroy the negative connotations that metalcore recieves for being to much of a uniformed genre.

[gab4554]

I didnt listen to the whole album but from what ive seen im not impressed.. the others were way better.

[ibanezshred503]

Man,i love how melodic vocals go over heavy guitar power. This album is awesome

[SynGates7X]

This is my favorite album from them to date. I liked the production on FOI a lot more, and Overcome is a little short, but beyond that I love it.

[Marcus Carlzon]

really good album!

[flipthatchicken]

Phenomonal Solos, Cool Vocals.

[kaizerkhan13]

amazing album. ATR never fails.

and i guess no one could her the bass in Not Alone except me, cuz i thought the intro was pretty sick.

[Bard_of_all]

Some good stuff in this album. I like how they have a different sound and haven't made it detrimental to thir bands health.

[metal2thebone]

I think it's an awesome CD. My thing is this: You cant constant screaming and blast beats all the time. Doing Something different is what makes it interesting to me.

[gratefullydead2]

I love this album. My only problem with it is that the vocals are muddied in certain songs. They don't soar over the guitars like they should sometimes

[gibsonlp1]

dude this album is awsome!!! besides, it probably got old for labonte to scream all the time.

[NightEmbers]

I saw these guys yesterday, they we're pretty good but it was kinda hard to groove to their stuff, maybe it was the sound guy but it sounded really muddy at times

[mvtan]

pretty good stuff

[Afi_rocker_91]

I like this album. Its pretty Raw IMO. I love the singing and screamin, though FOI is still my favorite. But non the less i love this album right here. Im glad they changed it up a little bit too. Id rather my favorite band come out with a cd thats completely different then to come out with a cd thats exactly the same

[metaldud536]

metal2thebone wrote:

I think it's an awesome CD. My thing is this: You cant constant screaming and blast beats all the time. Doing Something different is what makes it interesting to me.

Except that this isn't anything new for the band.

[xXChimairaXx]

since this darkened heart is my favorite song, i was surprised when i heard this album. a lot heavier on some songs, then soft as hell on some others. they still sound amazing, and herbert still shreds.

[Rob the Tipton]

Not so happy with the vocals at all. The guitars are great, however I miss the old vox. Therefore the absence of the old vox just turns me off

[Yngwi3]

Rob the Tipton wrote:

Not so happy with the vocals at all. The guitars are great, however I miss the old vox. Therefore the absence of the old vox just turns me off

Same. Vox are waay too overproduced, too many layers e.t.c
It's a good album, but just a scratch on The Fall Of Ideals.

[ellessdee]

im not toofamiliar with these guys so this is the first album i have from them. i really tried to enjoy it, and i did the first go around. the guitars and the drums are impressive. you can tell they have a good feel for eachother. BUT phil labonte is an idiot. the vocals are so average its amazing. you can tell this idiot has tribal tattoos. i dont know if he does or not, but hes so gay it sounds like he does. these guys suffer from Bleeding Through syndrome. siiiiick musicians, but an idiot frontman.

[handbanana78]

ellessdee wrote:

im not toofamiliar with these guys so this is the first album i have from them. i really tried to enjoy it, and i did the first go around. the guitars and the drums are impressive. you can tell they have a good feel for eachother. BUT phil labonte is an idiot. the vocals are so average its amazing. you can tell this idiot has tribal tattoos. i dont know if he does or not, but hes so gay it sounds like he does. these guys suffer from Bleeding Through syndrome. siiiiick musicians, but an idiot frontman.

bleeding trhough syndroe..nice lol

[SylvaShredder]

What the hell ellessdee? Phil Labonte is an amazing vocalist, there's so much variety in him. Quit being a shallow prick. Thanks

[Unskathed]

They haven't topped This Darkened Heart yet.

[~DrEaM ThEaTeR~]

i have to say this album is kinda disappointing, the fall of ideals was just too good

[NickoAbate]

It's different from the other stuff. WAY DIFFERENT. But it still isn't better that Fall of Ideals in my opinion. Still a great album from an amazing band!

[Inferno11]

Fall of Ideals was a more memorable album in my opinion but I think I actually enjoy Overcome more. Great work from ATR when it seems more and more crappy albums have been coming out from well established bands.

[JRowe3388]

I enjoyed this album a lot.

[TFK_62]

As soon as I get to a music store, I'm gonna pay whatever price they have on this, even if it doesn't top Fall Of Ideals, well not many albums can, so...

[stumaster18]

Let down.

[AmpleSteak]

I'm not gonna lie... The quality of the recordings on this album sound like shit

[Zertuche]

As an enormous ATR fan I have to say the sound production on this album is horrible and the layered vocals are a tad annoying. Other than that this is a solid album!

[stevoelsupremo]

oh god this CD is Garbage! its all him jsut singing with normal vocals half the time, its not as pwerful, as aggressive as darkened heart or fall of ideals. Im goin to see them in november and I better nto have to listen to this rubbish the whole time. I miss the hardcore yelling and aggression that I saw in songs like the air that I breathe and become the catalyst.. not this.. tisk tisk tisk ATR

[metal worshiper]

CrazyPigeon wrote:

Wasn't a bad album, I was rather disappointed in the lack of screaming though, The Fall Of Ideals and This Darkened Heart were brutal, whereas this far too melodic.

the album is 70% screaming and 30% clean. This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals also have clean vocals in ther songs, especially in the chorus. It does feel a little different but the concept is there and its simple to adhere.

[Neverhead666]

These guys should be ashamed themselves, covering a Nevermore song, especially one off of an album as epic as Dead Heart In A Dead World. These guys can never amount up to Jeff Loomis and Warrel Dane. Decent cover though I suppose. Anyways, back to this album. It's pretty damned good. I was really iffy about picking this up, since I have a bit of a grudge against Phil. His vocal work when he was with Shadows Fall was horrible. The earliest SF albums were almost as bad as listening to an Aiden album. Not too much all the instruments on those albums sucked too. Anyways, I have strayed from the topic at hands again. The guitars in this album are very high quality, even if the record's sound quality isn't up to that standard. The vocals are ok, Phil's voice sounds different, but that doesn't necessarily mean thats good. I cant decide whether or not the new vocal style is working, but it sounds good with the musical flow, so it's got something done right I suppose. Drums are awesome. It was definitely worth buying. I may not be so skeptical about the next album. But I'm sure Into Eternity's new album will be better. Keep stirring the good of the great metal chalice you guys.

[Pho3niXnz]

Not sure if this is out in NZ yet but by some of the reviews i'm thinking i'll just stick with The Fall of Ideals until a better one comes out.

[Ditachi07]

i've listened to at least half the album, i person like the fall of ideals better but do like this one as well, two weeks is my fav =D

[Eurasian_C]

Neverhead666 wrote:

These guys should be ashamed themselves, covering a Nevermore song, especially one off of an album as epic as Dead Heart In A Dead World. These guys can never amount up to Jeff Loomis and Warrel Dane. Decent cover though I suppose. Anyways, back to this album. It's pretty damned good. I was really iffy about picking this up, since I have a bit of a grudge against Phil. His vocal work when he was with Shadows Fall was horrible. The earliest SF albums were almost as bad as listening to an Aiden album. Not too much all the instruments on those albums sucked too. Anyways, I have strayed from the topic at hands again. The guitars in this album are very high quality, even if the record's sound quality isn't up to that standard. The vocals are ok, Phil's voice sounds different, but that doesn't necessarily mean thats good. I cant decide whether or not the new vocal style is working, but it sounds good with the musical flow, so it's got something done right I suppose. Drums are awesome. It was definitely worth buying. I may not be so skeptical about the next album. But I'm sure Into Eternity's new album will be better. Keep stirring the good of the great metal chalice you guys.

His scream is his own scream; it's not necessarily a different style than what we heard in This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals. However the vocals are so damn over produced that it really does lack the natural brutality that was the past two albums. Personally I think The Fall of Ideals had the most unique range of songwriting for the band. I don't deny the traditional way of songwriting's effectiveness, but I personally go for riff-for-riff untraditional writing. This album is kind of disappointing because instead of doing something "different", they push out more of the same mainstream metal that we hear today. Especially with "Two Weeks." Holy crap I hate that song. It's not even the lyrical content, it's the deliverance of the lines. It just sounds so damn poppy. This song should've been canned in my opinion. There's too much to say about this album with me. But basically with the past two CD's, I've been able to listen to the albums fully without any trouble or having to skip a track. Now it's like there's hardly anything I like!!

[Eurasian_C]

Neverhead666 wrote:

These guys should be ashamed themselves, covering a Nevermore song, especially one off of an album as epic as Dead Heart In A Dead World. These guys can never amount up to Jeff Loomis and Warrel Dane. Decent cover though I suppose. Anyways, back to this album. It's pretty damned good. I was really iffy about picking this up, since I have a bit of a grudge against Phil. His vocal work when he was with Shadows Fall was horrible. The earliest SF albums were almost as bad as listening to an Aiden album. Not too much all the instruments on those albums sucked too. Anyways, I have strayed from the topic at hands again. The guitars in this album are very high quality, even if the record's sound quality isn't up to that standard. The vocals are ok, Phil's voice sounds different, but that doesn't necessarily mean thats good. I cant decide whether or not the new vocal style is working, but it sounds good with the musical flow, so it's got something done right I suppose. Drums are awesome. It was definitely worth buying. I may not be so skeptical about the next album. But I'm sure Into Eternity's new album will be better. Keep stirring the good of the great metal chalice you guys.

His scream is his own scream; it's not necessarily a different style than what we heard in This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals. However the vocals are so damn over produced that it really does lack the natural brutality that was the past two albums. Personally I think The Fall of Ideals had the most unique range of songwriting for the band. I don't deny the traditional way of songwriting's effectiveness, but I personally go for riff-for-riff untraditional writing. This album is kind of disappointing because instead of doing something "different", they push out more of the same mainstream metal that we hear today. Especially with "Two Weeks." Holy crap I hate that song. It's not even the lyrical content, it's the deliverance of the lines. It just sounds so damn poppy. This song should've been canned in my opinion. There's too much to say about this album with me. But basically with the past two CD's, I've been able to listen to the albums fully without any trouble or having to skip a track. Now it's like there's hardly anything I like!!

[SOUPerman432321]

The songs are good, but THE PRODUCTION QUALITY BLOWS!!!! wheres adam d?.... thats not acceptable for a fourth studio album.

[The Hooded One]

kaizerkhan13 wrote:
and i guess no one could her the bass in Not Alone except me, cuz i thought the intro was pretty sick.

oh i actualy hear it now, when i read that i was like what bass? but i can hear it now, i think the bass needs to be at least a bit louder

[Styx]

Chiron and Before The damned are the best songs the rest are meh... They could have done better, Fall of Ideals is their best by far.

[rhyme2zone]

this was the first album of all that remains id ever heard and i am impressed the guitars are my favorite part. nice shredding and soloing. the vocals are ok, stand out on some songs tho. The drums are amazing. if your into bfmv or trivium buy this album

[deathnotes]

The vocals were way too over worked. Too much extra echo and overdubbing. Phil's clean vocals on fall of ideals were much better. the only time he actually sings with no extra sound thrown in is on A Song For The Hopeless(which kicks ass).

[piratefdu]

gratefullydead2 wrote:

I love this album. My only problem with it is that the vocals are muddied in certain songs. They don't soar over the guitars like they should sometimes

I gotta agree with that, and they also sound too digital/overproduced. There's more clean singing in this album but the singing isnt as catch as the last album. the more i listen to this album the more i think its very solid tho, the guitar work is extremely tight.

[planktonfighter]

Great album along with The Fall of Ideals.

I can't get into This Darkened Heart though.

[boyan89]

It's a very good listen, but Fall of Ideals is better.

[skate_guitar]

too light not happy about that at all.

[MetalGuitar5]

im hearing "its great" and "its bad"
whats the truth?

[Phoenix322]

No such thing as "truth" when it comes to opinion since it's just that...an opinion. I personally don't like the new album at all. Other may love it. YouTube some of the songs and have a listen and decide for yourself whether or not you want to buy the album.

[insidethehorror]

Good album. Great guitar work. Excellent drums. Decent vocals. Good bass(when you can hear it). Its worth a listen. This Darkened Heart is better.

[Vectrox]

What the hell happened to the clean vocals on this album? Very weird to hear a pop-band vocal :S.

[headbanger703]

Neverhead666 wrote:

These guys should be ashamed themselves, covering a Nevermore song, especially one off of an album as epic as Dead Heart In A Dead World. These guys can never amount up to Jeff Loomis and Warrel Dane. Decent cover though I suppose. Anyways, back to this album. It's pretty damned good. I was really iffy about picking this up, since I have a bit of a grudge against Phil. His vocal work when he was with Shadows Fall was horrible. The earliest SF albums were almost as bad as listening to an Aiden album. Not too much all the instruments on those albums sucked too. Anyways, I have strayed from the topic at hands again. The guitars in this album are very high quality, even if the record's sound quality isn't up to that standard. The vocals are ok, Phil's voice sounds different, but that doesn't necessarily mean thats good. I cant decide whether or not the new vocal style is working, but it sounds good with the musical flow, so it's got something done right I suppose. Drums are awesome. It was definitely worth buying. I may not be so skeptical about the next album. But I'm sure Into Eternity's new album will be better. Keep stirring the good of the great metal chalice you guys.

How can you still hold a grudge against him for that!? that was soooo long ago! that was seriously like 10 years ago. get over it. ever since he has worked in All That Remians he has grown as a vocalist dramatically

I prefered the fall of ideals (its pretty much unbeatable) but this is still a great album. OLI IS A GODDAM BEAST!

[kyshack]

They shouldn't have gotten rid of Dutkiewicz. That guys a genious.

[Revenger#11]

The guitar work is amazing and i like the vocals still even though it's lost the heaviness of TFOI it's melodic as ever. which is a good thing for me at least but TFOI was probably better

[Chris-W-11]

kaizerkhan13 wrote:

amazing album. ATR never fails.

and i guess no one could her the bass in Not Alone except me, cuz i thought the intro was pretty sick.

I totally agree! If I played bass I would learn it.

[IlikeMetal]

decent album, but definitely not as good as their previous 3. Vocals are WAY over-layered.

[ljhrocks]

This album is definatley better than most people are giving it credit for. The screaming in before the damned is very weak, but apart from that an amazing album. Two weeks is the best song by far, some will disagree but ATR do the melodic songs without screaming well and should do more. Best album yet because it is the only one that mixes singing and screaming this well.

[Shlecht]

how did this album manage to only get an 8 overall? this album is almost as good as fall of ideals and i still consider it a masterpiece cuz literally every song is worth listening to. this breaks my heart. overcome is ****ing incredible.

[kyru91]

amazing album whether your an All THat Remains fan or just a fan of metal and great guitar melodies. The solos oli plays still amaze me and are a great inspiration to guitar players like myself. !0 out of 10 for me.

[JMan 240]

ellessdee wrote:

im not toofamiliar with these guys so this is the first album i have from them. i really tried to enjoy it, and i did the first go around. the guitars and the drums are impressive. you can tell they have a good feel for eachother. BUT phil labonte is an idiot. the vocals are so average its amazing. you can tell this idiot has tribal tattoos. i dont know if he does or not, but hes so gay it sounds like he does. these guys suffer from Bleeding Through syndrome. siiiiick musicians, but an idiot frontman.

bleeding trhough syndroe..nice lol

You seem to forget that Phil was also the Vocalist for Shadows Fall when they where starting out. He wasn't what they where looking for but all the guys in Shadows Fall have admitted that he is a great singer. He may not be quite as constantly brutal in his delivery as guys like Brian, but he's still a great vocalist. You people need to learn there's more to metal than just ****ing screaming your head off. As I can remember it didn't exactly start out that way now did it, so why should every single song be like that. So, for future reference, check your ****ing mouth before talk about something you admit you know nothing about, not a good strategy.

-----

Genre Classifications are NOT metal, so quit using them.

[freedomdeceptiv]

the production is kinda dry... not as clear as on their earlier stuff. it seems so trebly. i feel like atr might have sold out... this darkened heart and the fall of ideals were just so much better. this albums still pretty good tho

[Dr. Love777]

this has band has some of the cooliest guitarists ever this album is a good example of their awesome playing

[RocknRollRay]

Fist of all anyone who rates this album a perfect 10 is a fanboy.

Some of the songs are cool and most of the solos are very well done, but not all the songs are great imo.

Just let me say this; I'd rather buy an album with 5 awesome songs, than an album with 11 when half the songs are album fillers. And that's the impression this album left me with.

There is plenty of talent in this band and a lot of potential, but the album as a whole wasn't that good.

[KillrBuckeye]

Fantastic album. I put it right up there with The Fall of Ideals. It seems that for most people, their opinion of the album comes down to their preference of the balance between singing and screaming. Personally, I could do without any screaming at all (although I don't really mind it), so I love the fact that they've incorporated more singing into these songs. The vocal melodies are their best to date (by far), and that really sets this album apart for me. Guitar work is amazing as usual. As a guitarist who has covered several ATR songs, I think their work on this album surpasses most of what they've done before.

[ShallowEndings]

I put a review in here, but i disagree with ppl about their previous album. They have moved on from that, and they chose themselves, as well as with the help of the producer Jason Suecof, that they wanted to change the direction, into some more singing and more interesting tone that they make. So stop criticising. If you don't like it, no one is forcing you to listen to it. So stick with TFOI, but the band has moved on, and so should you.

[Metal_Hed_23]

ellessdee wrote:

im not toofamiliar with these guys so this is the first album i have from them. i really tried to enjoy it, and i did the first go around. the guitars and the drums are impressive. you can tell they have a good feel for eachother. BUT phil labonte is an idiot. the vocals are so average its amazing. you can tell this idiot has tribal tattoos. i dont know if he does or not, but hes so gay it sounds like he does. these guys suffer from Bleeding Through syndrome. siiiiick musicians, but an idiot frontman.

average?! he has like 6 different vocal styles in each song. how the hell isa that average?

[ibanez124]

Yeah I def gravitate more to The Fall of Ideals. This album is def more technical, and also a little bit more melodic. Keep on make brutal metal ATR \m/

[weebleman]

firstly, I bloomin love this album i find the clean vocals in it such an improvement. To the people who moan about the clean vocals, why? As much as I love the whole screaming etc thing I like being able to understand the lyrics to a song. ON another note i think the guitar work on this album is so amazing I really wanna see these guys live

[keifferesp]

I love ATR. I've seen then live 4 times now. But this is BY FAR their WORST ALBUM.

Its not the old ATR like on the Fall Of Ideals that caught my attention. And yes, I admit, Phil has skillz to do like 4 diff vocal styles on each song, but wtf guys?

For anyone familiar with Trivium, this reminds me of how Ascendancy was a kick ass, skip no songs album. Then The Crusade came out and It was SO different. It is still okay, but def not as good as Ascendancy.

Overcome is okay. I would much much much much rather listen to the FAll Of Ideals anyday tho.

[ESPman6505+]

A Song For The Hopeless is a tight track...love the acoustic intro with the solo in the background

[Lion_Slicer]

This album is okay. Half the people here sound like they want to jump into bed with Oli or Phil... a 10 review? You're saying this album is absolutely flawless, and ATR have no room for improvement whatsoever? That album doesn't exist. Even my favorite albums of all time have minor flaws. Anyway, the vocal layering does seem a bit uncomfortable, and there's a way to do it right--listen to Cynic, some sections have 5 or 6 individual vocal layers that really mix well. These don't so much. But my main problem comes from the lack of originality in songwriting. The same tactics as Fall of Ideals, meaning its not as fresh, and the riffs just seem recycled at timed. Oh, another fast pedal riff with short bursts of galloping sixteenths? Gotta say, the chorus of Two Weeks is really poppy... but I like it a lot.

[Jon777]

CrazyPigeon wrote:

Wasn't a bad album, I was rather disappointed in the lack of screaming though, The Fall Of Ideals and This Darkened Heart were brutal, whereas this far too melodic.

I dunno, I absolutely love their melodic side.

[InfamyB4Fame]

ATR is the most epic metalcore band of all time. This album proves it. At every concert I've been too of theirs I've been more and more impressed everytime. Oh and for those of you bitching about the clean vocals, your just mad your favorite band's lead vocalist sounds like hes got emphazema and needs to quit smoking cigarettes imediately....****ing haters.