All That Remains – Antifragile
There are a handful of bands that I absolutely cannot stand, and for the longest time, metalcore band All That Remains was on that list. They still kind of are, but truth be told, I’ve kind of forgot about them. Maybe that’s because they haven’t released an album in almost seven years (and that’s because their former lead guitarist passed away), or because vocalist and frontman Phil LaBonte didn’t turn out to be the worst Trump supporter we’ve seen in the rock and metal scenes (Aaron Lewis and Ronnie Radke take that cake by far), but even at their core, they weren’t necessarily “bad.” All That Remains have suffered from being bland and forgettable, especially in terms of a 00s metalcore band. They’re one of those bands that make the album over and over again, but instead of putting small tweaks into their sound that change things from album to album, they stay stagnant and don’t do anything different. Their diehard fans love it, but most casual listeners don’t care.
If they are a band I can’t stand, and they’ve always been a relatively boring and generic band, why am I talking about them now? Well, their new album Antifragile, is their first in seven years, and it’s their first album to feature lead guitarist Jason Richardson. The latter fact is what piqued my interest, because Richardson is one of my favorite guitarists in the metalcore and djent scenes. Whether it’s his work with Chelsea Grin about a decade ago (where he featured on their best album and they were actually interesting for a little while), Born Of Osiris, and his solo work. He’s an incredibly inventive and talented guitarist, so I was curious about what he would bring to All That Remains, of all bands. Honestly, he adds quite a bit, because if there’s one reason to listen to this album, it’s for him. I’ll be damned if the guitarwork isn’t the best thing here. There are tons of tasty guitar riffs and solos here, especially with a 00s melodic metalcore sound. Richardson nails that sound quite well, and even the breakdowns are pretty gnarly a lot of the time.
Even Phil LaBonte isn’t half bad, and that’s surprising for me to say, because he was always kind of bland and uninteresting. He has a decent voice, both whether it’s in terms of his singing or screaming, but he pulls it off okay here. I think another big reason why this album doesn’t irritate me is that LaBonte doesn’t bring his politics into it. I remember he was a full blown Trumper in the 2016 election, but we haven’t heard him spout any bad takes, or say anything bigoted or awful in recent years, so it was almost like they disappeared from the spotlight. I’m sure he still feels that way, as he does lurk in the alt-right sphere, but you wouldn’t be none the wiser if you were discovering this band for the first time, or casually listening to this album. The lyrics on this thing are its weakest part, because they’re pretty bland, uninteresting, and forgettable. They’re your average hard-rock and metalcore lyrics that don’t say anything of importance, but they’re not outright awful or offensive. They’re not Aaron Lewis bad, but they’re just kind of there.
This is the kind of album that I listen to for the sound, versus the lyrics, but this is a pretty solid album, only if you look at certain elements. The vocals and lyrics aren’t anything amazing, but the instrumentation kind of makes up for that, for better or worse. This album won’t do much for you if you’re not a fan of these guys already, or you don’t like metalcore, but if you enjoy this you enjoy this type of music, you might get a kick out of this one. It’s a bit disappointing that they don’t take any risks here, considering it’s their first album in seven years, but maybe they’ll do more on their next album. Hopefully they’ll get a more consistent schedule, now that Richardson is in the fold, and they’ll take more risks, instead of keeping it real safe, like they did with this one. I like this album, but it’s a bit too predictable for its own good.
