Review Summary: The Fall of Ideas.
You know kids, the ever dwindling scene that we know today as 'metalcore' wasn't always so glum. Seriously, ask your parents. Even some of metal's more extreme audience could get on board with the occasional record. In fact, back in the year 2004 a certain band from Springfield, Massachusetts started to gather a little attention following their sophomore release, 'This Darkened Heart'. This meant that when 2006 rolled along their third album, 'The Fall of Ideals', had gathered up a good chunk of anticipation, and it's no surprise really as it's an album that still holds up to this day (for some people).
However, times change. Sadly, All That Remains don't. Well in actual fact part of the problem is that they did change, they just haven't changed back.
Following the aforementioned fan's favourite ATR went on to release two fairly solid (albeit boring in places) records. Then things went south. With 2012's 'A War You Cannot Win', the winds of change swept up the metal outfit and spat them out as a band who were quite blatantly aiming to widen their audience. It didn't work. The extremely dull record was met with mainly negative response, but perhaps this could be a good thing. Perhaps after having such a bland radio-friendly album be rejected by the metal masses All That Remains would opt for a heavier approach this time round.
Well if, like me, that's what you were hoping for, you should avoid this album at all costs.
The first track that us innocent music lovers had forced upon us was, well, forced. 'No Knock' manages to be one of the catchiest, yet without doubt the worst song on the album. It was quite obvious that ATR thought this would win back the crowd that have been left still listening to 'This Calling' on repeat with a hopeful look to the skies for years now. The result however, is a cringeworthy, short, inexplicably poor song that just leaves you shaking your head and thinking "nice try." Not long after they actually decided to release a song called 'This Probably Won't End Well'. Correct. It probably won't. And it didn't. Ironically enough the song actually started off okay, there was atmospheric feel to it that had my ear pricked up before dissolving away (not my ear) into the same radio-rock drivel that we all feared. The album continues to do this, minus the bit about being atmospheric.
'The Order of Things' continues where its predecessor left off. The same woeful lyrics; "I'm f***ing superman, so come on over and check my plan/we'll tear that whole place down." The same clean vocals that we haven't really liked for quite some time now. The same double bass fills that you can find scattered throughout their back catalogue. The same mundane riffs and unimaginative, on occasion bad, songwriting. The same ballad that no one asked for but got anyway. The same forgettable songs...and that's the primary problem. This album is so boring, so repetitive, so far from a possible return to form that it would be quite simply impossible for me to go into great detail with regards to the individual songs. Once you've made it beyond the first few tracks you can consider yourself to have listened to All That Remains' seventh full-length offering. Maybe that's slightly unfair actually, given that the album gets marginally better towards the end, or maybe I was just glad it was coming to an end.
On that note perhaps I should unearth some positives. There's the occasional solo on here that's worth sitting through the shocking verses for, the one on 'Victory Lap' for example. One or two of the (rare) heavier sections like on 'Pernicious' or 'Tru-Kvlt-Metal' might have you tapping your foot if you're not careful. Apologies for actually having to bring up the title of the latter track. The record actually closes with the strongest song, 'Criticism and Self-Realization'. It features the strongest vocal performance on the album, not that that would be difficult, the most interesting structure and it fades away with the same atmospheric feel that 'This Probably Won't End Well' opened with.
However, we couldn't possibly finish up this review on a positive note. That wouldn't be in keeping with the theme of the album at all. So let's finish up by saying that this record really isn't very good. There doesn't appear to be any hope for All That Remains so don't hold out for anything that sounds remotely like 'The Weak Willed', instead, just avoid this album and any future ones until told otherwise. Yep, it definitely did not "end well."
