Chris “Jericho” Irvine is a man of many talents. He is and has been a wrestler, actor, and musician. Of the three I prefer musician because even though he doesn’t have an incredible range as a vocalist, he still backs up his band Fozzy wonderfully and fits right in. “All That Remains” is the band’s third record and was released last year. The video for
“Enemy” was displayed on shows such as Headbanger’s Ball and still makes appearances on ‘IFilm's top 100 rock and pop videos’ every now and then even though it was released over one-and-a-half years ago.
The first few times I went through the album I was impressed by Chris “Jericho” Irvine’s vocal work, but other than that and some certain segments I wasn’t thoroughly excited. However, after letting everything sink in for a while I noticed slight things that made “Al That Remains” a great album.
Even though early in the album it would seem that the solos are mostly about speed rather than taste several songs break that assumption. The title track,
“All That Remains”, starts out softer than the normal Fozzy song. Jericho seems to be influenced on this song by Mudvayne’s Chad Grey. His voice is smooth, but still reminiscent of the Mudvayne frontman. The second solo is, unsurprisingly, speedy, but contains a lot of substance too not just being played for the sake of it. The bass lines that come after it and also close the song out are very nifty and make
“All That Remains” one unforgettable song.
There are some fuzzy spots on the record, but usually don’t affect the overall feeling of the record, such as on
“The Test”, where Chris growls, “this is only a test”, repeatedly. It’s quite annoying, but the fast guitar riff accompanying him helps alleviate the cumbersome moment. The rapping by guest Bonecrusher is easily the worst moment of the album.
“It’s A Lie” would be an excellent song, but his angry rap bursts are loud, and to be frank, stupid, while Chris seems standoffish with his vocals.
“The Enemy” and
“Born of Anger” are the two best songs Fozzy offer here.
“The Enemy” starts off slightly aloof, but soon bursts out into a full on hard rock song. Lyrically, “All That Remains” isn’t too great, but
“The Enemy” seems to contain earnest lyrics that are touching. “And these are the days that I dreamed about. And you’re always there to remind me you’re my enemy. All that we had has gone away. There are times that fade away, but you’ll still be my enemy.” It’s no wonder it was chosen as a single either because it’s probably the best structured song and seems to last longer than it really is because of that.
“Born of Anger” is definitely not something I was expecting. Most of the song is indeed full on screaming and while I’m sure there is a guest here screaming I’m also positive that Chris is screaming too, which is really awesome. The opening riff is quite elusive because it seems quite simple, but that’s not how the rest of the song is at all. The ending solo is the best of all the solos on the album. It’s not as fast paced as some, but lasts a while and is incredibly melodic. Right when it ends a piano comes in and closes out the album. It’s a hell of a way to end things and that’s perfectly fine with me.
Even though “All That Remains” has a few faults to it, it should not be underestimated at all. It is an album containing both heavy and slow moments, with a lot of melody underneath. The song writing is acceptable and the multiple guests add flavor to the overall album. The beginning and ending parts of the record are amazing and full of energy and while the middle part has strong moments too it is weighed down slightly. The only problem is that it seems Fozzy depends a little too heavily on guests, but in the end what is important is whether, or not “All That Remains” is an enjoyable record, and it is.
Recommended tracks:
“All That Remains”,
“Enemy”,
“Born of Anger”, and
“Wanderlust”
