Review Summary: "I am fueled by all forms of failure, I paid the price so I'll take what's mine."
1 of 1 thought this review was well writtenAbove are the opening lyrics to the opening song of A Day To Remember's(ADTR's) most recent album,
What Seperates Me From You. This one line can be symbolic for everything this album is. "Failure" being the bands prior release,
Homesick, and "what's mine" being
What Separates Me From You.
Homesick was a step in the wrong direction for ADTR and while it wasn't a horrible record, they were trying to do things that hadn't been done before while they already had a good formula going on
For Those Who Have Heart. With
What Seperates Me From You, it appears the band has finally found it's roots again while exploring new mainstream territory at the same time.
What's good about this album:
This album feels like ADTR has finally found a comfortable songwriting pattern that works well for them. On past records, ADTR were always at their best when they were writing catchy pop-punk with minimal use of breakdowns and scream sections, and that was mostly due to the not-so-good blend of Jeremy Mckinnon's harsh and clean vocals. The main problem with
Homesick was that the breakdowns all seemed forced and unneeded, and while they were doing an okay job at putting the best effort to a good idea(blending metalcore with pop-punk) there was always a "whole" feeling missing from it.
Separates is everything
Homesick should have been. Whether it be "classic ADTR style" songs like "Sticks and Bricks" and "You Be Tails, I'll Be Sonic," or the hard-hitting pop-punk influenced songs like "All I Want" and "It's Complicated." The tracks have a phenominal range of upbeat pop-punk, classic ADTR metalcore/pop-punk fusion, and just straight up metalcore. The song order is very well put together, as (most of the time) the ends of songs set the mood for the song following it. The only place in the album where the mood change is somewhat unwanted is when "2nd Sucks" ends and "Better Off This Way" begins, and that isn't even a major flaw, just something that could have polished a little more to be made more fitting.
Another major improvement in
Separates are the vocals laid down by Jeremy Mckinnon. On past ADTR works, his harsh "growls" always sounded strained and forced, and on this album they sound a lot more comfortable and natural. Whether it be the clean vocal highlight of the album, "This Is The House That Doubt Built", or the first ADTR song in history to not have any clean vocals, "2nd Sucks", Mckinnon appears to have finally found a clean/harsh blend that works for him and the music/lyrics. In most of ADTR's past works, Mckinnon has mostly written angry lyrics, and it appears that ADTR is back and angrier than ever. About halfway through the opener "Sticks and Bricks," Mckinnon exclaims "My heart is filled with hate!" and it appears as if he was not lying.
What's not so good about this album
There are very few flaws within
Separates, and you would really have to look for flaws to find many. The production isn't at the same level of sound as
Homesick, and the few breakdowns that are actually on this album seem too polished. Another disappointing aspect about this album is the lack of a bigger vocal role from new guitarist Kevin Skaff, formerly of Four Letter Lie. The great things about this album cover up the few flaws that are there, and the only way you couldn't find one thing you like about this album is if you hated ADTR before.
The Bottom Line
Separates is without a doubt the best work of ADTR's career, and shows a lot of future potential for records forthcoming. This song ranges everywhere from New Found Glory, poppy inspired songs like "It's Complicated" to mosh-ready type songs like "2nd Sucks." If you don't like ADTR, you're not going to like this album. It's catchy, it's angry, it's got breakdowns, it's got the blended metalcore/pop-punk sound, and it's still very ADTR, just executed A LOT better.
Recommended Songs: Sticks and Bricks, All I Want, It's Complicated, This Is The House That Doubt Built, 2nd Sucks, Better Off This Way, You Be Tails I'll Be Sonic, If I Leave
