Review Summary: It seems like there is an ocean between AILD and most of the other bands in the genre...
The first time I saw this band was on music television at the age of maybe 16, where I saw the video for "94 hours" and I thought, "man, this is some killer lead"...
Since then I didn´t really get into the whole sound of the band, still I liked some of their songs, but they didnt really concern me at all...
But some months ago I started listening to those guys again and I liked what I heard. So I got myself a copy of "Shadows are Security", and I was kind of satisfied. There are several really good songs on there and some riffs are just amazing. Still it felt like there was something missing, so I thought, "Maybe they have improved, lets check out their most recent album..."
It was a good choice. They really have improved! More and better clean singing, the riffs are even more in-your-face, breakdowns are sweet, everything got a little thrashier and the screaming vocals are way better than on the last record, where most of the times it seemed that the screaming was like almost in the background, maybe this was because of the production anyway...
So lets do this track by track:
"Separation" - An amazing intro, if not the best I have ever heard. It fulfills its purpose completely, which is getting you pumped for whats to come...
"Nothing Left" - The main riff of this song is of course really killer, and the rest of the song is also very nice, still I disagree with most peoples opinion of the chorus of the song. Most people really dig it, but IMO its the worst clean singing part of the whole album. It is not entirely bad, still to me it really doesnt stand out by any means.
"An Ocean between us" - If you dont feel the strong urge to mosh around while listening to this song, you are probably dead. The main riff is really fast and awesome, the chorus is beautifully sung and the lyrics are among the best of the album. Only negative: The bridge, which is still nice, does not live up to the rest of the song.
"Within Destruction" - A very fast paced thrash metal song without clean vocals. The breakdown in the middle of the song is really appealing and is also one of the few moments on the record where it is possible to understand the screamed vocals without reading the booklet or listening to it more intensively, at least it seems like this to me... The lyrics are pure greatness and quite christian.
"Forsaken" - An interesting guitar intro gets you pumped for the rest of the song, and you will probably not be disappointed. The riffs are hard as heck, the chorus is melodic and beautiful, the breakdowns are interesting with nice leads behind them and Tim Lambesis sounds better than ever before. The bridge is among the most memorable moments of the record...
"Comfort Betrays" - Probably the hardest or most brutal song on the record. Like Within Destruction it comes without any hint of clean vocals. The song generally bears some similarities to the aforementioned song, especially the breakdown sounds pretty much the same, which isnt necessarily a bad thing. Great mini-solo at about 2 minutes of the song. Definitely one of the best songs of the record...
"I never wanted" - Following the most brutal song of the record is probably the mellowest song AILD have ever written. It is almost something like a metal ballad, while still including a heavy breakdown. It is very beautifully sung and the lyrics are really emotional and moving - they are really taking risks here musically, but it definitely pays.
"Bury us all" - Probably the weakest song on the album. It is not bad by any means, still it is just not as memorable and catchy as most of the rest of the record. Its the third song to not feature any clean vocals.
"The sound of truth" - You may not get into this song the first time you hear it, but take the time to listen to it more than once. It will grow on you and you will love it. The chorus has got an intriguing lead behind it, the verses are especially thrashy and fast and thy lyrics are brillant. One of my favorites...
"Departed" - A rather unnecessary Interlude, which will probably annoy you more with every listen, but hey, nobodys perfect. If they continue making great albums like this, they can mess up as many interludes as they want.
"Wrath upon ourselves" - Starts out very chaotic and then enters into what is for me easily the "Riff of the Record". Couldnt get any better than this - unfortunately the chorus does not entirely live up to the high standard of the rest of the song, still, this is AILD at its best...
"This is who we are" - Perfect choice to close this album. The riffs are quite reminiscent of Shadows are Security, which is not negative at all, the chorus sounds great, although the clean vocals here sound extremely different than on the rest of the record. It almost seems to me like some other guy sang here... Well, the track closes with a melancholic piano outro, which is something that you probably didnt expect from when listening to the rest of the album, but the most ironic thing is that the record ends on a major piano chord...
To sum it up, this is a must have for any fan of metalcore or thrash metal or maybe just metal in general - 100 % improvement from the last record. More solos than ever before, well executed clean & screaming vocals, the breakdowns are just fun and the riffs are really hard to top. Tim Lambesis and his guys will have a hard time trying to improve even more on their next record...
