Review Summary: This Darkened Heart is a mixture of the best qualities of the albums that came before and after it, making it a very strong album that will appeal to fans of both melodeath and metalcore.
First of all, let's get one thing out of the way - This Darkened Heart is NOT a metalcore album, at least not entirely. Sure, its D Standard tuning, clear production, and usage of clean vocals might remind listeners much more of its metalcore successor (The Fall of Ideals) than its melodic death metal predecessor (Behind Silence and Solitude). Still, there are a lot of qualities from the last album that remain on this one, and the mixture of melodeath and metalcore results in a very interesting album overall.
In 2004, All That Remains is:
Philip Labonte – vocals
Mike Martin – guitar
Oli Herbert – electric and acoustic guitars
Matt Deis – bass, piano
Michael Bartlett – drums
Between this album and Behind Silence and Solitude, there are quite a few similarities and differences; as the differences are more immediately noticeable, they will be discussed first. The first thing that most listeners will notice is the change in overall tone; the guitars have been tuned up from B Standard to D Standard, making this album sound a little brighter than its predecessor. The production is also greatly improved; taking over this job is Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who manages to make this album sound much less murky than the previous release.
Another notable change is the addition of breakdowns. A well-known characteristic of metalcore, breakdowns can be found in most songs on this album, and while they are not by any means the best, they fit the songs well. Perhaps the best of this album's improvements can be found in Phil Labonte's vocals. Whereas in Behind Silence and Solitude his vocal work consists mainly of medium-range screams, in this album Labonte uses high-pitched shrieks, a few very low growls, and everything in between. In a few songs ("The Deepest Gray," "Focus Shall Not Fail," "For Salvation," and "Tattered On My Sleeve"), he even uses clean vocals. For someone without a lot of singing experiences, he certainly manages to produce a nice sound.
However, not everything about this album has changed. In fact, many qualities of This Darkened Heart remain true to its predecessor, and melodeath in general. The long instrumental passages that were present throughout Behind Silence and Solitude can still be found here ("And Death In My Arms," "I Die In Degrees," and "Focus Shall Not Fail"). There's even a song that is completely instrumental, "Regret Not" - the only one the band has released to date. In this album, song structures are very different, making each song sound quite different from the rest - a characteristic which, unfortunately, did not make itself present on The Fall of Ideals.
Melodic death metal is well known for its emphasis on guitar work, and this album is no exception. Guitar solos, often fast and technical, are present in every song except "This Darkened Heart." In a few songs ("And Death In My Arms," "I Die In Degrees," "Regret Not," "Tattered On My Sleeve"), there are beautiful sections featuring acoustic guitar. Dual riffs also make themselves heard throughout the album, most of them more memorable than the ones from the last album.
Overall, This Darkened Heart keeps the best qualities from Behind Silence and Solitude while also introducing a lot of what makes The Fall of Ideals great, making it the band's best album by far. Melodeath and metalcore are both well represented here, creating an interesting mix that will appeal to listeners of both subgenres. Fans of Overcome who are looking for earlier work by this band may want to check out this album, as Behind Silence and Solitude might be too drastic of a change. However, if you haven't heard the newer albums, listen to those first - you won't want to listen to them again after hearing this one.
Top Five Tracks:
1. I Die In Degrees
2. Focus Shall Not Fail
3. And Death In My Arms
4. Tattered On My Sleeve
5. For Salvation
FINAL VERDICT: 4/5
