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All That Remains: The Fall of Ideals
 After hearing the stunning opening track "This Calling" on All That Remains brand new album The Fall of Ideals, it's pretty obvious that the band have looked to expand their sound a bit. While they can still bash you over the head with massively heavy riffs, powerhouse rhythms, technical instrumental bits, and vicious metalcore vocals, many of the songs on The Fall of Ideals are just soaked in catchy melodies and irresistible hooks , which add a nice contrast to the band's ultra-aggressive style. Most of the songs here are in the 3-4 minute range, which overall makes for a pretty short album, but surprisingly enough allowing for plenty of time for the band to move around from one tempo change and meter shift to the next, and also leaving some space for hot solos, like the dual lead guitar attack on "It Dwells in Me", a real solid metal number with a few crunchy breakdowns that show the bands power. Shades of Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, and Killswitch Engage can be heard on the metallic "We Stand", a number that utilizes plenty of harmony guitar lines, a style made famous by bands like Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy, and Judas Priest. For pure heaviness, look no further than the mix of trash and death metal on cuts like "The Weak Willed", "Whispers ( I Hear You)", and "Become the Catalyst", three brutal numbers that see lead singer Phil Labonte growling and screaming with plenty of angry intent.
Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and engineered by former Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers, The Fall of Ideals is an exceptional sounding album. The guitars and crisp yet heavy, the arrangements tight, and the vocals clear yet retaining that rough edge. Overall, the band just sounds more professional and polished this time around, and their effective use of tasty dual guitar work from both Oli Herbert and Mike Martin throughout this album just elevates things even further. Add in some wonderfully bleak artwork from the always impressive Travis Smith and you have a killer metal offering from a band that is quickly outgrowing the metalcore tag and developing into something special.
Track Listing
1) This Calling
2) Not Alone
3) It Dwells in Me
4) We Stand
5) Whispers ( I Hear You)
6) The Weak Willed
7) Six
8) Become the Catalyst
9) The Air That I Breathe
10) Empty Inside
11) Indictment
Added: October 17th 2006
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score: 
Related Link: All That Remains Website
Hits: 3359
Language: english
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All That Remains: The Fall of Ideals
Posted by Scott Borre, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-10-17 18:07:46
My Score:
The Fall of Ideals is the third release from All that Remains. The style that All that Remains plays has been called various distasteful things, but at the heart of it is metalcore. It is in the switch from growls to clean singing that is getting a lot of push back by a sizeable number in the metal community. The lead guitars from Mike Martin and Oli Herbert follow the melody of the song, show solid technical skill, and are reminiscent of some classic metal bands. The clean singing of Phil Labonte is strong, though maybe too emotional or modern rock sounding for some. His growls (which can range from full out growls, to old Emperor like ghastliness), and the higher registers of the guitar riffs, are more typical of what people are finding in metalcore.
The first few songs, including "This Calling", and "Not Alone", are very melodic, with interesting leads. However, as the album progresses, the songs become less melodic, faster paced, and more deathlike, except when the singer transitions to clean vocals. Then enters "The Weak Willed", which is a blistering song, with demonic grows, and blast beats, that sounds a bit like Cannibal Corpse.
The Fall of Ideals is not an album to just pass over. Even if you don't like some of the metalcore out there, All that Remains has managed to put out an album that has songs that many fans of metal can enjoy, if given the chance.
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All That Remains: The Fall of Ideals
Posted by Ken Pierce, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-08-30 20:40:17
My Score:
I first caught All That Remains when the group opened up for Arch Enemy in late 2005, and I have to say that for a band that had escaped me for some reason until that night that I was glad to be able to correct the error of my ways. The group recently ended a string of successful touring spots and has just unleashed The Fall Of Ideals on an unsuspecting Metal world. It's a killer release by the Massachusetts based "Metal core" labeled band, and it is so good and heavy that they actually transcend that aspect of the genre and should be referred to more as a Melodic Death Metal act. When I listened to the album for the first time I immediately thought along the lines of music that is found in bands like Scar Symmetry, Soilwork and Mercenary for those in need of an example. It is a great transition if you think about it, for there are too many Metal/Grind core bands around right now and most are less than stellar at what they do. Instead of bold experiment they simply choose to remain the same. As a listener, this makes them harder to differentiate and overall boring once you hear too much of the same old thing. Musically, All That Remains will show that they are not strictly a "core" level band either as each member of the band shows a level of musicality that will impress fans of heavy music and also those that lean more toward the Progressive end. It's a change that the band has consciously aimed for; citing that "this is a new way to look at an old friend". I truly believe that we need more friends like this in Metal. The use of melody should not make you think that there is no punch to them for opener "This Calling" begins with a double bass run that will knock your teeth out. Drummer Shannon Lucas should be complimented for his skills on the album.
The band is made up of Phil Labonte (vocals), Mike Martin (guitars), Oli Herbert (guitars), Shannon Lucas (drums) and Jeanne Sagan (bass). Labonte is known to many already, as he fronted the Metal band Shadows Fall before Brian Fair took the spot and progressed the band into their future. It was a side project with Oli Herbert but like many good things became something entirely different. While Labonte does the required growls to perfection, the standout part for his voice to me would be his strong melodic vocal input all over this album. It takes the material to a different level, because I feel many listeners are getting worn on the growling as the whole song. Thankfully there is an even mix in almost every track along with shredding that will peal the skin off your bones. All That Remains is on a great path with this album and I think going forward I would like to see more of the melodic vocals and have the Black style compliment them instead of vice-versa. Its time for a new wave of American Metal to begin and All That Remains seems very ready to lead this charge.
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