All That Remains
The Fall of Ideals
Prosthetic Records/Razor & Tie
Three-and-a-half out of five stars
All That Remains may not be all that it cracks itself up to be. I mean, there are a lot of great bands out there-and not just these guys. It’s not like they really are “all that remains” of a dark, dark industry of suck. But they are pretty good.
The Fall of Ideals will sonically reach out and catch anyone’s attention. The drums pummel, and the guitars manage to be virtuous and heavy throughout. Each definitely stands out in its own right. Philip Labonte, ex-lead singer for Shadows Fall, screams with great ferocity, barks like someone from a hardcore band and sings like he’s Celine Dion-but not really?hooray.
Starting out with some raw power, The Fall of Ideals quickly loses steam as the next couple of tracks seem to mirror what the first did so well. But the album quickly regains its foothold as the latter two-thirds really pin down the best of All That Remains.
On the downside, some of the tracks feel like they were written only to become singles for the radio, and sometimes the melodic choruses get monotonous. However, only one track on The Fall of Ideals really stands out as something they should have discarded-or flushed down the toilet like?keys?
Their sales and apparent skill have caught the attention of Ozzy Osbourne, and All That Remains will be rotating on the second stage at Ozzfest this year. You know, Ozzfest-the concert that’s classifiably music porn for any metalhead. Thus, you’ll never see it unless you move out of the state. Stupid Utahns.
Really, All That Remains deserves to be in Ozzfest this year, and Ozzy put it exactly where it ought to be. Maybe with some hard work, the band will play the main stage someday-if The Fall of Ideals doesn’t put them there first.
