Artist: All That Remains
Album: A War You Cannot Win
Genre: Melodic Metal
Label: Razor and Tie Records

Let’s be plain about it, All That Remains has been around for a while. This is the band’s sixth release since the late 90’s. Before I was exposed to non-commercial music, there was actually a time where I thought the group was one of the heaviest bands of the time. If I had to quickly sum the band up to someone who doesn’t know a lot about their genre, I think the phrase “radio friendly metal, with a the faintest hint of -core” would be the most appropriate. By no means is this any sort of a jab at the band. What I mean with that is that it is apparent as if the band does a great job at writing metal songs that have catchy clean vocal hooks and have easy to understand rough vocals.

Production wise, this album sounds great in all of the right ways, and producer genius/Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz is to thank for that. Between his and ATR’s collaborative efforts, the album has all of the right ingredients for a solid collection of songs, but it misses the mark just ever so slightly. Some might find something that piques their interest if it’s not phased out and replaced with filler stadium choruses, and if that does pique their interest, then more power to them.

Heading up the beginning of the album, “Down Through The Ages” starts with a slow-burning swell into a raging all around exciting track that would be a choice pick for the band’s live show. “Stand Up”, the record’s lead single follows soon after, and somehow, it’s the only song on the record to feature all clean vocals. Maybe it was intentional? Hey, I did call this band’s genre “radio metal.” Moving on, “Asking Too Much” appears as just another heartbreak tune that uses many slide leads and couples two separately recorded vocal tracks– one clean and one screamed– to be played simultaneously for a heavier effect. “What If I Was Nothing” takes a very similar approach as far as the overall sound of the song goes, if it weren’t for the song’s slow-paced introduction and lack of a solo, listeners might make the poor judgement of saying that the two songs are identical.

Instantly after, “Sing for Liberty” makes a complete 180 in terms of mood and heaviness, with a song that feels relatively angry yet motivational. Vocally, the song features the album’s shrillest highs screams and the lowest growls, which really helps to set this song apart from the other material on the release. The album’s eleventh track [“Calculating Loneliness”] could be described as the obligatory acoustic/instrumental song on a metal album. At the end, the album’s title track takes the cake, and carries on with this very triumphant feel that you can’t help but get into because of it’s double-tracked vocals and anthem-like chorus.

This review may have made this record sounds very bland, but it’s definitely not. I will hand it to All That Remains for attempting to play a genre that hasn’t yet been beaten like a dead horse. A War You Cannot Win is considerably one of the top releases in the band’s discography, but it definitely leaves room for more to be desired through more deep and unique tracks that have more substance and texture than what’s shown with this release.

http://youtu.be/gNzzZpX3B5s

SCORE: 7/10
Review by Adrian Garza (Twitter)

• Author
• Recent Posts

Adrian Garza

Latest posts by Adrian Garza (see all)

• Substances, death, and purpose fueled Culture Abuse for their most imaginative release yet - April 15, 2016
• UTG PREMIERE: The Go Ahead – “Closer” (Nine Inch Nails Cover) - April 6, 2016
• UTG’s 31 Days Of Halloween: ‘Rubber’ - October 21, 2015