Artist: Attila
Track: “Middle Fingers Up”
Album: About That Life

I feel like a teenager dealing with their hormones when I think of the way I go back and forth over Attila. On the one hand, no one does party metal quite like them, but on the other hand there is always something to be said for strong musicianship. It doesn’t matter to me if you use your music to push partying or political platforms, all I ask is that you never let cashing in on popular trends get in the way of creating real, original music. Attila have managed to fall on both sides of the fence in terms of hitting those requests with their previous efforts, and this Summer we’ll learn if they have grown at all with the release of their new album, About That Life. The first single from the album just hit the net, and I couldn’t resist the urge to see what, if any evolution had taken place.

“Middle Fingers Up,” whose title should have probably been the only indication I needed of what awaited my ears, showcases Attila taking the tiniest of baby steps to develop from where we last left them. The song is a call out to those who hate on the band’s carefree, party-loving lifestyle, and in this case it must mean they’re referring to me because I am not impressed in the slightest by their ability to make ultra-profane one liners set against derivative metalcore seem cool to teenagers relying on minimum wage jobs and/or allowance to purchase their merch. “You can be anything you want in this life, just don’t be a fucking bitch.” Really? Really.

As I said in my intro, I am all for songs about celebrating the carefree lifestyle and urging others to follow their hearts, but is a catalog of songs taking those themes to the extreme really grounds for a career? Further, there is a line when not caring becomes being kind of a horrible person and Attila don’t seem to recognize the difference between the two. Lines like “Fuck the world / Rape this earth of every single thing it’s got / If you really want it you should / Take it all / Grab hold of everything that you want” pushes an agenda that goes beyond anarchy and into something much worse. I can appreciate the message of stopping at nothing to achieve one’s goals, but should the pursuit of one’s own destiny come at a cost to the rest of the world? If so, why? Oh, that’s right, because you don’t give a fuck.

In a live setting, Attila are the kind of band that can absolutely dominate a crowd hungry for heavy music. Their in your face approach to lyricism and songwriting generates easy to memorize tracks that never shy away from a breakdown, but after multiple albums their one trick pony style of performance is beginning to feel a bit too familiar for comfort when it comes to studio releases. As an outsider interacting their music only when it’s necessary for coverage I’ve already grown tired of their schtick, and seeing their apparent refusal to further develop in any ways I question how much long “diehard” fans will stick around. Vocalist Chris Fronzak recently tweeted “If our new album doesn’t blow the fuck up, then I’ve officially lost faith in music and I quit ha. Real talk though. Go huge or I’m done.” If “Middle Fingers Up” is any sign of what listeners can expect to hear on About That Life, Fronzak and crew may want to get a head start on packing up their things.

Review written by: James Shotwell

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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