Artist: Attila
Album: About That Life
Genre: Party metal
Label: Artery Recordings

Most people who know of Attila know what they are about, and know that they like to consider themselves a “party metal” band. They’ve never been shy with who they are and what they’re about. They give no fucks, they make no apologies – just a group of guys who like to party, drink, get high and get laid. If you want to sum up Attila’s About That Life in just a couple of sentences then there you have it. Question is, how does that sound on a 14-track album?

The album starts off with their single, “Middle Fingers Up.” Fronz beatboxes a little bit (which he actually does a few times during the album), and then moves into singing about their party lifestyle, and how they don’t really care about anything. Rape this earth of every single thing it’s got // If you really want it you should take it all. Yep, that’s a real verse in a real song by a real band. If you are curious as to whether this song is a reflection of what you can expect from the rest of the album, then I can tell you: (SPOILER) Yes, it’s exactly what you can expect.

It’s ironic that Attila sing about people talking shit in “Backtalk,” when that’s all this band does…throughout their entire album. I’m not exaggerating, they even have a song titled “Callout,” where they specifically name different people in the music scene that they seem to have some beef with. Ronnie Radke, Christofer Drew and Jonny Craig are three of them. Talk about having no talent outside singing about sex, partying and shit talking. It takes zero talent to tell people to suck your cock and to write a verse about rolling joints.

I read somewhere that “the lyrics in metal don’t actually matter.” Well if that’s the case, why even bother singing lyrics at all? I’ll tell you why — because there are people out there who listen to lyrics, and who believe in what their favorite musicians are saying. I’ve said in most of my reviews that lyrics are one of the most important parts of any album, including a metal album. The lyrics are what fans relate to and how they connect with a band. Now I’m not saying they are the end all be all of an album, but if they are poorly written they take away from potentially great elements of an album.

Just so you all don’t think I’m only here to bash on them, I wanted to point out some redeeming qualities that I found.

The structures of the songs themselves are pretty good. It’s definitely something that is easy to want to let loose and mosh to. That is certainly a feeling that I get, and can see why this sound appeals to so many people. They want to let go, they want to party and not care about anything. Aside from the partying part specifically, that’s something that everyone wants; to let go, have fun and be successful. If the lyrics were different though, this album would easily have a higher score.

For the most part, the guitar parts are generally the same. There’s lots of chugging beats, and heavy breakdowns. Aside from a few moments where the band adds some different elements to a song, it’s difficult to tell the tracks apart from each other. Now, I don’t think that these guys are terrible musicians, they just make poor decisions with what to do with their talent. They have repetitive, meaningless lyrics and 14 songs that are structured nearly the exact same way. If the band focused more on the technical aspects of the guitars, and worked on more substantive lyrics, they could potentially be very successful. The vocals could use some improvements as well. The harsh yelling works well, and so do the punishing growls, but Fronz’s signature rapping/frog sounding noise (what else do you call it?) is not an appealing vocal skill.

Their lyrics are shallow and have no substance, and are generally pretty repetitive. I’m sad to see that there is a major record label willing to stand behind a band like this. However, as long as they have a relatively large following (and they do), they will continue to do what they do, and they will continue to release controversial and offensive music. They really are unique, which is hard to say for a lot of bands out there nowadays, and you definitely have to give them credit for that. If you have any real musical taste though, I would recommend avoiding this album. Unless you are just looking for some good old fashion offensive fun then it’s not worth buying in the store.

SCORE: 3/10

Review written by Kriston McConnell

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Kriston McConnell

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