All That Remains - Overcome Review

Posted by Matt Shoemaker on 09.26.2008

The Boston metalcore quintet returns with an album that promised to be even better than The Fall of Ideals. Do they make good on that promise?

The History

In 1998, Brian Fair joined the Massachusetts metal group Shadows Fall. While this was a big moment in metal, considering what Shadows Fall has become, what came out of the previous singer, Phil LaBonte’s, departure, perhaps may be even bigger. LaBonte formed All That Remains, which released their debut album, Behind Silence and Solitude, the same year. After pretty much dropping off the map for about six years, All That Remains stormed back onto the scene in 2004 with a new sound, and hasn’t stopped kicking ass. Releasing This Darkened Heart in ’04, and The Fall of Ideals in ’06, the band has gradually progressed to a more melodic sound, adding clean vocals, which their first album was totally devoid of, while still keeping a pounding metalcore sound. In September of 2008, the band released Overcome, which they promised to be harder, heavier, and better than The Fall of Ideals. Does this album make good on those words?

The Band

Vocals- Phil LaBonte
Guitar- Mike Martin
Guitar- Oli Herbert
Bass- Jeanne Sagan
Drums- Jason Costa

The Album



Tracklisting:

1. "Before The Damned" (2:53)
2. "Two Weeks" (4:17)
3. "Undone" (3:12)
4. "Forever in Your Hands" (3:36)
5. "Chiron" (4:25)
6. "Days Without" (3:11)
7. "A Song for the Hopeless" (4:15)
8. "Do Not Obey" (3:12)
9. "Relinquish" (2:51)
10. "Overcome" (2:38)
11. "Believe in Nothing" (Nevermore cover)(4:23)

Overcome opens with something you would expect out of All That Remains at this point: Ominous, foreboding, heavy guitar chords, and brutal pounding drums. The song breaks down into heavy, mosh-worthy guitar riffs, and LaBonte’s guttural growling, interspersed with a catchy, upbeat melodic chorus. There’s no doubt about it. “Before The Damned” is a fantastic choice to open this album. The only problem is, most of the other songs on the album don’t get a whole lot better. It’s not to say that this album isn’t good. It is. But it’s certainly not up to par with The Fall of Ideals, or even This Darkened Heart, at some points.

The problem with this album is that most of it sounds the same, which is what I meant in saying that the album doesn’t get much better than the opener. Most choruses sound the same, and even the riffs seem to blend into one another at certain points. Each song contains some kind of element of “hey, I’ve heard this before”, and after the first quarter or so of the album, it really starts dragging it down.

Another gripe with this album for me is the use of acoustic guitars. They’re used in some way on a fraction of this album, which is something the band hasn’t really done before, with the exception of a few songs on This Darkened Heart. Acoustics even turn “A Song for the Hopeless” into a mini power ballad. The cover of Nevermore’s “Believe in Nothing” doesn’t quite capture the odd nature of Nevermore, and cheapens the experience a bit.

To say Overcome doesn’t have its high points, however, is a lie. There are a few songs on here, “Before The Damned”, “Relinquish”, and the album’s first single, “Chiron”, that show, perhaps, something that could have been. These songs capture the intensity that made up most of The Fall of Ideals, but, for some reason or another, seem to be lost in the shuffle among the other songs on this album. Another high point of this album is the drums. After The Fall of Ideals, then-drummer Shannon Lucas left to join the Black Dahlia Murder, and All That Remains went out and grabbed former Diecast drummer Jason Costa, who apparently had some pretty big shoes to fill, and fill them he did.

Costa is an incredibly innovative and incredibly fast drummer. All of his chops are precise, and he seems to just melt in with everything else. He’s definitely a drummer that doesn’t overpower the rest of the music, but rather adds his own flavor to it, without hogging the spotlight. Complementing him on this album is Oli Herbert. While his riffs have declined a little bit, his solos have stayed top notch. Every single solo on this album is played to perfection, occasionally with Mike Martin complementing him.

LaBonte’s vocals haven’t lost anything, either. His growls are still brutal, his high screams are deafening, and his clean vocals are maybe even getting better. However, his lyrics leave a lot to be desired. The lyrics on Overcome seem to be a bit clichéd, and most songs just seem to fall flat. LaBonte really shines on “Two Weeks”, and “Chiron”, however.

The 411: Overall, I feel this album falls short on its claims of being “harder, better, faster, stronger” than The Fall of Ideals. The band sounds like they’ve spent too much focusing on catchy lyrics and riffs than actually playing something incredibly technical, like they know they can.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]