Music Non Stop: new All That Remains & the Autumn Offering

Ok so musically speaking, this has been a "ho-hum" type year for music. Nothing has really grabbed my attention for very long. There have been a few, Bullet for My Valentine & As I Lay Dying, but even those aren't as good as their previous albums.

So today we got a new song from All That Remains. Now their last one, Overcome, wasn't bad. It was different than the great The Fall of Ideals. I think the main thing that stuck out for me was the delivery of the vocals, but it was still a solid album.

The title track from their new album, For We Are Many, really sounds like a left over song from The Fall of Ideals...in a good way. The vocals are reminiscent of TFOI and musically it is in the same vein. This could be the year that All That Remains tops my top 10 list.




The Autumn Offering has another new song out as well. About a month ago, they released a teaser of the album and I was really impressed with the direction of the band. They used to be a metalcore/thrash band, then they went to a more pop/metalcore approach. Now it seems as if they have embraced (pun intended?) a sort of melodic death metal/metalcore sound. I don't hear too many clean vocals on the two songs they have released. Oh yeah, I said two because they released another new song, Synapse, on their Myspace page. Here is the video for the first song, Born Dead;

Music Non Stop: The Autumn Offering

The Autumn Offering is a mixed bag for a band. Their first two albums are really good...really good. Then they decided to go a little more mainstream and they dumped their vocalist. I already went off on that one HERE. That album was horrible compared to their first 2. Their last album wasn't that bad. It was a step back towards the first two. So here is the teaser for their latest album.



Gotta admit, musically they have gone away from any sort of mainstream songs. The vocals (at least in the samples) are all death metal vocals. There is some clean singing here and there, but this sounds a lot heavier and darker than anything released by the band before. I will still complain a little bit about the vocals because the original singer had more of a Dez (DevilDriver) type vocals. They were harsher, but not death metal. Needs some variety. Other than that, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Who Decides: albums of the year

So with 2009 quickly approaching its final quarter the question of album of the year starts to loom even more. I have made it quiet clear that this year has been a little disappointing for me. Maybe it's a natural let down from the awesome year that was 2008...who knows.

Here's what I do know. September will give us new Shadows Fall and Megadeth records. October was supposed to give us the new Anthrax, but they fired their new singer so that album is up in the air. And I really don't know of any other albums that are supposed to be released this year.

So what does that mean for my top 10? Well as of right now, I would probably give the album of the year to either Susperia, DevilDriver, or Nightrage. Now, some might be thinking ... ok those are good albums so what's the problem? Well the problem isn't in the albums, they are solid, but they aren't as good as their last albums. Attitude is a catchy and heavy affair from Susperia ... but is it better than Cut From Stone? No. Same goes for Devildriver, Pray For Villains is good, but it's not better than The Last Kind Words. The Last Kind Words built upon The Fury of Our Maker's Hand. It took was a nice step from really good to great. But Nightrage is probably the biggest offender. I love every Nightrage album. Tompa's vocals on the first two albums plus the guitar work of Gus G. & Marios made those At The Gates-like. With A New Disease is Born, everything was raised to a new level. Tompa was gone, but Jimmie Strimell did an excellent job of singing (not just screaming) on the album. I was totally ready for another Nightrage release. But something happened on the way to their latest, Wearing a Martyr's Crown, they got a new vocalist. I don't think he is bad, just not as dynamic as Jimmie or original as Tompa. The guitar work is still memorable and top notch, but the vocals are....eh. Now I know that those were released in 2007 and it shouldn't affect 2009, but it does. After a great album, I guess I just expect more from a band.

So there are a bunch of new artists that have released really solid debut or second albums. Bands like Dirge Within (defintely for fans of Sanctity), Animals as Leaders (instrumental), The Sorrow, Arkaea (Fear Factory meets Threat Signal), and Evita (great metalcore) could make a run for that top stop.

Then there are some bands that have totally bounced back from disappointing albums. It Dies Today ditched the whole emo sound and went back to more of an original sound with Lividity. The new stuff they have released so far sound really promising. The other is The Autumn Offering. Fear Will Cast No Shadow was boring and unoriginal...and that's being nice. Throw in a new vocalist and you quickly forgot that The Autumn Offering was once a great band mixing modern thrash with some metalcore breakdowns in for good measure. Well, Requiem took me by surprise. It's a ton better than FWCNS, but it's not Embrace the Gutter. It still has it's emo moments, but they are defintely back on track.

The top spot is really wide open. There are a bunch of good to really good albums out there this year, but nothing great. Hopefully, Shadows Fall and Megadeth can change that.

Spotlight: Modern Thrash

So what is modern thrash? I know what Bay Area Thrash is; Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Testament, etc. But what is modern thrash? I have a whole bunch of artists that I have labeled as modern thrash. Well, for me, modern thrash takes the best of metalcore, death metal, and everything else since the late 80's and throws it together to get a sound of metal that is most reminiscent of Bay Area Thrash. These are the bands that weren't afraid to play solos all the time solos were a bad thing.

Take The Autumn Offering. They are always labeled as metalcore. And sure, you hear it...definitely. But overall they are thrash. Their debut was mainly hardcore/metalcore with sprinkles of thrash, but their follow-up Embrace the Gutter is pure thrash with sprinkles of metalcore. Listen to the solo in the title track.

And for those looking for the metalcore part, listen to Ghost. You go from a solo that could have been put on any Iron Maiden album to a breakdown that could go on any Killswitch Engage album. BTW, this band switched vocalists and it hurt them big time. I couldn't stand their latest and it even made my disappointments for 2007.

Sanctity was founded by Trivium...neat huh? Anyway they were so impressed that they covinced their label to sign them. Road to Bloodshed is class thrash. Much like Susperia, they sound like Testament a lot of the time. Their vocalist also hits some Halford-like high notes too. The solos are really tight and crisp...much like Megadeth. Unfortunately, they just lost their vocalist/guitarist and drummer due to personal reasons. So who knows what will happen to this band now.

Havochate and Lazarus are too classic thrash bands. Once again, Havochate sounds alot like Testament. Nothing wrong there. As for Lazarus, they sound like a faster version of Exodus...that's right a faster version. The solos on this album are amazing. The first time I heard the album I was grinning from ear to ear like I did with Machine Head's The Blackening. Solid bands and I will be looking forward to their new ones.

Last up Shadows Fall. This band is still labeled a metalcore band, but after their second album, I think they turned more thrash. The War Within has very little if anything that sounds like metalcore...some breakdowns here or there. Shadows Fall were never afraid to play solos. In fact, it was their video for Destroyer of Senses that brought them back. I was blown away to hear a true metal song on MTV. Most of the hardcore vocals are gone for cleaner screams/singing. Listen to these songs and tell me they are metalcore.




Playlist for the week:
Monday: Embrace the Gutter, Ghost by The Autumn Offering from Embrace the Gutter
Tuesday: Fiction, Still Alive, Alone by Havochate from Cycle of Pain
Wednesday: Beneath the Machine, Zeppo, The Shape of Things by Sanctity from Road to Bloodshed
Thursday: Last Breath, The Onslaught part 1 by Lazarus from The Onslaught
Friday: What Drives the Weak, Inspiration on Demand by Shadows Fall from The War Within