Review Summary: This album is chock full of mind bending lead guitar work and of course, breakdowns. The clean tracks give the album greater diversity that is much needed in this genre.
Let's be honest, today most of the metal scene is generic, regurgitated bs built on the foundation of the past and it seems as though no one has the guts to branch out. Here a chug, there a chug, everywhere a chug chug. Hailing from Oakland, California, All Shall Perish steps in to change the(here we go yet again.....)modern metal scene.
This record starts out as many others do, the same rhythm pattern on the low b string but soon things change. A few seconds in the band showcases their strong shred influences, and when life meant more turns in to a barrage of endless notes. This particular song is also broken up with the all too common "breakdown" but they mix with the formula(slightly), adding the ever popular sweep picking over the breakdown rhythm. On tracks such as Stabbing To Purge Dissimulation and Gagged, Bound, Shelved, and Forgotten the band makes it obvious that their influences extend into heavier territories.
Much to my surprise, this album features several melodic/clean tracks. The Ones We Left Behind opens with a bone dry descending run, the band joins in soon after. The guitarists interweave gorgeous melodies with the rhythm chords and the tasteful lead runs and this alone makes the instrumental worth a listen.
Two tracks later, another clean track is inserted, Memories of A Glass Sanctuary. This Track is in the same vein as the one i described above, but it features clean vocals. The singing is very restrained but it fits the song like a glove.
As for the rest of the album, its about what you would expect. The band makes breakdowns and shredding staples of their music, yet they keep it interesting(at least in my opinion). One thing i can't stress enough is the fact that THIS BAND KNOWS HOW TO USE DYNAMICS. In a genre where the sole purpose is to pummel the listener with low tuned guitars and an abundance of breakdowns, this band and album shine through the darkness that is (the majority of)deathcore. It seems as though they've grown as songwriter since the release of The Price of Existence. Overall, i say that this is an album worth checking out at least once.
