| | Full Review | Ratings (645) |
Give your Rating |
| 0.0 | Deviant. STAFF | January 12th 12 |
I suppose after hearing that ATDI and Refused have re-formed on the same day, it should only be fair that on the flip side of the spectrum that new Attack Attack! and Enter Shikari should leak on the same day, just to tip the scales back ever so slightly. God's a cheeky little fucker ain't he?
Also while we're at it, let's talk about the two big cocks on the album cover
26 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | bloc | January 12th 12 |
Based on their new haircuts, you'd think AA! was getting more focused, tighter, and more serious. Even listening to the new song, The Motivation, would have you thinking similarly. Unfortunately, we are met with the same problems on This Means War as AA!'s other albums. Switching to dropped tunings and 7 string guitars has not done anything to make their music more interesting, as the entire album is filled with chugs, power chords and nothing more. Seriously, you won't find a single guitar lead on this thing. It was coming to the point where I was asking, "Can I have more synths on this thing, please?" The vocals are another weak aspect: Caleb seemed like he was the man for the job at first, but on this album he sounds like he's struggling for air. His half spoken-half screamed lines (or whatever you call them) are just awful to listen to.
6 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | macadoolahicky | April 28th 12 |
They've lost the one element of their music that made them slightly enjoyable: the humor.
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| 2.0 poor | Scoot | January 12th 12 |
attack attack! return with the force of a thousand penis cover arts
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| 3.0 good | KosherSoldier | January 12th 12 |
Autotune is gone. Electronics only appear when serving an actual purpose.
Lyrical content is still lacking, but an improvement over previous entries.
This is the band that Attack Attack! has been struggling to become all these frustrating years.
3 Bumps | Bump |
| 1.0 awful | Sirob | May 15th 12 |
it has dicks on the cover holy fuck didnt they think of that before they released it?
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | tresm87 | January 12th 12 |
Way better than their last 2, however lyrics and certain screams are sometimes very bad, the lows are fucking rawesome though. They can build off this album especially from songs like the wretched, and the rconfrontation which are good.
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| 2.0 poor | immortalizepain | January 12th 12 |
Way to go Attack Attack!. You got me at the sound of drumsticks hitting at the first 5 seconds. Then it went downhill. Until the end. Predictable chug chug still there.
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| 1.5 very poor | BUDDHA IS METAL | December 1st 21 |
loooooollllllzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz some nice piano on reality actually (obv they had nothing to do with it) otherwise the most mediocre album in the most mediocre genre
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| 3.0 good | BaseballJames | September 20th 12 |
The songs all run together and wind up sounding the same, but it's a huge improvement over their crabcore days. I hope they can polish the songwriting for next time though.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | SilverandBlack5 | August 19th 12 |
A big step up for these guys, but its generic feel quickly overpowers the great breakdown/heavy potential. Still a very fun listen, but it won't last you very long.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | Rumpelkombo | July 21st 12 |
Honestly, the first time I'm glad that a band has gone mainstream. Breakdowns are generic, and the screamed-verse/clean-chorus song structure has been done a million times before, but This Means War is still a fun album to listen to, and should be treated as such.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | Tr4nsit | July 16th 12 |
Attack Attack! are a band renowned for their generic breakdowns, autotuned vocals and rampant synth lines. Not to forget their most noted creation ‘crabcore’.
Well, at the beginning of this year they released their new album, entitled ‘This is War’. Many would argue that their change up of sound for this album allows them to continue as one of the generic bands. And as it would seem, they have morphed from their roots in the generisism of Metalcore and have joined the latest musical trend, Djent. Sure, the fact they could have made this jump simply to stay current, but damn, they’ve done it with style!
For AA!, This is War has an extremely distinct and mature sound compared to that of their previous, self-titled, sophmore effort. Now that vocalist and synth writer, Caleb Shomo, has taken the job of frontman by the balls and ripped it this way and that. Developing his vocals into powerful gutturals to note perfect singing, which is more appreciated than in that the first album with vocalist Austin Carlisle.
It would seem that no distinct change of instrumentalists over the years has paid off for Attack Attack! Although the levels of skill involved may not be impeccable or versatile, the Ohio boys are on their way to writing some of the bounciest riffs around.
They haven’t dropped their blatant addiction for breakdowns, as there’s still one in every track. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the pure energy put into these breakdowns is sure to give a baby induced roundhouse kick.
The synth lines have dropped off for the most part within This is War which for the most part seems to be for the best. But, when they do kick in, like Asking Alexandria before them, AA! have managed to keep them reigned in and have even added a small section of dubstep to one or two tracks.
So, still generic as hell, but kicking it with style, Attack Attack! may have a couple of tricks left up their sleeve just yet. 3.5/5
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | moshpotatoes | May 23rd 12 |
They greatly changed their style of music. Not sure if it's for the bad or the good. Anyways, this album is about the same as the other ones. Every song has a catchy chorus and good synths, but the instruments are dull.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | alextheantichrist | January 21st 12 |
It's not the most creative work ever but This Means War is for sure AA's best album so far. The song titles are uncreative and the lyrics feel weak and superficial but the guitars are heavier and the screaming is decent. Overall, I really hope this is where Attack Attack! becomes good.
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| 1.5 very poor | iGuter | January 14th 12 |
rrCutting your hair, making a couple progressive build ups, and different vocals don't substitute the bad lyrics and unbearable sound. For God's sake! There are holes in THEIR songwriting! i'm really not trying to hate on this band, but it seems like they're doing this on purpose just to taunt me. So DEFENDtheir compositions and DEFENDtheir bad song writing because there it will only make me feel better knowing that I know of good bands that I can hipster out to rather then subject myself to this garbage. For those who hate on high pitch vocals, listen to this guy, he can barely hold a note.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | HaloDude442 | January 14th 12 |
Not anything special, but I thought the album was pretty solid if maybe too samey and repetitive, but I still really like The Hopeless and The Wretched
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | DinoX | January 13th 12 |
Absolutely atrocious vocals
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 1.5 very poor | Trebor. EMERITUS | January 13th 12 |
This Means Snore
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| 2.0 poor | NeutralThunder12 | January 13th 12 |
Yeah so like they took a lot of the atrociously gay parts out and with that, its easier to hear the incredibly mediocre riffs, boring guitar work and awful vocals. At least they improved from absolutely god awful to just really bad. and look at that album cover. only heard a few songs off this, but I can safely say I get the point.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.5 great | BassDemon333 | January 13th 12 |
The band have mastered the newfound maturity in their music, now they just need to learn how to add variation to it
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 1.5 very poor | downxbeat | January 12th 12 |
The only thing I can stand are the clean vocals, cause they're not that bad. Everything else is pretty shitty. Totally generic and boring.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | Halez | May 1st 20 |
I completely misjudged this album for the longest time and I hate myself for it, it actually kind of slaps
Bump |
| 3.5 great | grizzlys54 | October 11th 19 |
Huge step up. This album made the basis for Beartooth.
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| 2.5 average | Sharpyyy | May 18th 13 |
This album brought alot of hype in my life, I finally picked it up, and... eehh. I wasn't really impressed, I was happy that they decided to ditch the synths, and the outcome is much better than their old stuff. The titles are obviously quite lazy, and that brings my rating down a bit. Also the repetitiveness annoys me too, I went from tracks 4 - 7 without noticing they were different songs. This album isn't the best, but it is enjoyable for the first couple of listens.
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| 0.0 | bach | September 25th 12 |
Attack Attack strive to make something memorable. But, ultimately fall immensely short in doing so. Maybe these guys will give me a run for my money one day. I'm doubtful they will, though.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | iamSeraph | April 14th 12 |
the first half annoys me, even if it tries to be original and innovative. the second half is more scene and generic, but honestly that is what someone expects of Attack Attack!, nothing more/else. that is what they are able to pull off.
Bump |
| 0.0 | Systemunfolded | March 19th 12 |
Do I add this to my list of guilty pleasures? If so, I should mention that what is good on this album is so scattered, I really shouldn;t give this a 3/5. But w/e, I surprise even myself occasionally.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | ChuckyTruant | March 11th 12 |
hywhywhywhywhywhyrWHY EVER DO SUCH HIDEOUSLY TERRIBLE HORRENDOUS NASTY DISGUSTING GROSS THINGS?
Bump |
| 0.0 | | February 14th 12 |
Consisting of copious amounts of chugging, harsh vocals that are grating to the ears and repetitive song structures, Attack Attack! bring absolutely nothing new to the table, with the only saving graces being the clean vocals and the production values.
Bump |
| 2.5 average | jwyles4 | February 7th 12 |
I have a soft spot for this band, but this album is the definition of mediocre.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | 1SecondToDie | February 7th 12 |
Overall it sounds repetative, and listening this stuff starts annoying my ears when album`s closing to the end. Not bad though, many electronic elements (not so much as on previous release) that not original at all and does not give anything memorizable (except The Wretched track), and this parts of djent sound not always good as well. So what`s made well on this album then? They changed their sound, and choose an interesting direction, but it`s only experiment. Caleb and co will back to their roots after this release anyway. Hun? too bad... they have some potential to become a professional metalcore band, just need to work ... and work much
Bump |
| 0.0 | ZulaV | January 18th 12 |
While the production is solid and Caleb's clean/rough vocals aren't bad by any means, there is very little AA! does to catch the listener's attention throughout This Means War. Breakdowns lose their impact due to the equally heavy verses. Each section of every song could be cut and pasted into another and the album wouldn't sound any different.
Bump |
| 0.0 | Earthmover | January 16th 12 |
Far better than anything they've done. Some parts were very cool and creative, but the majority of it sounded stale and generic. They seem to be improving as a band, and that kid's singing is top notch. The screaming, however, = bleh
Bump |
| 0.0 | dudevandudestein | January 16th 12 |
I wasnt always a fan of AA but then i heard some stuff from the second album and i was hooked. now between past albums and this one it is very different, its very well done lyrically and everything else except for the lack of synths, that is the only bad think i can think of from this album. definitely worth the buy though
Bump |
| 2.5 average | InFiction | January 16th 12 |
Despite their minor progression, Caleb's vocal technique is cringeworthy at points, the instrumentation is as bland as ever and the song structure is uninspired. 'The Wretched' is the standout track on the album but definitely a step in the right direction. More songs like that is the way to go.
Bump |
| 2.0 poor | joshieboy | January 16th 12 |
This doesn't sound completely awful but it's not all that good either.
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| 0.0 | Chuggy | January 16th 12 |
Not as bad as I first thought. They are trying to sound "mature" but unfortunately have no idea how to write songs with variation.rBut of particularity ear-grating note are Calabs screamed vocals...they are fucked. The cleans are alright but he sounds as though its actually causing him pain to do those screamed parts.
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| 0.0 | balcaen | January 14th 12 |
what's with the dicks on the cover? THIS MEANS DICKS
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| 2.5 average | ThomasTheCure | January 14th 12 |
The majority of the album is extremely generic and boring. Almost every track sounds indistinguishable from the last, other than the solid "the motivation" and "the wretched". If every track were as good as those two, this album would easily get at least a 3.5 from me. The fact that the two best tracks are the only ones without much chugging is no coincidence. If the band could just move past their crabcore roots and stick with the faster paced style of the aforementioned tracks, they could be taken more seriously and become much better artists.
Bump |
| 0.0 | SteveRogers | January 14th 12 |
An album which seems almost better than it truly is purely because of how much of an improvement it is over everything else this band has ever done. Finally, Attack Attack has reached a level of being average which is equal to the potential which periodically laughed at us from behind the bullshit of their first two records. By ditching the stupid song titles, the autotune, the lame dance songs, and a chunk of their lineup, Attack Attack is finally where everyone else in the genre has been for the past few years. Here's hoping they'll release an album in two years which sounds like it was from 2012. Keep it up, boys.
Bump |
| 0.0 | Hospital | January 13th 12 |
I seriously couldn't make it past 2 songs. Do you hear those spoken-word screams he's doing in EVERY song? The songs I heard all sound the same, the screams have no variation, the choruses sound the same. I never thought i'd say it... BRING BACK THE CRABCORE!!!rIt's that bad.
Bump |
| 2.0 poor | lucasjcockcroft | January 12th 12 |
now kick out the guitarist and replace him with someone else.
Bump |
| 1.5 very poor | Tool1 | February 26th 24 |
| 3.5 great | Piem | October 8th 22 |
| 3.0 good | FnTom | August 29th 22 |
| 2.5 average | teo | June 16th 21 |
| 2.0 poor | V3XED | March 19th 21 |
| 3.0 good | doom. | January 3rd 21 |
| 2.5 average | Brad | October 29th 20 |
| 2.0 poor | Uzumaki | September 21st 20 |
| 5.0 classic | Element | October 2nd 19 |
| 3.5 great | jdawg96 | September 10th 19 |
| 1.0 awful | kodama | August 4th 19 |
| 3.5 great | babb | July 22nd 19 |
| 1.0 awful | josh | June 10th 19 |
| 2.5 average | Adamn | May 8th 19 |
| 3.0 good | Sarah | April 20th 19 |
| 2.5 average | Jdub621 | February 28th 19 |
| 1.0 awful | Josh | February 26th 19 |
| 2.5 average | STEA | January 26th 19 |
| 3.5 great | Maximo | December 30th 17 |
| 2.5 average | nbats | November 14th 17 |
| 1.5 very poor | ElSomni | November 6th 17 |
| 1.5 very poor | Elynna | November 5th 17 |
| 1.5 very poor | Kurisu | September 22nd 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | ORTCEZ | June 25th 17 |
| 2.5 average | El Olam | December 31st 16 |
| 2.5 average | acmolan | December 18th 16 |
| 2.5 average | ian b. | December 1st 16 |
| 2.5 average | soupp | October 23rd 16 |
| 2.0 poor | btati | October 18th 16 |
| 3.5 great | SimpleM | September 10th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Sebe | August 22nd 16 |
| 1.5 very poor | Illume | August 8th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Snide | May 14th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Brett W | February 21st 16 |
| 2.0 poor | 8genre | January 5th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | jbus | November 6th 15 |
| 2.0 poor | dcon4L | October 24th 15 |
| 1.5 very poor | stevep | October 19th 15 |
| 2.5 average | Tom R. CONTRIBUTOR | August 30th 15 |
| 2.5 average | Kohta | April 14th 15 |
| 2.5 average | slaps | December 17th 14 |
| 2.5 average | neojoe | November 2nd 14 |
| 1.5 very poor | P0nto | November 1st 14 |
| 1.0 awful | Pikmar | October 9th 14 |
| 2.0 poor | A257U2 | September 28th 14 |
| 3.5 great | Linx | September 2nd 14 |
| 1.5 very poor | Veldin | July 11th 14 |
| 1.5 very poor | Roman | April 23rd 14 |
| 1.5 very poor | enjoimx | March 26th 14 |
| 2.5 average | Akagami | February 26th 14 |
| 5.0 classic | acbpn | February 6th 14 |
| 2.5 average | hudso | November 17th 13 |
| 3.0 good | Dischi | October 23rd 13 |
| 1.5 very poor | Alaska | August 26th 13 |
| 2.5 average | zmol | July 15th 13 |
| 4.5 superb | Crinn | July 4th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | Whale | June 24th 13 |
| 2.5 average | brunch | April 22nd 13 |
| 3.5 great | Alexd93 | February 27th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | Noteros | February 8th 13 |
| 3.5 great | JorisL | January 15th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | Xav | January 14th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | axxex1 | January 10th 13 |
| 1.5 very poor | Lenix | December 31st 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | Shimana | December 20th 12 |
| 1.0 awful | CK | December 14th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | mzi | December 12th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | Bajumeru | November 27th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Kronzo | November 19th 12 |
| 2.5 average | ZoneOut | November 17th 12 |
| 3.0 good | Zikana | November 14th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Hajoxsu | November 3rd 12 |
| 2.5 average | Pr0phet | September 24th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | f0rest | September 19th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Lani | August 5th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | mew151 | July 22nd 12 |
| 2.5 average | nateyo | July 6th 12 |
| 5.0 classic | kab753 | June 5th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Crawl | May 26th 12 |
| 2.5 average | mar1s | May 18th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | Tulten | May 9th 12 |
| 2.5 average | ZedO | May 4th 12 |
| 3.0 good | CutMan | April 14th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | danseku | March 28th 12 |
| 3.0 good | ilbron | March 15th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | ANJ45 | March 13th 12 |
| 1.0 awful | ryan10 | March 8th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Sconza | February 24th 12 |
| 1.0 awful | Sacca | February 23rd 12 |
| 4.5 superb | Krytix | February 12th 12 |
| 3.0 good | Custy | February 2nd 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | Stomped | February 1st 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | Vyndax | January 30th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Silas | January 26th 12 |
| 3.0 good | vox001 | January 26th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | dj2992 | January 22nd 12 |
| 4.5 superb | moetheG | January 21st 12 |
| 3.0 good | Damon | January 21st 12 |
| 1.0 awful | pike27 | January 20th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | mcchub | January 17th 12 |
| 2.0 poor | xorax | January 17th 12 |
| 2.0 poor | ILJ | January 17th 12 |
| 2.5 average | lucho | January 16th 12 |
| 2.5 average | quik40 | January 14th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | X3ni92 | January 13th 12 |
| 1.0 awful | Durrzo | January 13th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | TanMan | January 13th 12 |
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