Will this album be a full metal playlist like All That Remains’ earlier albums, or will this be a mix of hard rock and ballads like A War You Cannot Win?
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Text Review:
When you are trying to do your own thing and present music in the way you want to, you will never please everyone. When a band has changed or varied their style over the years their will almost always be jaded fans who clamor for the glory days. All That Remains is a great example of a band who does exactly what they want with their albums but still have fans who demand what they were originally known for.
The Order of Things marks the seventh studio album from Massachusetts’ hard rock/metal quintet. With this new album comes a loyal fanbases’ bated breath in anticipation to find out what style the new album will be. Will this be a continuation from the style of A War You Cannot Win, or will this be a return to the stomping grounds of This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals?
Back in 2012 I reviewed A War You Cannot Win and I remember feeling slightly underwhelmed with the slowed style. I still say that it is not a bad album, but it did leave me feeling uninspired to listen again and missing the energy that many have come to known the band for.
In an interview with Cryptic Rock, Mike Martin said “We’ve always wanted to have a lot of different kind of metal songs whether it was a ballad, fast song, or death metal song…We’ve always just done it no matter what the repercussions were because you know you are always going to get backlash. If you are going to write a record that is really heavy, and on the next record you have a ballad, people are going to get pissed. We never really look too much into it, we just wanted to do it.”
The opening track from the album also serves as The Order of Things’ first single This Probably Won’t End Well. It has already been featured consistently on rock radio and Sirius.
The rhythm guitar and flow of this song is what stands out to me. Even though there is some volume and heavy guitar riffs along with peppered in screaming of lyrics in the chorus, this song gives a feeling of peace. I don’t mean that in a bad way either. This song opens up The Order of Things with a good pace and definitely sounds like an All That Remains song: one that showcases the bands style and writing.
The style of This Probably Won’t End Well would be the best average of intensity you’ll find in The Order of Things. While there are a few songs that resemble the metal edge of the bands earlier releases, there are other tracks that definitely have a slower and softer sound.
It goes back to Martin’s statement with ” If you are going to write a record that is really heavy, and on the next record you have a ballad, people are going to get pissed.” With The Order of Things though, it feels like with one song you hear something heavy and then the next song is a ballad.
For You is the perfect example of not only how All That Remains can slow things down and get emotional, but that All That Remains will create any style of song they want. This song is an example of a romanticized All That Remains. The acoustic guitars standout like a gunshot in this song and has a stark contrast for what many All That Remains fans may not be expecting.
In my opinion, I don’t think this song OR this style by All That Remains is bad. Lyrically it’s moving and again the acoustic guitar work is fluid and stands out. The difficult task though for many All That Remains fans will be to hear a song like For You and to break the habit of not associating this style with the band. The truth though is that they are more than capable of doing it.
But as for variety in The Order of Things, there is definitely a range of intensity, and there are shades of All That Remains earlier days mixed in here.
There will always be supporters and nay-sayers for a band who has been around for over a decade. What you have to appreciate though is when a band sticks to delivering what they want to give. They don’t cave into trends or record label influence, but rather perform and give the music they feel is best. All That Remains has proven to be a rare band that is content with being themselves.
Overall, if you go into The Order of Things expecting a full metal onslaught from beginning to end, then you will be disappointed. But if you are a long time All That Remains fan or are going into a new album with an open mind looking for good rock, then this album may leave you pleasantly surprised.
