Razor & Tie All That Remains are a polarizing band. Frontman Phil Labonte isn’t afraid to speak his mind , and as the group’s success has increased, so have the haters. ‘A War You Cannot Win’ will have those critics complaining louder than ever, but the album should draw legions of new fans that will embrace ATR’s style. That style combines elements of metalcore, mainstream metal and hard rock, and ‘A War You Cannot Win’ is probably the band’s most melodic effort. That doesn’t mean there aren’t songs that pack a wallop. The proceedings start aggressively with ‘Down Thru The Ages,’ with Labonte using harsh vocals and a few higher-pitched screams. Clean vocals make their appearance as well, along with a searing guitar solo. Speaking of guitars, the dual attack of Oli Herbert and Mike Martin is impressive throughout. From darker riffs on songs like ‘A Call To All Non-Believers’ to shredding eighties styles solos, they are on point. When it comes to radio-friendly accessible songs, ‘A War You Cannot Win’ has a few. If you listen to rock radio, you have heard ‘Stand Up,’ an extremely catchy track. ‘Asking Too Much’ is another future radio hit, very melodic and memorable. The power ballad ‘What If I Was Nothing’ has a Five Finger Death Punch vibe and is an obvious choice for a single. Those that buy the album after only hearing the radio singles might be turned off by the harsh vocals, but the balance of those styles is what makes All That Remains who they are. The music might be formulaic, but they execute that formula so well it’s hard to hold it against them. By the last third of the album, there are a few misses. Jason Costa’s drum work gets some nice exposure on ‘Sing for Liberty,’ yet the track itself doesn’t stand out among the rest. They rebound with ‘Not Fading,’ but some momentum is lost with the nondescript acoustic instrumental ‘Calculating Loneliness.’ The tempo cranks back up along with a breakdown or two for the title track, which closes out the album. ‘A War You Cannot Win’ is packed with catchy singles and a polished production from Killswitch Engage’s Adam D. that will appeal to the mainstream. There’s also an ample supply of aggression and heaviness to satisfy metalheads. The combination should make it a very successful album.
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com There’s no doubt that Shinedown ‘s Brent Smith is a prolific writer, but it appears as though he and his hard-working band have gotten ahead of the game for their next album. Despite releasing ‘Amaryllis’ earlier this year, Smith reveals to NME that the band has already recorded a new album. The singer told the Brit-mag in a video interview , “I’ve thought about new material. It’s funny because … and you’re actually the very first person I’ll tell this too … We’ve actually, we have another record of material. It’s actually recorded.” Speaking about the new music, Smith explained, “It’s still very massive. It has a very epic feel to it, but the tempos are a little slower and the subject matter is a little different. I would say it’s actually a bit darker — a little bit more mischievous.” While the next album is ready, there’s still plenty of life in ‘ Amaryllis ,’ as the group is taking the opportunity to promote it in other parts of the world. The singer revealed, “This was the first true international record we received, and I say received because it really is an honor and it’s a gift and a privilege to get an opportunity from your record label to be released internationally, because not every band or every artist gets that opportunity.” The ‘Amaryllis’ album has already spawned the hit singles ‘ Bully ,’ ‘ Unity ‘ and ‘ Enemies .’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/shinedown-groove-on-new-unity-remixes/” title=”Next: Shinedown Groove on ‘Unity’ Remixes” align=”center”]
Reprise Green Day may be out of commission at the moment while singer Billie Joe Armstrong continues his substance abuse rehab, but you would never know it from how prominently they’ve kept fans enthralled with new music. That continues with the new stream of the ‘ ¡Dos! ‘ album on RollingStone.com, a full week ahead of its Nov. 13 release. The high-energy, upbeat disc will be a solid one for the band once they finally do return to the road. ‘F— Time’ features some Georgia Satellites-like good time guitar licks; ‘Stop When the Red Lights Flash’ has that infectious vibe that could make it an eventual single; ‘Makeout Party’ has a great garage-rock feel; and ‘Stray Heart’ is just an immediate radio-friendly rocker that’s the perfect choice for the lead single. The full ‘¡Dos!’ disc drops next Tuesday (Nov. 13) and now competes with the ‘¡Uno!’ album released earlier this year for listeners’ full attention. The third disc in the trilogy, ‘ ¡Tre! ,’ was recently pushed forward to a Dec. 11 release after the band realized they would be unable to tour leading up to the album’s original Jan. 15 street date. Green Day fans can also check out the new ‘ Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ‘ soundtrack song ‘ The Forgotten ,’ which recently debuted and will also turn up on the ‘¡Tre!’ album. [button href=”http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/green-day-rock-hard-and-fast-on-dos-album-premiere-20121106″ title=”Listen to Green Day’s ‘¡Dos!’ Album Streaming at RollingStone.com” align=”center”] [button href=”http://loudwire.com/green-day-shinedown-van-halen-linkin-park-nominated-peoples-choice-awards/” title=”Next: Green Day Nominated for People’s Choice Award” align=”center”]
Epic Records Almost exactly a year after the release of their sixth studio album ‘Hats Off to the Bull,’ Chevelle will be unleashing a greatest hits collection. ‘Stray Arrows: A Collection of Favorites’ is slated for a Dec. 4 release via Epic Records. In addition to eleven songs that all cracked the top 10 on the rock singles charts, a new song called ‘Fizgiz’ is also included. Since their formation in the mid ’90s, the Chicago trio has released a string of successful albums and singles. Four of their songs have reached the No. 1 spot on the mainstream rock chart (‘Send the Pain Below,’ ‘Vitamin R,’ ‘Face to the Floor’ and ‘Hats Off to the Bull’), and all are included in this collection. Many bands would be ecstatic to have even one song land in the top 15, but Chevelle have had so many hits that a song like ‘Closure’ (from 2002′s ‘Wonder What’s Next), which peaked at No. 11, didn’t make the cut for ‘Stray Arrows.’ Among the tracks that did make the cut is ‘The Red,’ which recently made Loudwire list of the Top 50 Hard Rock Songs of the 21st Century . Chevelle – ‘Stray Arrows: A Collection of Favorites’ Track Listing 1. ‘Jars’ 2. ‘Same Old Trip’ 3. ‘Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)’ 4. ‘The Red’ 5. ‘I Get It’ 6. ‘Face to the Floor’ 7. ‘Send the Pain Below’ 8. ‘Sleep Apnea’ 9. ‘The Clincher’ 10. ‘Hats Off to the Bull’ 11. ‘The Meddler’ 12. ‘Fizgig’
Seven Four Entertainment/Republic It’s been an awfully long time between new albums for Soundgarden , but the band’s comeback disc ‘King Animal’ is almost here — and thanks to iTunes, we can actually hear it a week ahead of its release. While ‘King Animal’ won’t officially arrive in stores until next Tuesday (Nov. 13), iTunes is offering a free stream of the full album now (click on link below). And although it isn’t exactly the complete listening experience — you can’t skip between tracks, and the stream doesn’t provide song titles — it’s still a nice surprise for the fans who have been waiting more than 15 years for a new record from the band. The ‘King Animal’ stream follows months of buildup for the reunion album, starting with the release of the ‘Avengers’ soundtrack anthem ‘ Live to Rise ‘ over the summer, and continuing with teases and streams of an assortment of other tracks, including ‘ Worse Dreams ,’ ‘ Been Away Too Long ,’ and ‘ Non-State Actor ‘ — as well as the announcement of an expanded edition , complete with bonus tracks, that will be available exclusively at Best Buy. In the weeks and months to come, fans also have a North American tour to look forward to — but today, just crank up ‘King Animal’ and see if you agree with frontman Chris Cornell ‘s assertion that Soundgarden’s current creative vibe is “almost like it was in the beginning of the band.” [button href=”http://bit.ly/KingAnimaliTunes” title=”Listen to Soundgarden’s ‘King Animal’ at iTunes” align=”center”] Note: Outside the U.S. and Canada, ‘King Animal’ can be streamed at NME.com . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-soundgarden-songs/” title=”10 Best Soundgarden Songs” align=”center”]
Nuclear Blast Records Tracking a band’s progress throughout 10 studio albums is a long and complex process. The growth and change of a band, especially that of a cult phenomenon like Cradle of Filth , is forever branded within their many works, and without fail, shines the brightest of lights on an act’s strengths and weaknesses. Cradle of Filth, as a band, are growing to become more and more accessible as they continue to put out material. The British extreme metal band were shrouded in an eerie and dark fog during the ’90s, creating a mystique which brought legitimate fear to those who happened to hear the band or stumble across a Cradle of Filth album cover or t-shirt. The sound of the band added to that uneasy feeling, as Cradle of Filth continued to unleash a disturbing and sonically disgusting brand of gothic and extreme metal. Cradle of Filth was essentially a cult horror film in audio form, but once an increasing majority was coaxed to take a peek behind the scenes, some of the band’s most significant strengths began to fade. ‘The Manticore and Other Horrors’ is distinctly a Cradle of Filth album, with vocalist Dani Filth once again presenting his incredible vocal range in prime form. Throughout the record, Dani continues to paint elaborate pictures with his words and vocal inflections with a depth of character that few singers can profess. His tea kettle-like highs remain in tact and his low gutturals, although used sparingly, remain powerful, but a masterful performance by Dani Filth isn’t enough to carry an album by itself. The guitar work and female vocal presence in ‘The Manticore and Other Horrors’ leaves much to be desired, with too few memorable parts to create an addictive quality in that respect. The orchestration, which has always been essential to the band’s resonance, presents a beautiful and bewitching quality in stronger tracks such as ‘Illictus’ and ‘Manticore,’ but not a horrifying one. Composed solely by Cradle drummer Martin ‘Marthus’ Skaroupka, the orchestration is well-written and enchanting, although it seems a bit delicate at times and doesn’t contain the demonic presence of Cradle of Filth’s past works. As Dani Filth described during our recent interview with the singer, ‘The Manticore and Other Horrors’ contains an evident dose of punk rock influence. Prevalent in tracks such as ‘For Your Vulgar Delectation’ and ‘Succumb to This,’ the newer influence creates a different type of progression for the band that excites on some level, but may prove to be polarizing amongst fans due to its approachable nature. In closing, although Cradle of Filth’s ‘The Manticore and Other Horrors’ makes for a fine listen, it doesn’t quite deliver the trademark ‘edge’ accomplished so diligently in past efforts.
Sony Bullet for My Valentine are finally picking things up again with the announcement that their next album has a title — ‘Temper Temper’ — and also has a Feb. 11 release date. Not so coincidentally, Bullet for My Valentine also has a new single called ‘Temper Temper’ as well. It recently debuted online and is expected to arrive as a download next month. The ‘Temper Temper’ album finds the band reuniting with Don Gilmore, the producer behind their 2010 release ‘Fever.’ Earlier this year, singer Matt Tuck revealed that the band had been working on new music in Thailand . It’s been a pretty busy year for Tuck, who has also spent time recording and touring with his new project, AxeWound . The group recently issued their debut disc, ‘Vultures.’ That, combined with the fact that guitarist Michael “Padge” Paget recently underwent back surgery , may have had something to do with the album arriving in 2013 rather than this year. Paget had his surgery after the album was complete, and has been spending his time recuperating. NME reports that Bullet for My Valentine will hit the road shortly after the album’s release as four shows have already been announced in their native U.K. Stops include Birmingham’s O2 Academy (March 12), Glasgow’s O2 Academy (March 13), Manchester’s O2 Apollo (March 15), and London’s Roundhouse (March 17). [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bullet-for-my-valentine-worst-pre-fame-jobs/” title=”Next: Bullet for My Valentine – Worst Pre-Fame Jobs” align=”center”]