A Life Once Lost

A Life Once Lost: HunterHunter (2005)
Ferret Records

Reviewer Rating: 2.5

User Rating:

Contributed by: pwfanaticpwfanatic
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on July 8th 2005If you have never heard of A Life Once Lost, but you know that they are going to be on the "Sounds of the Underground" tour, then you probably have a pretty good idea of what they sound like. A Life Once Lost is almost a full-fledged metal band that hides behind jack-hammering, bone-crushing riffs w.

If you have never heard of A Life Once Lost, but you know that they are going to be on the "Sounds of the Underground" tour, then you probably have a pretty good idea of what they sound like. A Life Once Lost is almost a full-fledged metal band that hides behind jack-hammering, bone-crushing riffs with little variation throughout. They are one of those metalcore bands, the kinds that have been popping up all over the place, but also the ones that sometimes can't break into the limelight of originality.

Unfortunately, A Life Once Lost's new effort Hunter is the perfect example of one of these types of metalcore bands. The vocals are the standard death metal variation straight from the throat, achieving strangled gargles to hit the high end of the spectrum, but generally finding solace in a more frightening low growl. Like any good almost metal band, A Life Once Lost peppers the album with little guitar solos and ill-placed pinch harmonics, but in the end, it is too little to save an album as monotonously boring as Hunter from anything.

They plow through eleven tracks with a ruthlessly efficiency. They assault the eardrums for thirty-six minutes as if it truly is their job. The music has the heart, but it doesn't have the technical wizardry behind any of it to make it stand out. And while the band doesn't try to hide behind the fact that they are anything less than this barrage of heavy noise, the release is so dull that A Life Once Lost set the bar just a bit too low. They wear their influences on their sleeve and in this case, a bit too much. At many points, the music becomes so similar to Meshuggah, it is impossible to tell a difference between the two, save for that the former is better sounding. Hunter lacks any ingenuity that makes it stick out from the rest of the pack, and so while bands like Unearth are thinking of new and creative ways to break down the breakdown, A Life Once Lost will be entertaining kids on the exact same tour, with a very similar sound, only played out much worse.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

ghostwise (October 22, 2010)

While yes I do agree with the review on most points -vocals mainly - the song kamikaze dreamer (Rehashed) is actually really good, and I can't help loving it.

Anonymous (November 25, 2005)

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xbeyonbloodx (November 2, 2005)

This album is one of the greatest albums i've heard this year. There off-beat onslought is great, each riff is like a punch to the face. Who ever wrote the review has been listening to a little too much Slayer!!!!!!

Anonymous (August 25, 2005)

the score for what i just posted below

Anonymous (August 25, 2005)

Once again ALOL has outdone themselves, catching the listener offguard and creating a piece of art amidst the world of metal clones. whoever truly feels that this album is a Meshuggah ripoff has quite an unrefined sense for metal/metalcore. True, the fact alone that they use complex time sig's and slithering guitar riffs is akin to Meshuggah, but i found the actual sound of Hunter to be quite fresh and original. Props once again to this band for maturing their powerful-yet-trippy sound.

Anonymous (August 3, 2005)

whoever wrote this review is a fucking pussy with bad taste of music

MrAwesome (July 26, 2005)

i have to admit after hearing vulture the rest of the album wasnt so great but the more i listen to it the more i realise how fucking incredible this cd is

Anonymous (July 15, 2005)

This review is just wrong. Unearth is more original than this? Also I wish Meshuggah was more like this band instead of playing the same 3 notes all the time.

benz (July 12, 2005)

ability to write good music > being really good at your instrument

this band is ok, but can't really hold my attention at all. havent heard this album yet, but chances are I won't ever feel compelled to.

-benz

Anonymous (July 12, 2005)

rhythm > complex riffs

anyone who plays good MUSIC should know this, regardless of genre

pwfanatic (July 11, 2005)

"this review couldn't be any farther from the truth. no technical proficiency?? ALOL's technicality lies in odd timing and rhythms, not shitty, wanky metal riffing. all the dudes in this band are INSANELY proficient at their instruments, they just don't feel the need to show off. bob carpenter is an incredibly versatile guitarist."

i didn't say they lack technical proficency. they are fucking proficent as hell, but i still stand by my opinion that they lack the wizadry/complex riffs that make the best metal bands the best.

with that said, i am surprised by the amount of people that really stand by this album. i still think it is mediocre at best, but to each their own i guess.

Anonymous (July 11, 2005)

oh, and its a good thing they don't play any of the old shit anymore. for one, they've got a considerably different lineup than they did back then. for two, those songs ARE cookie cutter metalcore bullshit. the new stuff is so much better and more interesting.

Anonymous (July 11, 2005)

this review couldn't be any farther from the truth. no technical proficiency?? ALOL's technicality lies in odd timing and rhythms, not shitty, wanky metal riffing. all the dudes in this band are INSANELY proficient at their instruments, they just don't feel the need to show off. bob carpenter is an incredibly versatile guitarist.

as people have already said, yes they sound like meshuggah at times, but i'd rather hear that than any of the 4th rate converge or dillinger knockoffs that are out there.

Anonymous (July 10, 2005)

never heard these guys, but the score is for Meshuggah's Catch 33.

tubbywsou (July 10, 2005)

amazing album. straight thru. one of the best of the year so far.

Big_Guy (July 9, 2005)

"particularly one part of Surreal Atrocities which is identical to part of New Millenium Cyanide Christ."

Yeah, when I first got A Great Artist, that stuck out to me.

Hunter is by far the better record and is one of the best of the year so far.

FortyMinutesWest (July 9, 2005)

"This album just demolishes... the Meshuggah comparisons are superficial at best"

I don't think so, some parts of A Great Artist were directly lifted from Meshuggah songs, particularly one part of Surreal Atrocities which is identical to part of New Millenium Cyanide Christ.

That being said, there's no law against bands sounding alike, and they certainly could've picked worse influences. This is a solid record for sure.

pwfanatic (July 9, 2005)

"ALOL Metalcore? I laughed at that..."

am i missing something in this widespread genre classification, or how are these guys not the epitome of metalcore???

crazytoledo (July 8, 2005)

Misery Signals > A Life Once Lost

ALOL Metalcore? I laughed at that...

etwiels88 (July 8, 2005)

i would much rather hear a band try to mimick a great band like meshuggah than hearing another misery signals

who were you thinking of that sounded like misery signals?

etwiels88 (July 8, 2005)

the first three songs and like 2 other tracks are the only good ones on the album

moneenerd (July 8, 2005)

I was super psyched about this album, having heard VULTURE. But the rest of the album was so boring. I'm glad you gave it that score, because VULTURE is probably the only decent "metalcore" song I've heard in the past 2 or 3 years.

stevejonestherealbones (July 8, 2005)

ferrets are cool little animals

- jones the bones

- stevejones8770@yahoo.com

pastepunk (July 8, 2005)

This album just demolishes... the Meshuggah comparisons are superficial at best, and this album is about a million times heavier than anything else they've ever written. Sure, it's repetitive in parts, and it's deliberateness is not for everyone, but I'm mighty impressed nonetheless.

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

i heard catch 33 was intentionally rushed in order to get off their label. or that might just be their excuse for putting out a subpar effort. i dunno.

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

yea, except this shit is worse than catch 33

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

i havent seen these guys in ages is it true that they dont play anything from open your mouth for the speechless... at shows anymore. cause i have listened to some of there new stuff and it doesnt even compare to open your mouth...

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

yeah
catch 33 isn't thier finest hour

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

i think we are all forgetting that meshuggahs new album sucks.

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

ps on a completely unrelated but simillar note

does anyone know if meshuggah are touring anytime soon
damn it's been a while since they've been in north america

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

i'd have to agree that this review is way off

i think this album is a huge step forward from thier last
it's one of my favourite albums of the year thus far

they are anything but a cookie cutter band

and while the meshuggah comparision always comes when talking about these guys
it's not exactly a bad thing

i would much rather hear a band try to mimick a great band like meshuggah than hearing another misery signals

this album is simple and it's the simplality (is that evena word) that makes it so good and complex
they don't come out trying to sound all complex and technical
i feel like it just came farily natural on this disc

regardless it's a great album and you really should check it out

plus these guys are cool as shit
i had the chance to chat with them the other day at sounds of the underground and they were fucking rad

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

Of all the albums they've released, this is by far the most original and TIGHTEST thing they've ever done. You can hear some really solid musicianship in this and it's much better than all the other bands that try to HIDE ripping off 12,267 bands while they just rip-off Meshuggah, which is a top notch choice anyway!

aubin (July 8, 2005)

I'd have to disagree with the reviewer on this one. While I would concede that A Great Artist had exactly the problems described in this review, this record is substantially better.

It's a Meshuggah impression, certainly, but a solid one with some more creative songwriting than ALOL has ever managed before.

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

score is for meshuggah

pwfanatic (July 8, 2005)

hmm...dont' know why i through the italic brakets there....

pwfanatic (July 8, 2005)

[i]"so do they still sound EXACTLY like meshuggah?"[/i]

its not AS obvious as it was before, but they still revert back to their old meshuggah-clone ways pretty often.

[i]"this review is painfully misleading. this band is technically proficient and unique amongst metalcore bands."[/i]

actually, reading through this again, you are sorta right. i didn't give their technical profciency enough credit...but that is mainly because, although pulled off well...it just really isn't that complex, or impressive at all.

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

so do they still sound EXACTLY like meshuggah? 'cause a great artist didn't do anything for me. i heard their older stuff was solid though.

Big_Guy (July 8, 2005)

this album is at least a 8

this is far more original than the reviewer makes it out to be

Anonymous (July 8, 2005)

so unearth sounds like 1,549 other bands, and ALOL sounds somewhat similar (but less so on this album than on the last) to one band and they're the one to get shit for lack of originality? sorry, that just doesn't compute.

this review is painfully misleading. this band is technically proficient and unique amongst metalcore bands.

elliot (July 8, 2005)

first. i haven't heard the album yet, just one song, but i can pretty surely say that your review is retarded and wrong.