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All That Remains

This Darkened Heart (2004)
Prosthetic Records

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Contributed by: crazytoledo
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on October 2nd 2005

Hell yeah! I heard two songs and decided to pick this up and am extremely happy I did, because there isn’t anything noteably bad about this album. Fronted by former Shadows Fall vocalist Phillip Labonte, All That Remains amaze me.

The lead guitar work is awesome and the rhythm guitar is slick as well. I really like the drum work here, but the bass doesn’t really get a large role. I also like the sparingly used clean vocals and acoustic guitar to not only serve as an interlude between songs, but add contrast. But personally all of that, including the solid vocals, are stale in comparison to what the true magic of All That Remains has: The solos. Herbert and Martin rip through around eight solos on the album including double solos on several tracks (“And Death in My Arms,” “The Deepest Gray,” “Vicious Betrayal.”) and all of them kick serious ass. It’s not just that they sound good, it’s that the fit the mood of the music and atmosphere of the lyrics and fit in well; they're not just thrown in there. The solos really kick ass on the first three songs, especially in “Vicious Betrayal.” It’s kind of sad that they used “This Darkened Heart” as their second single as it’s a more metalcore song without a solo and isn’t as good as any of the songs with a solo. The parts between the solos are great, but they lack the power and feeling of the solos and this slightly hurts the songs as you feel like you waiting for the solos, which isn’t a bad thing.

Overall, This Darkened Heart is an amazing album worth any penny you can spend on it.

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fallenangel (May 20, 2010)

This is the most awesome band ever made i saw these guys live in the front row

leonidas (January 29, 2009)

he said the word "solos" at least 9 times.

Mezzy (January 22, 2008)

I thought this album was fantastic.
I actually heard this after having been told about then by a good friend of mine and having heard their newer album.
Still can't stop listening to it

Anonymous (April 22, 2007)

Anyone wanna do a count of how many times the writer mentions "solos"? I'm guessing if a solo could somehow become a person, the writer would suck it's dick.

hotwaterbrogden (April 14, 2006)

good cd, great solos, excited for the new one.

Anonymous (December 3, 2005)

seemingly decent album. caught them with as i lay dying and they were really good live,, then throwdown came on and the crowd went silent.

FAST_ED (October 4, 2005)

This album was a total surprise to me. It defintely rips though. As a huge Shadows Fall fan, I couldn't resist seeing what was up. Personally, I almost like this band better. I'd like to say that it's more "punk rock" sounding (especially the drums), but the punknews royalty will probably cut me at the knees for saying that. (jones? crooks? you out there?) Anyway, a solid purchase indeed. Well worth the money.

crazytoledo (October 4, 2005)

Nooooooooooo

Anonymous (October 4, 2005)

take away the shitty solos and you have a good album.

crazytoledo (October 3, 2005)

Hmmm....

I randomly submitted all of my reviews including the shitty ones back when I wrote really shitty ones and after I did it and started to work on my reviews, I knew it wouldnt go up unless Brian was posting everything on the queue.

Anonymous (October 3, 2005)

my impersonation of this review:

s"olos! blah blah solo blah solos blah blah blah solo."

etwiels88 (October 3, 2005)

the artwork sucks dick.

Anonymous (October 3, 2005)

you submitted a review and you're surprised it got posted? how did you even find the internet?

crazytoledo (October 3, 2005)

Dude...

I wrote a quick review for the hell of it and submitted it for kicks, I never planned for this to be added, and when i saw it, I was li,e "O shit..."

Ive wrote better reviews and this was a 6 month old one I didnt really go in depth cause I just needed something basic for the review.

Aight.

Anonymous (October 3, 2005)

i've been reading these punknews reviews and comments for a good while now and never get the urge to comment, but i have been sparked into action here..
that was the WORST fucking review i have ever read. I like solos too, but jesus.. write a bit about the songs themselves or the feel of the album...god almighty..
as a bonus it very poorly written. did you fail grade 7 written expression? how can you submit this and be proud of it? i feel dumber for having read it.. as written below, please kill yourself or refrain from writing any further reviews.

i actually like this record. labonte is a good vocalist and the music is interesting enough metalcore (which is almost an oxymoron these days). i reckon this band could go places if they take a few chances on their next record