So after kicking everyone's asses with their thrash-infused third release, 'The Fall Of Ideals', All That Remains returns with 'Overcome'. What that title is in reference to, only Phil Labonte truly knows, but one thing's for certain...this album definitely isn't overcoming anything that The Fall Of Ideals had to offer in regards to "Metal."

The one area that the band does succeed in, is in incorporating a HUGE pop element into the band's sound. While some may say that the band has always had a semblance of melody in their music (excepting the largely 'metallic hardcore' oriented 'Behind Silence And Solitude'), this time around it's entirely different. It's no longer just a sense of melody in the way the Swedes do it, with melodic leads and passages, or the sing along clean choruses. Nope. All That Remains have taken it to a whole new level of injecting mainstream pop sensibilities into the metallic framework of their material. And while it doesn't sound "bad", it's immediately evident that they've lost that fire and the drive that was the catalyst for creating an album like 'The Fall Of Ideals'.

The huge opening week they just had doesn't say much either, as the Metal genre as a whole is increasingly popular right now, and extreme bands that would never have had a chance in hell of charting are  in fact cracking the Billboard Top 200....so don't let that fool you. It's likely largely attributed to the fact that bands like Bring Me The Horizon are leading hordes of effeminate teenaged boys, who rock girl pants and fringe haircuts, toward a heavier form of music. So take into account the current 'trend' that Metal has become, and couple that with All That Remains releasing an album that is decidedly less thrash and entirely more commercial, and the answers to the how's and why's of their dramatic increase in popularity and sales come easy.

To the band's credit, the album isn't truly terrible in any way, shape or form. It's extremely catchy while still retaining some semblance of aggression (though not much), and there are TONS of sing along choruses and some wicked leads. But after coming out swinging with a release like 'The Fall Of Ideals', the last thing any Metal band should do is follow up such an amazing release with something so tame in comparison.

'The Fall Of Ideals' was fucking brilliant...'Overcome' is...well, it's ok for what it is. 

After the failures of their peers in Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage...bands who went soft after a taste of success, and failed considerably in the eyes of their core fans....one would think that All That Remains would take note and steer clear of that path. Instead, it seems as though they opted for the same route, content to simply follow footsteps. So here's something to think about...Anyone in a metal band was at one time nothing more than a fan, so we all know what it's like when a band we dig pusses out or changes drastically, and calls it "progression" to try and justify it. It's totally understandable that a band doesn't want to make the same album over and over again (excepting Slayer, of course)....but that DOESN'T require going soft. Trying to justify it with the word "progression" is nothing more than a cop out from the band, and a slap in the face to the fans that supported them from the start. That's not to say that All That Remains have crossed that line, but they're definitely toeing it.

Look back to a band like Pantera (or a current band like Lamb Of God), who never compromised their heavy sound and still managed to become HUGE in the world of Metal. On the flip side of that, you have bands like Disturbed and Slipknot, who aren't entirely as aggressive and have reached a totally different level of Commercial success that most bands never manage to achieve. And yes, every band out there wants to make a living from their music...everyone wants to be a success. All That Remains have come to that proverbial fork in the road, and the question they now have to ask themselves is what road do they really want to take: The one that may very well lead to a comfortable level of success without compromising musical integrity. Or the other path, that very few bands ever see any pay off from without having a gimmick of some sort, or compromising their sound to an extreme degree just to cater to Radio and MTV. Here's to hoping that All That Remains stops eating so well...as there's definitely something to be said about a band that's still "Hungry"...