He knows to let out this melodeath-esque black metal-y shriek over this meloblack riff that kicks off “Six”, but the way he executes it gives that riff a more vicious quality. Yet, it’s all highly controlled – or at least, he has a good idea of what range or ranges to use in that moment. At times, like in “Not Alone” and “It Dwells in Me”, I swear he’s blaring right into the microphone. His screams get outright fucking vicious! With a ridiculously dynamic range to boot, Phil’s just about flailing all over the place.

Yeah, he’s kinda barking into the mic at times, but then at other times, he’s tearing into the microphone with a righteous vigor. I don’t know what came over him while recording this album, but his vocals are off the hook! He unleashes his yells, his screams, his grunts and his shrieks with the fury of a thousand suns. “Empty Inside” ratchets things up with some real tremolo picking and shrieks that show that All That Remains can still rip and tear, as long as they keep it within some poppy confides. “Whispers (I Hear You)” give you this syrupy vocal performance with a real searing melody to make its impact with. “Not Alone” has this bopping composition with this smooth groove and almost falsetto vocals booming out of your speakers. The juxtaposition of the double bass drums and Phil’s squeaky-clean vocals in “This Calling” create this weirdly compelling contrast that nevertheless makes quite a lasting impression. But really, it’s the choruses that seal the deal here. Listen to “The Air I Breathe”, bask in the delicious lead, the hectic solo and the uplifting chug, and then tell me that song’s verse is just for build-up. Granted, the verses aren’t exactly filler or satellite characteristics of the songs – not when they’re so smoothly put together with the kind of gusto that make radio stations overplay the fuck out of your song. The arrangements lend themselves to some serious build-up to these big fuck off choruses that especially work their way into your memory and won’t get out of your head like the Duck Tales theme song. Yeah, they managed to take riffs that should be mostly dull and boring on their own terms, and twist and contort them into songs that are catchier than the flu during an aggressive flu season. Given how they’re lent towards a poppy structure, it is fucking amazing how they manage to take all this and totally nail it! Even though the riffs still have an aggressive nature to them, they’re a lot more calculated towards a hyper melodic endpoint, which doesn’t allow them to just let it rip. Oli also noodles around a bit in a couple of songs, but other than that, what you get is what you largely got in albums like The End of Heartache and what have you where they are more of a means to an end – that end being potentially catchy shit.

Granted, you get some more furious riffing in songs like “The Weak Willed”, “Six” and “Empty Inside”, as if Oli and Mike went through their old Dissection albums and wanted to sneak in some of their meloblack riffing. Many are like your standard metalcore riffs, with some of the faster ones lending to an upbeat pace while the slower ones err more towards the sound those old steam trains made. Much of it comes down to the riffs, which don’t really seem like much. So, going along those lines, this is either going to be the musical equivalent of junk food or just some boring ass shit. Putting aside “Rose of Sharyn” which was unabashedly poppy and fun to listen to, that album was a pretty underwhelming collection of nothing riffs (except the beginning of “When Darkness Falls”) and equally nothing choruses that just don’t stick. Speaking of which, at least on a conceptual level, The Fall of Ideals was looking to be like The End of Heartache. Much of the old hardcore influence has been excised in favor of those big choruses and leading verses we all know bands like Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God for. What exasperates this is how the compositions of each track lend themselves to catchiness than anything else.

With cuddlier production and less abrasive riffs, this is less a metal album and more like a heavier pop album. While This Darkened Heart (and The End of Heartache) characterized that melodic metalcore sound of the 2000s, The Fall of Ideals absolutely perfects it – even if it doesn’t seem to be the case at first glance.

All that remains part 1 password