All That Remains - A War You Can Not Win (2012)Release ID: 5440
After 5 albums in which the first half of the total amount is melodeath and the second half if metalcore/heavy metal, it became time for All That Remains to move to a more mainstream sound. I still somewhat enjoy this album because not all the heaviness is lost, but a lot of you metalheads are probably gonna say "What the hedge, man?!?! That album is just mainstream garbage!!! Is it the first album you owned, newbie?!" Well I've listened to metal for many years, and I don't see anything horribly wrong with this album, so sludge it haters!! Go find something worth disrespecting!
Sorry about that, but I can see that so many metalheads aren't so into this album. I'm sure my review itself has a little more percentage than all 5 Metal Archives reviews for this album combined (total: 82%). But this album gives All That Remains a polarizing increase in success. Critics would criticize this album even more harshly, but this new style would be embraced by legions of new fans. With a mix of metalcore, mainstream heavy metal and hard rock, A War You Cannot Win is the band’s most melodic effort.
The album has a great heavy start with thrash-driving metalcore openers "Down Thru the Ages" and "You Can't Fill My Shadow", before smoothly shifting to the arena rock inspired anthem "Stand Up". "A Call to All Non-Believers" has darker riffs but lack of the usual shredding solos.
"Asking Too Much" is a very melodic and memorable radio hit. There's a 20-second "Intro" that is just a small acoustic melody. Seems pointless, but it perfectly leads into the furious "Just Moments in Time". The ballad "What If I Was Nothing?" has a similar vibe to Five Finger Death Punch ballads.
There's some nice drumming on "Sing for Liberty", but the track doesn't totally stand out, but things turn back around smoothly with the melodic "Not Fading". However, some momentum is lost when the acoustic instrumental "Calculating Loneliness" comes in. That might work as a good outro, except there's only more song left, the title track. Here the tempo really cranks up and there's even a breakdown. A killer way to close the album.
A War You Cannot Win is another album with polished production, containing catchy mainstream singles along packed with aggression and heaviness to satisfy metalheads. This is a successful album, and while not as great as the last few albums, is really not an album worth hating. But I guess some good things aren't always appreciated....
Favorites: "Down Through the Ages", "Stand Up", "Asking Too Much", "Just Moments in Time", "Not Fading", "A War You Cannot Win"
