Review by Saxy S for All That Remains - Antifragile (2025)

All That Remains are one of those mid 2000s metalcore bands that is either loved or hated. If you love this band, it's probably because they were just a heavier Killswitch Engage. If you didn't like All That Remains, it's probably because they were just a heavier Killswitch Engage.

Albums like The Fall of Ideals and Overcome were pretty solid albums back in the day; a good blend of melodic hardcore with some visceral heavy portions, complete with some really good guitar shredding. Now it's been seven years since the ATR (All That Remains) album and it kicks off with a bang. The double kick drum and Phil Labonte's scream on "Divine" are reminiscent to "This Calling" on The Fall of Ideals. And that intensity stays pretty consistent throughout the record. There is a nice blend of huge down tuned, almost death metal riffage, combined with some of the more mainstream accessible power chords, soaring melodies and guitar solos. Labonte's harsh vocals are just as impactful as they were the first time I heard "This Calling" and they do not change throughout the record. His singing though is much more restrained and held back like it has been on the last couple of albums. When paired with the harsh screams, the singing comes across as neutered. It's almost as if ATR is trying to stay true to their past, even though they cannot physically be that band anymore.

AntiFragile leaves me with a feeling of confusion. On one hand, I appreciate the album for its generally longer runtime since it feels like a complete project. Too many modern metalcore acts cut corners and release albums that are so safe and unchallenging; riff, harsh verse, sung chorus and done. This album has all of this, but not always in the same order. This album has connecting bridges giving them more character. From thrash and death metal, every song has a guitar solo break where a lot of metalcore has ditched this practice entirely. This should all be in ATR's favour, but then I remember what band I'm talking about. These are all tropes and trends that ATR have already largely employed during their golden run. Sure, they might be trends that metalcore has abandoned, but they aren't trends that can be easily forgotten. And as someone who lived through the hayday of melodic metalcore, I can hear this nostalgia farming from miles away. As a result, most of this album just...happens. It has a few standout moments, but they are few and far between.

I will not deny that you can have a pretty good time with AntiFragile if you just turn your brain off and reminisce on a previous era of metalcore. And newcomers might even like this album more because they never experienced the mid 2000s. But by ATR standards, you have heard this record before and would break under the pressure of previous ATR albums.

Best Songs: The Piper, Poison It, Let You Go