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By GREG MAKI
Whenever you discover a band that’s been around for a few years, it’s always fun to go back and find out where they started. You can do that now with All That Remains, thanks to the reissue of their previously out-of-print 2002 debut.
If Behind Silence and Solitude doesn’t sound like the product of the same band that released This Darkened Heart (2004) and The Fall of Ideals (2006), there’s a good reason for that. It’s not the same band. The only holdovers are vocalist Phil Labonte and guitarist Oli Herbert. Rounding out the lineup for this release are guitarist Chris Bartlett, bassist Dan Egan and drummer Michael Bartlett. If you’re looking for the strong melodies of songs like “This Calling” and “Not Alone” from The Fall of Ideals, you’re out of luck. You won’t find any of that here. This record will be more to your liking if you favor the death metal stylings of “The Weak Willed.” Nothing quite goes to that extreme, but it gives you a proper frame of reference. Clean vocals apparently had not yet entered Labonte’s vocabulary, as his delivery is in the form of a somewhat generic bark; there is little here to suggest he would become the dynamic frontman he is today. Though the guitar work is not as complex as it is on The Fall of Ideals, Herbert’s playing is the highlight of the disc. He is one of the best guitarists on the scene today and his talent was evident even at the band’s beginning.
There are only eight songs here, but they are longer than most of those from the band’s more recent outings and the album still clocks in just shy of 40 minutes. This isn’t essential listening, but it is a nice addition to the catalog of any All That Remains fan.
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