ALL THAT REMAINS JOIN THE CHILDREN OF BODOM “WE PROMISE TO BE RELIABLE IF NOT INVENTIVE” CLUB

I know some people that are absolutely fuckin’ fanatical about All That Remains, the Masshole group fronted by former Shadows Fall front dude/devout Christian/self-professed porn addict Phil Labonte (who actually seems to have found a fairly stable line-up for the band after years of constant member changes). I’ve always had a lot of respect for the band, but never quite got to a point where I was as into them as some of their American New Wave peers; maybe that’s because, as much as I’ve enjoyed their albums (particularly 2004’s This Darkened Heart), I’ve seen them live a few times and they never exactly knocked my socks off. Still, I’ll take them over As I Lay Dying any day of the week.

ANYWAY, ATR have a new album, Overcome, coming out on Prosthetic on September 16, and now two new songs from said album, entitled “Before the Damned” and “Relinquish,” have made their way onto the band’s MySpace page.

Now, Overcome is ATR’s first time working with producer Jason Suecof after a string of albums with fellow Mass Metalcore pioneer Adam D. (Labonte was also apparently the runner-up to replace Jesse Leech in Killswitch Engage). I’m not sure that I hear a major difference in the results – even if the guitars and screaming vox sound marginally heavier to me, the clean vocals also sound a little more processed – but I’m also not sure that it matters. This is a band that knows how to write a kick ass chugga-chug riff and a reasonably catchy crooned-chorus, so even if artistic evolution isn’t in the cards, at least we can reasonably sure that the album won’t suck giant sagging bulldog nuts.

And, hey, while you’re checking out the group’s new tunes, try to ponder how a devout Christian could also love porn so much. ‘Cause I know that little factoid confuses the fuckin’ fuck outta me.

-AR