It is 5:33 in the morning on Sunday, July 10, 2011 and I am wide awake because of back pain… What better time to peruse the latest release of one of my all-time favorite metal bands All Shall Perish? Exactly, there is no better time! So I throw on my headphones and crank the iPod volume and for the next hour I enter another world. A world where everything is done exactly as it should be. A world where imperfections are completely non-existent. Yes, I am saying the new All Shall Perish album is literally flawless.
Now, having listened to the album four times from start to finish, here is what I’ve taken away from the album:
Track listing:
1) Divine Illusion
2) There Is Nothing Left
3) Procession of Ashes
4) A Pure Evail
5) Embrace the Curse
6) Spineless
7) The Past Will Haunt Us Both
8) Royalty Into Exile
9) My Retaliation
10) Rebirth
11) The Death Plague
12) In This Life of Pain
Firstly, Ben Orum and Frencesco Artusato are my new favorite ax weilding duo. These fucking guys… these fucking guys just…. slay! It’s no secret to anyone who has ever heard All Shall Perish in the past that the main focal point in most of their songs is the beautifully crafted riff landscape, which is always melodic as fuck and blows my mind (and load for that matter) every time I select this album from the menu of my iPod. Many fans may have thought this would change with the departure of beloved guitarist Chris Storey but those fans may sleep easy until July 26th because I do solemnly swear that you will NOT be disappointed in the abilities of the new guitarists. I cannot put this into any better words but what I’ve written here simply doesn’t do justice to how well these two men write and play music. I would buy this album even if it was only guitar tracks on a CD because the guitar tracks alone, are that well done.
Secondly, Hernan Hermida is simply God and Satan combined to make…. sod? Gatan? Satod? Whatever you want to call the combination of the two most mighty fictional characters ever created, Hermida is simply the best vocalist in the music business right now, bar none. I fucking love this man’s vocals. He screams… Yet I understand every word… And it still sounds brutal as fuck! I LOVE IT! Throughout the album Hermida’s vocals are 100% coherent and his lyrics are actually interesting and meaningful! Every syllable is actually recognizable and you’ll find yourself singing along by the third time you listen to the album, this is something I simply never do anymore. I haven’t listened to a metal album that I could literally sing along with since Lamb of God’s 2009 effort, Wrath. In fact, it is my opinion that this is the best album to hit the shelves of your favorite music store since Wrath in 2009.
Thirdly, Adam Pierce is now tied with Chris Adler as my favorite drummer of all time. This man works miracles on a kit. He is freaking awesome!
Fourthly, the overall instrumentation and song-writing on this album are second to none. I feel this album is as well written and performed all around as any album I’ve ever heard in my 19 year existence.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, this album is a show-stopper. It’s 1,000,000,000% pure evil and you should expect nothing less than perfection when picking your copy up on July 26th. Believe me or not, you won’t be let down on these high expectations. If you’re disappointed in This Is Where It Ends then you need to seriously consider a new set of ears and some frontal lobe tweaking.
My rating: Five out of five. It’s perfect, I would change nothing at all.
Cheers,
Martin
