{"id":9275,"date":"2012-11-30T00:00:59","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T00:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=9275"},"modified":"2013-01-30T01:23:19","modified_gmt":"2013-01-30T01:23:19","slug":"feature-all-that-remains-11-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-all-that-remains-11-12\/","title":{"rendered":"ALL THAT REMAINS – Not Fading Away (November 2012) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALL THAT REMAINS – Not Fading Away<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nNovember 2012<\/span><\/p>\n

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All That Remains (l-r): Jason Costa, Jeanne Sagan, Phil Labonte, Mike Martin and Oli Herbert<\/em><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nSpringfield, Massachusetts-based metalcore outfit All That Remains began authoring material for a sixth studio full-length shortly following an 18-month touring schedule, a touring period which was in support of October 2010 outing For We Are Many<\/em>. \u201cOff and on\u201d writing sessions lasted roughly two months, recording sessions taking about a month or so at the group\u2019s home studio. Generally speaking though, writing sessions don\u2019t follow a set pattern.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we write some things on the road, and Oli (Herbert, lead guitars) will program something into the computer,\u201d shares Jason Costa, drummer for All That Remains. \u201cOther times the night before someone will come in, and be like \u2018I wrote something last night, and was wondering if you guys wanted to turn it into a song?\u2019 And so we do. We don\u2019t put a time limit or time constraints on it, really. Some bands take a lot longer though. This one seemed to happen a little faster than normal, but that could also be just me (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead guitarist Oli Herbert composes the bulk of the material. \u201cHe\u2019ll then come to the band with some semblance of a song,\u201d the sticksman explains. \u201cIt might be a whole song, half a song, or parts of a song like a verse or a chorus. He gets together with all of us, shows us the different parts, and we all sort of work on it. We hammer at it like an anvil. We talk about which riffs should be used for what, and Phil (Labonte, vocals) will see which ones he would rather sing or scream over. Oli then might say \u2018This is the bridge, and maybe I\u2019ll wanna do a guitar solo after it or before it.\u2019 I try a whole slew of different drum beats for different parts, and we all figure out together what works better. We all bring stuff in, but Oli has most of the ideas for songs. Mike (Martin, rhythm guitars) and Phil also write \u2013 Phil also plays guitar, so he does some of the writing too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of Jason\u2019s songwriting contributions consist of adding to pre-existing ideas. \u201cThere are a few things on different albums that I\u2019ve actually almost written written because they\u2019re just…,\u201d Jason begins. \u201cLike \u2018Let Them Tremble\u2019, the first track off of the last album (For We Are Many<\/em>). Basically, one day I was just sitting at rehearsals. I got there early before anyone else and I was just practising fast patterns of five, just trying to play them at 250bpm. I just kind of put this groovy beat over it, and everyone came up with their parts while I was playing it. We tried like hell to turn it into a song, but it just ended up working better as an intro to the album. With the album before it \u2013 Overcome<\/em> (September 2008) \u2013 I wrote the drum beat for \u2018Before The Damned\u2019 and they turned that into a song, around that drum beat. That does happen sometimes too. As far as me playing guitar or any other instrument, I don\u2019t play any other instrument. If I hear a melody or something in my head, I can sing it very poorly to the band (laughs). They can translate it to the guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

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All That Remains\u2019 writing predilections reflect their musical tastes. \u201cWe don\u2019t try on purpose to write heavy songs, or try on purpose to write radio-oriented songs,\u201d the rhythmist notes. \u201cEveryone\u2019s musical influences in this band are so varied, and it just comes out in our songs. That\u2019s why a lot of our stuff sounds different from one another, like one song going into the next song. We don\u2019t really set parameters for ourselves, like \u2018We need to write heavy songs\u2019 or \u2018We need to write this radio song.\u2019 We just write, and how it comes out it comes out. Sometimes we write a song, and when we get to the end of writing it we listen back to it. We\u2019re just like \u2018Oh, that sucks,\u2019 and then we scrap it completely (laughs). We might work on it, and cannibalise it into another song or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixth studio full-length A War You Cannot Win<\/em><\/a> underwent issue during November 2012. \u201cThis is a very guitar, very melody-oriented album,\u201d Jason critiques. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t very rhythm-based at all. I would just say it\u2019s metal; it\u2019s a metal album. We\u2019ve got some heavy songs on there, some heavy, groovy songs on there. We\u2019ve got some fast, heavy songs on there, we\u2019ve got some more radio-friendly, melodic songs on there. It\u2019s typical All That Remains really, but we\u2019ve definitely stepped up the musicianship there and the writing. It\u2019s becoming more polished, a bit more refined. I\u2019ve been in the band for six years now, so the band\u2019s been a solid unit for six years. Whereas there\u2019ve been a lot of membership changes in the past and everything, everyone\u2019s been gelling more. Not that they hadn\u2019t in the past or anything, but getting to know everyone better and the chemistry coming together more and everything just really helps a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

An assortment\u2019s stability or lack thereof affects the resultant output, the skin-beater feels. \u201cAt the same time though, there\u2019s also something to be said for sometimes switching members,\u201d he stresses. \u201cI love the band Whitechapel, for instance. I love their last album (June 2012\u2019s Whitechapel<\/em>) \u2013 they\u2019re one of my favourite metal bands. I can tell the difference; they\u2019ve got this new drummer (Ben Harclerode) in the band, and maybe I can tell just because I\u2019m a drummer. He joined the band, and this album that they just put out is different than the last album (June 2010\u2019s A New Era Of Corruption<\/em>). Sometimes it can work the other way, too. Sometimes it can be a breath of fresh air when a small, slight line-up change happens. Where it\u2019s the most noticeable is either a main writer or a singer leaving. If you lose your singer or switch singers, it\u2019s really hard to come back from that unless the guy really blows doors off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fourth studio record Overcome<\/em> inaugurated Jason\u2019s tenure. \u201cWhen I joined, they already had most of the material written for Overcome<\/em>,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThe last album For We Are Many<\/em> and this album seem to be pretty much the same. There are melodic songs, there are fast songs, and there are heavy songs. It\u2019s kind of the same. It\u2019s not heavier or less heavier, or faster or slower. If you compare all of the songs, they\u2019re pretty much the same. The only album that was ever a little bit different from the rest I would say was The Fall Of Ideals<\/em> (July 2006), which was written in a very rhythmic kind of way. <\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously the band had a drummer (Michael Bartlett) that couldn\u2019t play a lot of double-bass on This Darkened Heart<\/em> (March 2004). When they got Shannon (Lucas) who then joined The Black Dahlia Murder afterwards, they loved the fact that he could play double-bass. They wanted to just have every song with tons and tons of double-bass in it, because they weren\u2019t used to it. It was like a new thing for them to play around with, so they wrote mostly every song around these double-bass patterns. If you go back and listen to that album, most of those songs are written to double-bass patterns. After that though, they didn\u2019t wanna write the same album again. Sometimes kids will come up, and say \u2018Why don\u2019t you write another album like The Fall Of Ideals<\/em>?\u2019 To answer that question, that\u2019s because we already wrote The Fall Of Ideals<\/em> (laughs).<\/p>\n

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All That Remains (l-r): Jeanne Sagan, Mike Martin, Oli Herbert, Phil Labonte
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\u201cI wasn\u2019t in the band, but when I joined the band I thought it was gonna be like The Fall Of Ideals<\/em>. I was psyched, because I love playing double-bass. I\u2019m actually one of the people in the band that fights to keep everything as heavy as possible, much to everyone\u2019s dismay sometimes (laughs). That was a little bit different, but now they want to explore other things. Most of the members have been in the band for years and years, so sometimes you don\u2019t wanna play the same thing all the time. It\u2019s nice to branch out, Phil using another style of vocals and Oli and Mike exploring other avenues as far as melodies go in songs, and stuff in different tempos. I know that was an amorphous, vague answer to your question, but that\u2019s how I feel about all that. It\u2019s a big question to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

The percussionist\u2019s musical palette favours \u201cinteresting\u201d drum parts. \u201cSometimes you can\u2019t just write blast-beats and crazy drum parts over everything though,\u201d he cautions. \u201cYou\u2019re then ruining the song, and not being a good musician. I actually really do care about how the overall song comes out. I do tend to overplay at first, and everyone says \u2018Hey Jase, back off on this\u2019 or \u2018\u2026 Back off on that.\u2019 I try to get away with what I can get away with on albums though (laughs), because I like to play. I\u2019m hyper. I\u2019m a metal drummer; I love playing metal, I love being hyper, I love playing double-bass, and I like playing blast-beats. It\u2019s just that you can\u2019t always do that. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, it\u2019s a group effort when we write. If they feel that there\u2019s too much or that I\u2019m taking away from the melody or the singing part because I\u2019m doing too much behind the drums, then they\u2019ll say to me \u2018Hey man, do you wanna try to back off a little bit?\u2019 Then we\u2019ll try it, and then we\u2019ll listen to it. It\u2019s not like a demand, or anything like that. Everyone always asks to try something first, and then we\u2019ll listen to it and go \u2018Okay…\u2019 I want to have the most intense drum parts I can on there, but you can\u2019t just slather double-bass and blast-beats over everything all of the time. It just doesn\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

A wide array of influences inform Jason\u2019s drumming. \u201cI grew up with a bunch of music nerds,\u201d he remembers. \u201cWe would sit around with tape players \u2013 that\u2019s how old I am \u2013 and CDs, and take apart a lot of the Shrapnel recordings. Shrapnel recordings like Marty Friedman doing his own thing on Dragon\u2019s Kiss<\/em> (August 1988), and Tony MacAlpine, and Joey Tafolla, and all that. I would say Deen Castronovo and Atma Anur are really big influences on my drumming, and so was Gene Hoglan of course. I\u2019m so psyched to be touring with Dethklok right now, and getting to watch Gene play every night \u2013 he\u2019s absolutely phenomenal. There are so many drummers… I know I\u2019m gonna forget a few, and then be bummed out that I forgot a few later on. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike Nicko McBrain; I\u2019m a huge fan of Iron Maiden. Slayer<\/a> of course; Dave Lombardo. He\u2019s such a hyperactive, bombastic thrash drummer. Watching him play live is just phenomenal, because he\u2019s a monster. Then there\u2019s modern day influences like Shannon of course who played with The Black Dahlia Murder of course. When I joined All That Remains I had to play the songs that he had written on for The Fall Of Ideals<\/em>, so he became a big influence on me. I loved his work with The Black Dahlia Murder when he joined. All of the drummers who\u2019ve been in Whitechapel are an influence, because I love that band. I have a lot of different influences. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and rap too \u2013 I have a pretty varied bunch of influences on my drumming (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither technique or simplism fatique the sticksman. \u201cI don\u2019t pigeonhole myself into one \u2013 I can do either,\u201d he observes. \u201cI\u2019ve been playing drums for a long time (laughs). I took drum lessons for ten to 11 years from the same guy, and I really worked hard on drums for a long time. One of the best things my teacher ever taught me was how to learn. A lot of drum teachers will teach you how to do things and how to play a certain way or whatever, but he actually taught me how to learn stuff. Anything that I really need to do, I can. If the band said \u2018Hey Jason, we really need you to do this crazy pattern,\u2019 I could do it. I may need a little practice with it, but I never say no. If I needed to learn how to play faster even then I would, but I really don\u2019t want to (laughs). I wouldn\u2019t wanna have to play blast-beats and double-bass at so many beats per minute. I\u2019ll leave that to others because that\u2019s extreme, extreme drumming, and I don\u2019t wanna go to extreme drumming. I\u2019d like to stay and drop out around 230bpm (laughs). The answer to your question though is I can do either.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The inspiration behind vocalist Phil Labonte\u2019s lyrical scribblings aren\u2019t public record. \u201cPhil likes to leave things a bit vague, so that the listener can interpret the lyrics the way they want,\u201d Jason reasons. \u201cIf he says \u2018Hey, this song is about this,\u2019 I just think it takes away from the listener\u2019s experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having produced all but one of All That Remains\u2019 studio endeavours (Overcome<\/em>), Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz lent his expertise to A War You Cannot Win<\/em>. \u201cHe\u2019s just like one of us,\u201d the rhythmist judges. \u201cHe\u2019s a big goofball and a lot of fun to work with, but also he\u2019s very, very professional. You can\u2019t just play something kind of shitty, because he won\u2019t let you get away with that. You\u2019ve gotta play, and you\u2019ve gotta play it right. He\u2019s a very diligent, hard worker, and he doesn\u2019t put something he can\u2019t stand behind. At the same time though, he\u2019s a lot of fun to work with (laughs). He pushes you hard; I\u2019ve definitely learnt a lot just from working with him. He was a drummer I think before he was a guitarist; he\u2019s actually a damn good drummer, so he knows what he\u2019s talking about when it comes to drums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Directed by PR Brown, a music video was filmed for the composition \u2018Stand Up\u2019. \u201cIt\u2019s guns and fire, and people shooting in a forest,\u201d Jason chuckles. \u201cThe video is left a bit vague. It\u2019s just meant to catch people\u2019s eyes and make them think about things, current events that are going on. \u201cThe video was enjoyable to film, but at first it wasn\u2019t because it was raining a lot. It was raining and misting off and on, but the rain and the mist sort of added to the atmosphere of the video. It was one of the quickest videos we\u2019ve ever done. The director was absolutely amazing \u2013 he worked so fast and got good shots. That guy really knew what he was doing; he\u2019s probably the best that I\u2019ve worked with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which tracks will be subject to future music videos is uncertain. \u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019re debating at the moment, so I don\u2019t actually have an answer for that,\u201d the skin-beater admits. \u201cI\u2019d like to do the title track though. There are a bunch of songs that are my favourites off of the album, but I really like the title track. If I had to pick one, it\u2019d be that song. The first song that we put out was \u2018Stand Up\u2019, and it\u2019s more of a slower type of anthem, kind of groovy song. I think we should maybe put something out that is faster, instead of another song that is more geared for radio. I think variety is good in your music, and in your selection of what you put out.\u201d<\/p>\n

All That Remains are currently supporting Dethklok across North America alongside Machine Head and The Black Dahlia Murder, the aforementioned tour package having begun on October 30th at Norva in Norfolk, Virginia and due to conclude on December 8th at Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia. \u201cThis tour\u2019s been great, yeah,\u201d Jason compliments. \u201cIt\u2019s so much fun. I\u2019ve been a fan of all those bands since forever. I know that Dethklok are a more recent band, but Machine Head I\u2019ve been a fan of since I was younger. The Black Dahlia Murder I\u2019ve been a fan of since their first album, and Dethklok are absolutely fantastic. One of my favourite drummers ever is in that band \u2013 the guys in that band are all phenomenal. The shows have been fantastic; they\u2019ve all been sold out or close to sold out. We\u2019re not the heaviest band on this tour, but everything\u2019s going good man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live reception towards A War You Cannot Win<\/em>\u2019s material has been favourable, the percussionist gauges. \u201cIt\u2019s been good,\u201d he surmises. \u201cMost of the time when you play brand new stuff that just came out that month or is about to come out, most of the fans just stand there and they take it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

All That Remains\u2019 live performances are characterised by the band\u2019s lighthearted nature. \u201cWe\u2019re a bunch of goofballs \u2013 we goof around a lot live,\u201d Jason enthuses. \u201cWe\u2019re not one of these bands that puts pigs\u2019 heads on sticks, and tries to be as metal as possible. We\u2019re a bunch of nerds in this band; we laugh onstage, and make fun of each other a lot. We bust each others balls constantly in this band, but it\u2019s all in good fun. We really have a good time while we play, and I would hope that I add to that because I definitely enjoy playing around.\u201d<\/p>\n

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All That Remains (l-r): Mike Martin, Jason Costa, Jeanne Sagan, Phil Labonte
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Frontman Phil Labonte doesn\u2019t hold touring the European continent in high esteem, expressing the following comments in an interview: \u2018If we never went to Europe again, I really couldn\u2019t care much.\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m not sure what comments he has made, but there are two people in this band who don\u2019t mind touring Europe,\u201d the drummer emphasizes. \u201cIf they didn\u2019t have to they wouldn\u2019t though, because they like staying in the US. There are three other people in this band mind \u2013 me being one of them \u2013 who like going out of the country. I like touring other places around the world, and I really do enjoy touring Europe. I think the people there are great, and the music that comes out of there \u2013 the bands who come out of Europe are great. I don\u2019t mind touring Europe at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhil\u2019s kind of a hermit though. He likes to stay at home, and likes to be around things that he\u2019s familiar with. That\u2019s just him. Just because you\u2019re in a band doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re not subject to the same sort of mental issues that everyone else in the world is (laughs). You\u2019re still a human being, and you\u2019re still gonna have your opinions and stuff like that. He\u2019s not saying that to be mean. He\u2019d really rather be home around things that he\u2019s more familiar with, and be able to read street signs and understand people rather than have to filter something through an accent. He\u2019s not being a jerk by saying that; he\u2019s just being honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re definitely going to tour Europe still. If he didn\u2019t wanna go to Europe, he\u2019s our singer. We couldn\u2019t just go without him, so we\u2019ll be in Europe soon and that\u2019s proof positive that fans shouldn\u2019t take that at all in any personal way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phil nonetheless harbours warm feelings towards All That Remains\u2019 European fanatics, Jason contends. \u201cAre you kidding me?,\u201d he poses. \u201cWhat he thinks are our best shows ever are… I can\u2019t remember… Like Malm\u00f6 (Sweden), and Finland. We\u2019ve had some amazing, amazing shows over there, and he\u2019s gotten offstage glowing, saying \u2018Oh my God. That was the best show ever.\u2019 It\u2019s the fans that make it the best show ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

European musicians touring North America arguably share similar feelings to North American musicians touring Europe, enduring bouts of homesickness. \u201cYeah, of course,\u201d the sticksman agrees. \u201cAnd not for nothing. I like going over there, but it\u2019s easy for me to get homesick while I\u2019m over there. I don\u2019t let it bother me on tour or anything like that, but yeah, I do get homesick. I even get homesick sometimes if we\u2019re doing a long tour like this tour of America right now. I\u2019m a lot different than Phil though; Phil just likes to play the show, go back to the bus, hang out, and watch TV and everything. I like to go out a lot, and that\u2019s one of the reasons why I enjoy Europe. After the show, I like to hit the bar and say \u2018Hi\u2019 to the kids and the people and stuff, and see what\u2019s going on there. I\u2019m not from there, so it\u2019s interesting. Jeanne\u2019s (Jeanne Sagan, bass) the same way, and Oli\u2019s the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

A War You Cannot Win<\/em> was released on November 6th, 2012 via Razor & Tie Records.<\/p>\n

Interview published in November 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ALL THAT REMAINS – Not Fading Away Anthony Morgan November 2012 All That Remains (l-r): Jason Costa, Jeanne Sagan, Phil Labonte, Mike Martin and Oli Herbert Springfield, Massachusetts-based metalcore outfit All That Remains began authoring material for a sixth studio full-length shortly following an 18-month touring schedule, a touring period which was in support of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[475],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-that-remains"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9275"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9299,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9275\/revisions\/9299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}