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Former Shadows Fall singer learns where heavy lives
BY SEAN RICHARDSON
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It’s a sunny afternoon in Manhattan’s East Village, and the Western Massachusetts metal band All That Remains are having lunch at the neighborhood’s spacious Time Café. The band left home at six this morning for a whirlwind promotional day that makes its next stop at Paul Booth’s world-famous Last Rites Tattoo. Frontman Philip Labonte has a few beers in him by the time he gets around to (in)formally introducing his bandmates. "He’s Helloween, he’s Saves the Day, he’s 36 Crazyfists," he says, to the alternating delight and chagrin of the rest of the table. New bassist Matt Deis — a/k/a Saves the Day, an inside-emo joke referring to his stint in the band Amber Fashion — takes the brunt of the ridicule. But Labonte stops short of inflicting full-bore, Jason Newsted–grade humiliation on the guy. "We can’t really say anything bad about Matt when it comes to music. He never practiced with us — he just showed up at a show, sat down with [guitarist] Oli [Herbert] a few times, and played the songs. It was great." Lesser musicians would have failed that test: on their new This Darkened Heart, in stores this Tuesday on Prosthetic, All That Remains prove they can hang with buddies Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage when it comes to mind-blowing feats of speed and sophistication. Expect them to join those two bands on Headbangers Ball before long with the video for "The Deepest Gray," which is currently in the works with director (and Blood for Blood bassist) Ian McFarland. This Sunday, they’re playing the inaugural Sick As Sin Metalfest, a 30-band, three-stage blowout in downtown Lowell that also stars Dying Fetus, Burnt by the Sun, and fellow New Englanders Cannae and Beyond the Embrace. And on April 5, they’re in Boston for a CD-release show at Bill’s Bar. After singing on Shadows Fall’s indie debut, Somber Eyes to the Sky (Lifeless), Labonte left to form All That Remains. ATR’s first album, 2002’s Behind Silence and Solitude, was sleek, melodic death metal with fewer hardcore overtones than what you’d hear from their regional rivals. There’s more of a punk edge to the new disc, but thanks to guitarists Herbert (the neo-classical whiz) and new guy Mike Martin (a Kirk Hammett type whose solo on "The Deepest Gray" goes heavy on the wah-wah — over a cowbell, no less), it’s still full of old-school flair. And the single is one of a handful of tracks on the album that features melodic vocals from Labonte. "It’s not something that’s overpowering on the album. It’s in a few spots where we thought it worked well. This album covers more ground. The songs are a little more structured and a little less self-indulgent. In my opinion, the first one is still a pretty solid metal album. It’s got stuff that a lot of people either don’t or can’t do when it comes to solos and stuff like that." After working with producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall) on their debut, All That Remains turned to Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz to helm This Darkened Heart. "He slowed us down," Labonte explains. "I wanted everything a million miles an hour, and Adam was just like, ‘Are you stupid? Slow is where heavy lives.’ So we slowed it down, and it feels better. As a producer, he’s all over the album — whether it be song structures, vocal patterns, guitar tones, drum ideas. He plays just about everything too — he’s easy to relate to because he’s so trained." "Sick As Sin Metalfest" takes place this Sunday, March 21, at Club Fuel, the Blue Shamrock, and Down the Street, all on Market Street in Lowell. Call (978) 458-1288, or visit www.sinpromos.com. All That Remains play a CD release party on Monday April 5 at Bill’s Bar, 5 Lansdowne Street in Boston; call (617) 421-9678.
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