Madness is the eighth studio album by American metal band All That Remains. It was released on April 28, 2017,[2] on Razor & Tie Records. Madness is the first studio album produced by Howard Benson, as well as the first album to feature bassist Aaron Patrick. While this is the band's next-to-last album with guitarist Oli Herbert, it is also their last album to be released in his lifetime.
| Madness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 28, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Studio | West Valley Studios, Woodland Hills, California, U.S. | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:21 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Howard Benson[1] | |||
| All That Remains chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Madness | ||||
| ||||
Background
editVocalist Phil Labonte told Revolver magazine about band's approach on the new disc: "We wanted to mix it up a little bit and write from a vocal perspective this time. So I went to L.A. and came up with vocal ideas and melodies and then sent those chord progressions back to Oli Herbert and he wrote riffs in response to that. Doing it this way turned the record into a vocal album as opposed to a guitar album. And that affected some things. Like, there might be less intricacy in the riffs because they were written in response to my voice."[3]
Musical style
editLabonte added that the majority of the new songs features "significant programming and electronic sounds. And that's something we wanted to have flowing through the entire record. So you're gonna hear that kind of influence on most of the tracks."[4]
Phil also stated: "On this record, there's five songs on the record that are exactly what you would expect from All That Remains. There's some songs where we kind of were, like, 'All right, let's push this and maybe change what we can do, or what All That Remains is allowed to do.' But it ain't like we're not heavy anymore. And if you're just, like, 'Oh, they're not heavy anymore,' then you're just not listening."[4]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Distorted Sound | 5/10[5] |
| Exclaim! | 4/10[6] |
| Metal Hammer |    [7] |
| Rock Revolt | [8] |
The album received mixed reviews. Aaron J. Marko of Exclaim! described the album as mediocre, generic and archaic.[6] Christopher Di Carlo of Overdrive magazine,[9] on the other hand, described the album as beautiful yet heavy.
Track listing
editAll lyrics written by Phil Labonte; all music composed by All That Remains, except "The Thunder Rolls," written by Garth Brooks and Pat Alger.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Safe House" | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Madness" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Nothing I Can Do" | 3:41 |
| 4. | "If I'm Honest" | 4:23 |
| 5. | "Halo" | 4:03 |
| 6. | "Louder" | 3:11 |
| 7. | "River City" | 5:34 |
| 8. | "Open Grave" | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Far from Home" | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Trust and Believe" | 3:14 |
| 11. | "Back to You" | 3:25 |
| 12. | "Never Sorry" | 3:39 |
| 13. | "The Thunder Rolls" (Garth Brooks cover) | 4:23 |
| Total length: | 50:21 | |
Personnel
editAll That Remains
edit- Philip Labonte – lead vocals, art direction, cover design
- Oli Herbert – lead guitar
- Mike Martin – rhythm guitar
- Aaron Patrick – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jason Costa – drums
Additional musicians
edit- Mark Sereikas – additional guitar on "Thunder Rolls"
- Benny Goodman – piano/keyboards and additional engineering/production on Thunder Rolls at Speak EZ Studios, Randolph, MA
- Cory Paza – bass and additional engineering/production on Thunder rolls at Speak EZ Studios, Randolph, MA
Freedom Chorus
edit- Diamante (also does additional vocals on "Thunder Rolls")
- Meron Ryan
- Sidnie Tipton
- Lenny Skolnik
- Seann Bowe
Production
edit- Howard Benson – production, mixing
- Mike Plotnikoff – co-production, engineering
- Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – engineering
- Shaun Ezrol and Carl Stoodt – assistant engineering
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Lenny Skolnik, Seann Bowe, Howard Benson – keyboards and programming
- Marc VanGool – guitar tech
- Jon Nicholson at Drum Fetish – drum tech
- Joe Rickard – pre-production, drum programming
- Igor Khoroshev – string arrangement on "Back to You"
- Paul DeCarli – digital editing
- Nick Haussling – A&R
- Tom Gnolfo – A&R administration
- Diamante Azzura – backing vocals
- Josh Strock – composition[10]
Charts
edit| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] | 77 |
| US Billboard 200[12] | 50 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[13] | 9 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[14] | 1 |
References
edit- ^ "All That Remains: Listen To Two New Songs 'Madness' And 'Safe House'". Blabbermouth.net. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ Childers, Chad (February 27, 2017). "All That Remains, 'Madness' – Exclusive Lyric Video Premiere". Loudwire. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "ALL THAT REMAINS Announces 'Madness' U.S. Tour". blabbermouth.net. March 14, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "ALL THAT REMAINS Singer Responds To 'Sellout' Accusations, Says There Is Plenty Of Heavy Material On Upcoming Album". blabbermouth.net. February 22, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ White, Jon (May 3, 2017). "ALBUM REVIEW: Madness - All That Remains". Distorted Sound. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "All That Remains Madness". exclaim.ca. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ Barbour, Rob (May 2, 2017). "All That Remains - Madness album review". Metal Hammer. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
- ^ Vaughn, Tom (25 April 2017). "ALBUM REVIEW: All That Remains - Madness". Rock Revolt. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
- ^ "Album Review: All That Remains – Madness – Overdrive Music Magazine". Overdrive. May 30, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Josh Strock – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "All That Remains Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "All That Remains Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "All That Remains Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "All That Remains Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 20, 2017.