A War You Cannot Win

I agree with most of the reviews i have read on here, but to see the album not even have a 3 star average is overboard. I would give this a average rating but not below average. ATR is still one of the best bands out, and this album still does rock. The disappointment comes from wanting something better than the previous. They set the bar pretty high with For We Are Many . So, while it's not as good, it is still a solid album. What really makes me dislike a album is when the band goes so far out that they lose everything that made me like them in the first place. ATR did not do that..they didn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, but it's still true to their roots. Anyone ever heard of Atreyu? You couldn't give me one of their last couple albums, enough said.3 star album here, gave it a 4 just to balance out a couple of misguided ratings.

I personally do not understand why people are hating on this album so much. I have listened to ATR for a long time, heard every album and have enjoyed every one. I'm going to start off by saying that if you give it one or two stars because your a "big" fan of metal and didn't like it because it was a little different, you're an idiot. Plain and simple. Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy listening to bands that change their style some and experiment with others. To me, that means that are musically challenging themselves as well as trying to find a sound that they enjoy to listen to as well. If you would just take a minute and think of it from their point of view, most musicians actually don't like playing the same style of music over and over again. They prefer a variety so they can have something to choose from and not get bored of what they have done. Anyway, my point is that whoever has said this album is crap just because it's not their old stuff, grow up. Bands change and that is a common thing. It doesn't mean though that this is forevermore their style of music.My personal take on the album is that it is quite good. Yes, there's not as much screaming as usual and it has a few more softer tracks than what is normal for them. BUT! Overall, it is like a breath of fresh air as you get to hear these guys experiment and try something new. By no means does that mean you'll like it, but I don't think it deserves all the hate that has been thrown at it.

This album isn't their best, but it's still a fun listen. I gotta give them credit for bringing back the monster ballad with What If I Was Nothing. I know it's kind of a wussy song, but damn it, I love it. A good song is a good song; and if it gets them some more female fans, good for them. This might be their least great album, but it's still better than most, and well worth a buy.

After listening to this album I feel like ATR is trying to please too many people. I really really wanted this album to be great, after Stand up came out I was very unimpressed It seemed to be lacking any true mark of ATR.I did enjoy the Vocals to an extent, most of it unfortunately seemed like they were going threw the motions, or watering down the content for a wider audience. I found myself zoning out many times threw out the songs at points they all seemed like the same song to me. I wish that they would not have overlapped the singing and Phils voice in several of the songs, what a travesty.I felt like the album was more of an extension of Overcome to try and reach a wider audience, there are still parts that give me goose bumps, but they are few and far between.The instruments felt somehow weak and just not up to snuff for an ATR album. There are a few songs with excellent instruments in them, overall though I did not feel the passion that was in it in the first couple of albums.Overall it felt watered down and very disappointing for me.

Small damage for the case but nothing wrong with the CD. All songs are good, no skips 👍

Yet again All That Remains has put out another awesome album. These songs are like their others in the sense of they are more "smart" metal. The vocalist massive vocal talents shine through on this album like before, the guitars are hard & killer, and the bass is ten times the size of the player. A definite album you want to buy even if you don't listen to All That Remains.

There has been a lot of contention about ATRs new album "A War You Cannot Win" on Facebook. I tend to agree with a lot of it. There are a few good songs on it such as "Down Thru the Ages" and as much as it pains me..."Stand Up" isnt that that bad either. However beyond that and maybe the Title Track, The rest of the album just either a) sounds the same or b) overproduced. Dont get me wrong, Adam D is an amazing producer, he did a crazy amazing job with "Fire from the Sky" by Shadows Fall but this just sounds too overproduced per se. I did buy this album because I am an ATR fan, but im just gonna say its not up to par.

As a longtime passionate listener of ATR, I got this cd blindly without a prior listen to any tracks. The usual heavy anger has been traded for sing-songy, romantic whimp rock. Maybe 3 or 4 tracks come close to worthy, the rest represents an uninterested band going through the motions to please a newer breed of pop fans aching for love songs. Shame on you ATR for discarding lyrics with social relevance for a stadium rock direction. Check your testosterone levels, dudes. Funny how the drummer included in the liner notes- the reality of how people don't purchase whole albums any more. It seems now more like a warning than a comment where "A War You Cannot Win" is concerned. Fans beware: Lighter direction here.

All That Remains have really stepped up a notch with their latest album; instead of clinging to the same type of material the band have explored new territory whilst consistently retaining their traditional sound - catering to fans both old and new. They have leaned towards some slightly more mainstream melodic material but have also faithfully included the heavier stuff for those that want it. Although the structure of the instruments is identical (for example, screams layered with cleanly sung vocals, twin guitars double tracked and panned throughout each and every track) the sound has improved considerably. The singing -despite the autotune- is far cleaner and less-robotic, with Phil Labonte singing with pride and screaming with fury and power. The coherent lyrics may sometimes be disagreeable to some but this is limited to a rarity within a few songs. There is no relying on swearing and they fit the fantastic music like a snug glove. Jeanne Sagan's bass guitar is much more audible in the mix whilst retaining its warmth and depth, which is highly welcomed considering that on previous albums it was difficult to make out. The drums have a rather computeristic, MIDI-like sound to them as do the guitars - mostly because of the band's impeccable timing and vice-tight playing. The kick drum is clearly triggered but this is typical of All That Remains and simply helps retain their signature sound. Don't worry, as a drummer I can promise you it's not cheating and Jason Costa's feet really do go that fast! In this sense it could be said the mix is overly too clean and perfect, leaving little to no room for a natural vibe - but this, again, is a signature All That Remains feel that doesn't negatively affect the music. The material itself is more colourful than previous albums and touches on a range of topics including loneliness, a broken heart, hatred, relationships gone sour and the fact that "we're nothing," all in a brutal, powerful fist of enveloping metal. Songs such as `Asking Too Much' and `What if I was Nothing' provide the cleanliness whilst those such as `You Can't Fill my Shadow' and `Just Moments in Time' provide the grit. Although the album overall is softer than its ancestors it still doses out plenty of helpings of brutality when the time is right. Some songs may have their similarities but are distinctly recognisable from each other, offering something unique every time. The record offer's a decent length of forty minutes spread over a generous twelve tracks, each one with its own unique offer. All That Remains have outdone themselves with this album and have once again proved their ability to pull through the "blood, sweat and tears" to produce an absolute gem to be proud of.

Once again All That Remains have produced a solid album that will probably divide fans as much as the last two.In all honesty it's not really that much of a departure. Contrary to what I've read, it's not like they've turned into a middle of the road rock band but neither have they been adventurous enough to push their boundaries much. What we have simply continues the steady progression to more commercially rock sounding material which has been pretty evident over previous two releases. I think it's whether the listener can accept and enjoy this or not that will determine their opinion.Personally, I wasn't expecting to like this album at all and had decided to avoid it as I prefer the more thrashy side of things and find the ballads cheesy. Yes, I'm one of those that wants a more 'This Darkened Heart'/'Fall of Ideals' style album.At some point I decided to try it out of curiosity so gave it a few spins on deezer/spotify. I was hugely disappointed and I thought it was just sell out radio rubbish. 'Asking Too Much' and 'What if I Was Nothing?' certainly seemed to back that up - they're pop structured rock ballad-esque songs and seem cynically manufactured for radio play. Much of the rest seemed to rely on overly catchy clean choruses. How horrible. To be fair these tracks are balanced out with heavier numbers, anthemic shout alongs and even a lovely acoustic instrumental but my mind was too clouded by the commercialness of these 'singles' at the time.After 5 or so spins, things changed. I found myself humming these tunes and singing along to them in my head. Oh no, I'd been infected. I had to concede that they're catchy tunes regardless of my determination to dislike them. It got me thinking about other metal bands that produced more commercial sounding material, particularly Judas Priest and their output throughout the 80's. They came out with some really commercial sounding albums and I don't think so harshly about them, in fact I have quite a soft spot for 'Turbo' despite it's over reliance on formulaic songwriting.I think to an extent that's what we have here with All That Remains. The songs have a more commercial, polished edge to them but they're still metal underneath, just not that ultra aggressive kind and I don't see any reason why I can't be open to that. There's still the melodic thrashy guitars in there, there's still the gutteral vocals hiding underneath the layers of clean lines and some of the tracks are still pretty heavy sounding. 'Down Through the Ages' is a cracker that opens with a lovely melodic intro, contains heavy thrashy verse sections, great solos over more hard rock riffage and has a catchy chorus. There's also some weight to found elsewhere in tracks like 'You Can't Fill My Shadow' and 'Sing For Liberty' which has some really low growls and bludgeoning riffs. And sooner or later you find yourself singing along to those anthems that are littered about. I decided to buy the CD, it had wormed into my head.I do wish they'd be more adventurous though. 'Calculating Loneliness' is probably the most interesting track here (to me anyway) but is a more of an acoustic diversion. I'd imagine with a bit more effort it could have been woven into something representing a full song, even without vocals. It would be nice for them to experiment more with the compositions and sounds too as there's a clear formula to everything. It's hard to begrudge them that when I'm humming the tracks all over the place though.Ultimately what we have is a catchy metal album with a balance of heavy/anthemic/ballad-esque style tracks. Take it or leave it.

ALL THAT REMAINS latest cd and said by some to be there most commercial album. Yes in some ways it is as the singing is now singing not barking and screaming as is the usual thing in todays metal, but as a older metal fan i prefer it and i rate this album as there best and a gr8 modern metal album. It cost me less than £3 so a bargain and you should get it NOW!!!

Purchased for my daughter who really wanted it for Christmas. I think I have made her happy and she likes it as constantly being played. Arrived in perfect condition and in the time quoted.

Cannot believe it took me so long to listen to this band properly. Loving this album.