Attack Attack! – Self Titled
With the release of their debut full length, Someday Came Suddenly, Ohio-based synthcore group Attack Attack! did a fine job at creating a fun and somewhat creative debut album. Shortly after the release of their first album, the drama quickly settled in. The vocalist at the time, Austin Carlile, was fired by the band due to personal differences while on tour with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Searching for a replacement, Attack Attack! picked up Nick Barham, ex-vocalist of For All We Know. Unfortunately, Nick just stirred things up more for the band, taking most of the credit for the positive critique they got for Someday Came Suddenly, and on top of that, wasn’t a very good vocalist. Yet again, the band made the decision to boot their vocalist and then turned to their newest screamer, Caleb Shomo. Caleb was the band’s synth player since the very start, and it was a surprise when the news came out that he would be leading the band as lead vocalist. Shortly after the decision to put Caleb on vocals, the band entered the studio to record their second full length album.
Instead of returning to the fun sound that made Someday Came Suddenly somewhat enjoyable, the band has made a drastic change in sound here. It seems that Attack Attack! are aiming more for a hardcore sound than anything. The synth is still there and it’s one of the best elements of this album, but this entire album is a hardcore cliché. If the band wanted to change their sound, then we have to let them, but this hardcore sound that they wanted to explore just doesn’t work out for them. It’s not that they didn’t try, it’s that they’re not a hardcore band, and in their attempt to sound hardcore, end up copying every single cliché we’ve come to know when listening to an average hardcore release. From the lyrics to the overall sound, this entire album is one giant “been there, done that.”
Opening with a piano track, “Sexual Man Chocolate” was released on Myspace months before the album was released. At this point, the song may be annoying to some, but it’s one of the songs on the album I actually find myself singing along to. It’s also the first time you get to hear Caleb as the bands’ lead screaming vocalist. He’s a screamer in need of improvement, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad. Still, he doesn’t really have a range, sticking mostly with his lower screams, and that’s basically all we get out of him here. If the band decides to keep him past this album, he’ll hopefully work more on higher screams and deliver a better mix of sound in the future.
Guitarist/clean singer Johnny Franck does a fine job through most of the album despite the monotone sound he has during most of the songs. This time around, he uses less auto tune, which really helps his voice a lot. The chorus of “Sexual Man Chocolate” is very catchy and fun to sing along with, which makes the song a great addition to the album. “Renob Nevada” is another song that really shows the band’s change in sound. The song is blanketed in bad guitar riffs, bland, unwanted breakdowns and sounds more like a Ghost Inside rip off than anything. “No honor/no respect” is chanted over and over again through the song, but it’s a laughable lyric at best.
That chant is one of many moments on the album that really show how poor this band is at writing lyrics. Instead of trying to come up with something original, the band seems to just take bad chants from other bands and try to make them fit. In the song “Smokahontas”, the ending breakdown chant is, “this is loyalty/this is family,” a line reminiscent of almost any well known hardcore band. Besides bad breakdown chants, most of the lyrics just feel so bland and nothing really stands out.
One thing about this album that feels so out of place is the random dance sections in songs placed throughout. If the band was serious about attempting hardcore, they wouldn’t need to have songs like “Shut Your Mouth” on here. It’s somewhat catchy, but it doesn’t work on this album whatsoever. Another weird dance type moment is “Fumbles O’ Brian,” which attempts to blend heavier music with little rap moments. The only song on the album that really features a well placed dance number is in “Smokahontas”, in which the dance moment fits perfectly and is actually very catchy.
Of course, the band goes on to take a stab at ex-vocalist Austin Carlile in “AC-130.” It’s only a minute and a half long and it’s filled with pointless breakdowns and screams towards Austin, telling him that he is “better off dead.” But do they really need a song that express how they feel about Carlile? Nevertheless, through the mess that makes this album, there are a few songs that you could mark as good, one of them being “I Swear I’ll Change.” The song features some pretty well written lyrics and takes a break from trying to be hardcore. The closer “Lonely” is also a solid track, featuring a guest performance from Jason Cameron of Bury Tomorrow. The main thing leading this song is the fantastic synth from Caleb, who does a great job through the entire album. His synth parts only take over when they have to, and they improve the sound when they’re not meant to take over.
Attack Attack! have now released two full length albums, and though they stick to the same concept of synth driven hardcore, the band has changed in general sound. Still, they need to sit down and realize who they are, what sound they want and who they want to aim for when it comes to their fan base. The bands’ self titled release is a giant, dull experiment, and fans of the band will find themselves extremely disappointed with this album. They really need to find their true self and stop trying to be other bands – that’s the only way they’ll make progress.
Related Posts You Gotta Read:
- Attack Attack!’s Andrew Wetzel on Nick Barham’s Departure
- Through the Times: A Day to Remember
- From First to Last – Throne to the Wolves
- Crabcore. D00d.
- Five Great Song Covers (with videos!)
