Still Remains are a "Christian metalcore" band, hailing from Michigan in the U.S, currently on Roadrunner Records, a description which generally I would laugh at, followed by a fun poke at their fans—not in this case. The band have been kicking about for around five years, yet not many people seem to take an interest in Still Remains—even with much touring and promotion they’re still a rather obscure band.
Upon receiving my copy of
The Serpent, the band’s second album release, I felt somewhat giddy, almost like the feeling of opening a Christmas present as a child. This derives from my absolute love of their first album,
Of Love and Lunacy, which has grown to become one of my favourite albums of the past few years. I grew to love their music very much, due to its uniqueness and just general genius.
So staring at an album which I had been waiting for and very much looking forward to, I refused to believe that it could be bad, yet refused to believe that it could come anywhere near to the class that I felt
Of Love and Lunacy had, which inevitably scrambled my mind before having even put the CD on.
Regardless of whether this album would be good or not, I noticed the band have at least kept up their questionable song names. With titles such as
Dropped from the Cherry Tree,
Anaemia in Your Sheets and
The Wax Walls of an Empty Room, I knew I would at least have no problem remembering them.
The Serpent starts off with its title track, which, in the trend of many albums nowadays, is a small intro. At first I thought "oh fuck no", as it started to sound like they have gone down the route of throwing techno into their songs. Thankfully this proved to be brief—no shapes to be cut here—leaving us with a decent intro which has a good build up for an opening to an album, or gig for that matter.
Once the first proper song began a small smile crept over my face, as that familiar Still Remains sound began belting out of my speakers.
The Wax Walls of an Empty Room is pretty much everything I loved about Still Remains, a smart mix of guitars and keyboards and great vocals from T.J. Miller can be expected. A great track to sing along to, alone if you like. In terms of releasing a single, this track is perfect.
The opening riff to track three,
Stay Captive, reminded me of something you would hear from Iron Maiden’s
Virtual XI. This track strayed away from the heavier side of Still Remains, something new—cutting out any screaming promoted this track as a new style for the band. Some fans may not like the change, but it’s not a complete walk away from the last album—having the great variant of the lead vocals and backing vocals is key in the style.
Anaemia In Your Sheets is the next track, a quick drum intro is followed by guitars which just burst off the album—the track starts so powerfully that in your own company, you may considering punching yourself in the face. Songs like this are the reason I enjoy reviewing albums, and exactly the calibre of song which would get a band recognised. The vocals are as catchy as they come, while a lovely galloping bass drum riff behind it makes for a cracking headbanger and lung emptier. If Carlsberg made songs … well, you get the idea.
Maria follows, with a complete contrast to what you have just heard, the band’s first "ballad". A calm, delicate song, which could be seen as Pink Floyd influenced, something I didn't expect at all. The last track on the album,
Avalanche, starts off like something you'd hear from a black metal squadron, before returning you to listen to Still Remains. The song features those unique guitar riffs with the backtrack of keyboards which have worked well throughout the album.
The Serpent is an upbeat, catchy album which runs in a very similar style to
Of Love and Lunacy (with a few exceptions). Each track comes into its own and does very well in continuing that unique and very enjoyable sound that Still Remains pull off so exquisitely. The album shows the band’s defiance to follow the current trends and continue churning out the sort of music that is a pleasure to listen to, both live and on album. If I were to describe their sound, it would be a hybrid between Dark Tranquillity and Lost Prophets.
My overall view can be summed up with a few chosen words:
absolute topper. I thoroughly recommended checking the band out if you haven’t already.
New and old tracks can be heard on the band’s myspace:
www.myspace.com/stillremains. The band’s official site is
www.stillremains.com The Serpent is due out on 7th Of August on
Roadrunner Records.
