Overall Score: 8/10 Catchiness: 8/10 Fun Level: 9/10 Consistency: 7/10 Pros: Pop Metal Goodness | Breakdowns Aplenty Cons: Some songs do not match heights of others
A Day To Remember’s fourth full length album What Separates Me From You hit the shelves over three months ago now and it somehow slipped the Rocksins radar to do a review, so I thought I would make up for lost time. Florida’s favourite collective of pop-metallers (“its not pop and its not metal, its both” is a significant quote recently heard from ADTR frontman Jeremy Mckinnon in Kerrang magazine) and he makes a good point.
What Separates Me From You does not deviate too far from the well established A Day To Remember script. There are ferocious drums (the drumming is often a high point of many ADTR songs), multiple breakdowns and choruses designed to encourage large crowds to have a good singalong, but there are enough new elements in there to keep things fresh and entertaining throughout. There are only 10 tracks and the album clocks in at around the 40 minute mark (almost the antithesis to the last album review I wrote on Sylosis’s fantastic The Edge Of The Earth) ensuring that the album skips along at a good pace and is almost finished before you realise the time has gone by.
The album opener Sticks and Bricks has a more sinister tone to it than most of ADTR’s previous material with a dark guitar tone which lasts longer than you expect over fierce growled vocals until the traditional big chorus comes along and is a good start to the album. You Be Tails I’ll Be Sonic is another song that sees ADTR pushing their heavy boundaries with thumping drums throughout and a great chuggy riff underpinning the main part of the song. There are no outright “bad” tracks on the album and its strong tracks will likely be staples of the ADTR live set for years to come. The highlight of the album is also arguably the heaviest song the band have ever recorded, aptly titled “2nd Sucks”. Only true underground metal die hards would not find themselves headbanging along to this song which features the least amount of clean vocals I think ever on an ADTR song. Conversely, lead single from the album All I Want is an incredibly catchy track at the lighter end of the A Day To Remember spectrum and will be a rock club favourite guaranteed to get people bouncing around the place. All Signs Point To Lauderdale is also worthy of a special mention as a catchy homage to the bands roots,
Fans of ADTR will find plenty here to please them and will probably be very satisfied in the fact that whilst things haven’t changed too much, they aren’t completely treading water in regards to their sound and are trying a few new things. There are songs on the album that are likely to draw in new fans from both ends of the heavy spectrum and I am sure the album will continue the steady growth in popularity that the band have been experiencing the last few years, culminating in their largest ever headline show a few weeks ago at Brixton Academy in London on their UK tour.
A Day To Remember are a band that are great fun, both live and on CD. They are a perfect gateway band for someone looking to discover the heavier side of music but wanting a gentle introduction, or a great band to start off a younger brother or sister with if you want to put them on the path to a lifetime of metal listening. This widespread appeal will ensure that ADTR become an even bigger deal than they currently are and will likely stay there for years to come.
Record Label: Victory Records
Release Date: November 16th 2010
For Fans Of: Architects, Parkway Drive, Alexisonfire, Bring Me The Horizon, Good Charlotte, Kids In Glass Houses
Stand Out Tracks: 2nd Sucks, All I Want, You Be Tails I’ll Be Sonic
