Band:	All That Remains
Album:	Behind Silence And Solitude
Style:	Melodic metalcore
Release date:	March 2002

01. Behind Silence And Solitude
02. From These Wounds...
03. Follow
04. Clarity
05. Erase
06. Shading
07. Home To Me
08. One Belief

All That Remains has always come across as a rather second or third tier band, peddling a most generic form of metalcore. However their first album Behind Silence And Solitude was not a generic metalcore album but rather a more traditional and generic melodic death metal album.

The major point of difference between this and latter albums is the lack of clean vocals. This a good thing as once All That Remains adopted clean vocals on later albums, they did so in the most clichéd manner possible.

Overall the music is reasonably well performed and rather accessible to anyone that is a fan of bands such as Arch Enemy or earlier In Flames and Soilwork. The album actually picks up in quality on the second half with a few more energetic and interesting songs.

The riffs and solos are satisfying if not exceptional and for the most instance predictable. Philip Labonte also delivers a pretty good vocal performance. The short album length (under 40 minutes) keeps the album from getting too boring.

Perhaps the most exceptional point is that the band actually manages to keep the songs varied. Not many debut albums manage this, especially in more extreme genres.

Bare in mind that by the time this album was released, melodic death metal had reached the point of over-saturation and was artistically bankrupt. Also Philip and company don't seem to have ever had the talent to create something truly unique or even something truly enjoyable at a generic level.

As such the album could be regarded as good yet completely redundant. There are more interesting melodic death metal albums out there. Behind Silence And Solitude is perhaps best viewed as something to listen to for a change when one is in the mood for melodic death metal but the old favourites aren't appealing.