Band:	Rise To Remain
Album:	City Of Vultures
Style:	Metalcore
Release date:	September 2011

01. Intro
02. The Serpent
03. This Day Is Mine
04. City Of Vultures
05. Talking In Whispers
06. God Can Bleed
07. Power Through Fear
08. Nothing Left
09. We Will Last Forever
10. Illusions
11. Roads
12. Bridges Will Burn

Following up on the momentum generated off the back of the Bridges Will Burn EP, City Of Vultures had a decent springboard to propel Rise To Remain from metalcore hopefuls to a band who began realizing their potential. Alas, this album nosedives from the height it jumped from rather than soaring like fans would have hoped. Much like many bands of the British metalcore scene, Rise To Remain were unable to transition from the underground and so, this is left as their only full length album.

"The Serpent" is by far and away the highlight of this album, blending hard-hitting screams with melody by way of technical proficiency; it is one of the best songs of the British scene, let alone the band. "Nothing Left" and "Bridges Will Burn" are the other significant highlights of this album; not up to the level "The Serpent" reached, they are still competent and strong tracks that are worthy of attention.

It is when you realize that, aside from "The Serpent", the good songs are tracks culled from the band's prior EP that this is an album from a band running out of steam after only just passing the starting line proper. Either as a result of label meddling or the band making a conscious effort to sound more commercial, the songs sound generic and sterile, with the band playing it safe and formulaic rather than fresh. The production on this album seems to condense the songs and file down the jagged edges that gave them their character. This is evident from the re-releases of "Nothing Left" and "Bridges Will Burn", which here sound like neutered versions of their former selves. They are still good songs but they are nowhere near as good as they once were.

It is a shame really that a band of this evident talent were not able to push the songs to the next level. Sure, the songs are well written and feature some great guitar and bass work from O'Keefe and Copcutt, but the songs don't rise as a result of their hard work. Dickinson does manage to balance growls with melodic singing well, but he doesn't have that captivating of a voice; it is capable, but it is pushed beyond its limits at points, trying to force emotions he cannot convey on tracks like "Roads".

Breaking up before following up on this album, City Of Vultures is left as the sole representation of the band on the big stage. Their story ends up being a story of unfulfilled potential, with glimmers of hope that are shown through this album but rarely realized; I would recommend listening to "The Serpent" but beyond that, there is not much of note.