All Shall Perish - This is Where it Ends (2011)

Genre: Technical Deathcore

Release Date: July 26, 2011

1. Divine Illusion (3:21)

2. This is Nothing Left (3:22)

3. The Procession of Ashes (4:37)

4. A Pure Evil (5:12)

5. Embrace the Curse (2:57)

6. Spineless (3:57)

7. The Past Will Haunt Us Both (6:03)

8. Royalty into Exile (4:24)

9. My Retaliation (3:23)

10. Rebirth (5:29)

11. The Death Plague (3:02)

12. In This Life of Pain (7:23)

13. Nobleza En Exilio (Spanish version of Royalty into Exile) (4:23)

When it comes to deathcore music, All Shall Perish is leagues ahead of their contemporaries.  They have stormed onto the scene in recent years with an impressive collection of releases that have an ever changing character from album to album.  This is Where it Ends marks the fourth, and probably most interesting, full length record by the Oakland, CA technical deathcore act.

ASP has employed more melodic guitar work on this album and they've also tuned their guitars down even further (it’s some of the deepest stuff I’ve listened to yet) to produce a really heavy and varied sound.  In addition, they use some effects to make the guitar parts stand out more, which is certainly useful on the really low parts.  The drums add more brutality to the attack with blazing blast beats and double bass underneath the guitar lines.  Unfortunately, the bass doesn't stand out all that much, which is a shame because Mike Tiner is a relatively talented bassist. Finally, Hernan Hermida’s vocals round off All Shall Perish’s signature sound.

The Death Plague

Notice the effects that accentuate the guitar even in really low segments

Much of ASP’s lyrical content is political, which can be seen on this album.  The first song, “Divine Illusion” critiques organized religion and talks of how humanity can solve the questions of everyday life by looking at the world around them and using reason.  “Embrace the Curse” is an antiwar song that depicts a home raid a military unit in search of terrorists and exposes the dark side of the war on terror:

“Watch as your children cry, as we rip your home apart

This is what we call warfare” 

It also shows how the US government has singled out the Muslim population (both here and abroad) and continues to attempt to depict them as our enemies in order to justify our foreign policy in the Middle East:

“We are all the same

We judge them for their subtle differences

Spewing false accusations

To excuse our inhuman behavior”

Divine Illusion

Rebirth

Ultimately, I feel as though this album as a whole is not as good as Awaken the Dreamers.  There are some weak tracks, like My Retaliation, which takes the album down a peg or two. That being said, there is a lot more variety on this release and All Shall Perish has definitely shifted gears a bit to make a more intricate record.  I’m really excited to see where ASP goes next and I’m sure they’ll have some new cards to put on the table in coming years.  They're about to kick off a tour with The Black Dahlia Murder, so check them out if they're rolling through a town near you.

Final Rating: 9/10

3 Favorite Songs from the Album: Divine Illusion, Royalty into Exile, Rebirth