Like a Pantera/Lamb Of God hybrid in terms of aggression (And Killswitch Engage in terms of melody) with grand, melodic passages that set them apart from their peers, Rise To Remain’s debut album City Of Vultures sees the band soaring above the typical 21st century metal fare. The title track alone speaks volumes as to where Rise To Remain are headed but we’ll get to that later.
With three stellar EP’s under their belt already, anticipation was high for UK metaller’s Rise To Remain’s debut full-length. For fans already familiar with RTR, City Of Vultures does not disappoint at all. For the rest of the metal community, get ready for a metal hybrid act that, while easy to compare to other bands, surprisingly does not sound like anything out today.
“The Serpent” blasts away symphonic opener “Intro” with LOG-inspired monster thrash riffs while follow-up “This Day Is Mine” dials down the aggression slightly and dials up the clean vocals but keeps the intensity intact. One can credit a lot of the diversity on City Of Vultures with the incredible range of vocalist Austin Dickinson whose transitions from death metal growls to melodic passages are seamless and make each song here unique (Think former Roadrunner Records band Five Pointe O as a comparison). The whole band shines throughout, though, and brings an added dimension or depth to songs like “Talking In Whispers” and “City Of Vultures” which combines a heavy rhythm section with sweeping guitar solos making them, again, a step above typical metal fare and prime examples of why Rise To Remain rise above the rest.
If you already have the album (It was released overseas in September 2011), the good news is that the US release of City Of Vultures has a download link to four brand new songs (Recorded earlier this year) along with videos.
City Of Vultures is available now through Century Media. Check the band out on tour this summer as part of the annual Warped Tour extravaganza.
Grade: B+