Attila : "Concrete Throne"

 

Atlanta's Attila put the city's ghetto fab attitude into metalcore, and the title track that opens this album reaffirms any sneaking suspicions you might have had about their Juggaloo leanings. There are country flourishes thanks to the guest vocals of Don Lewis.  This seems to be the direction this sort of thing is going. It is decently written for what it is. It just feels a little contrived to me. "Handshakes with Snakes" is more metallic. In fact, this album has a pretty massive sound. It's well-produced festival metal that is easily consumed by fans of Ghostemane and Lorna Shore alike. This song, however, is not as hooky as some of their previous work. 

I think what works best for them is when they blend ghetto charm and attitude with the Myspace metal feel, which we are not getting on "Grifter' it feels like they are trying to get heavier than what is real for them. Some bands already do this better. There is more groove to "Bite Your Tongue,"whih gives them room for melody. Granted, this might take things to the more pop-oriented side of the spectrum, so seeking balance is best. It would certainly kep things from being generic in either direction. 

Thankfully, all the songs are around the three-minute mark so nothing has to be endured for too long. "Killdozer" is pretty color-by-numbers; if you told me AI wrote the song, I would believe you. "Rock$tar" almost gets them back in the direction that works best for them. Though lyrically it's pretty silly as they drop rock song titles from the 80s in order to build cred. They bring pop country singer Shi Eubanks onto "I Don't Drink, I Get Drunk," and as stupid as it might be, it works because it is catchy. It's a gamble that pays off. 

'America's Rejects' is for the lowest common denominator, perhaps their Juggalo fan base. It is well produced and sounds great despite this. "Atl" needs to sound like Pantera and have more trap beats in order to capture the vibe of the city. While these do surface, it needs to fully ghettoize things out. The overrated Will Ramos of Lorna Shore shows up for the more generic metalcore of "Pressure," which, for all it's aggressioon manges to be boring as hell. Rapper Smoke Chapo joins them for the last song, which works better than it should as it seems to be something they needed to lean more into this album and just become a nu-metal band, as no one takes them seriously by trying to get heavier. 

The verdict - they have been more effectivr at eriting hookier songs in the past, it's still big dumb metal with a ghetto swagger that will keep getting Faygo sprayed in their direction, but they could have more fun and not try as hard, the chances they do take work in their favor so I will give this album an 8, the fans should love it, but I won't listen to it again.