All Else Failed

On the heels of a triumphant reunion performance at this year's This Is Hardcore festival, Philadelphia, PA legends All Else Failed have released their first EP since disbanding in 2007. The five-song album, Wouldn't Wish This On Anyone, is a torturous, emotive effort that demonstrates no dust has settled on this band's ability to break listeners' hearts, and bones. The production is extremely well thought out, serving as an instrument in and of itself. Sometimes the sound is dim and bleak, making everything tinny and far away, increasing the sense of desolation. At others, the music swells, painfully clear, so that you can almost taste sweat and blood. It's unquestionably the vocal performance that's the crux of All Else Failed's sound. Luke Muir's raw, gutting, vulnerable, vicious, naked voice is what makes this album succeed. He also displays a fine tone, and the moments of clean singing stand out pure and tremulous in contrast to the harsher wails. Dave Sesso returns for lead vocals on the title track, his huskier voice giving the lyrics a forced out quality, a laborious thickness that the accompanying shrill screams slice through. Wouldn't Wish This On Anyone isn't something to be listened to lightly. This is an album that wants to hurt you, that wants to set hooks of despair into the corners of your heart. All Else Failed are a band that give everything and demand just as much. Prepare to be rocked to your foundations.