“Written by the words we subsume.“
With different ideas of metalcore cropping up across both the UK, USA and Australia, Europe has stuck firmly with the modern metalcore variant and djent sub-genre. Once under the all-consuming label of Arising Empire, it made for easy avoidance, as any mention of the label hitting the inbox could be swiftly deleted. As the years have passed, many of these bands have signed to the likes of SharpTone, Century Media, and beyond. Eurocore has also started to mask its shortcomings behind fluffy white hats and the self-described “thall” genre, seemingly made up by people too smarmy for Sleep Token. It’s where Allt sat, or did once upon a time, primarily as both saw their beginning within Sweden. Yet as Allt enter the fray on their latest record, Ataraxia, any sense of variety in their sound has vanished. Instead, they opt for the cleansed and sterile palette of the ever-familiar modern metalcore.
Across Ataraxia, there are bends, djent riffs, and low-tuned breakdowns to showcase the grit of their sound, as both “New Day” and “High Hopes” look to be the heaviest two tracks of Ataraxia. There are the atmospheric synths subtly blended into the background, but each of these steadfastly sticks to the well-known modern metalcore structures, even if it does make the clean choruses feel crowbarred in at times. It would be remiss not to mention that there is clear evidence that Allt showcase their technical proficiency at times on Ataraxia. Even if the outcomes aren’t quite there at all, there are moments such as on “Enemy“, as the rapid tech-riff during its midpoint tickles the ear.
The Swedish unit do wander into variations of their sound, with one such case being the early on “Omertà“. Drawing in nu-core influences, with turntable scratches and the almost spoken world vocal styling and tempo, it’s a surprising choice that doesn’t quite land. The sheer contrast it has to the remainder of Ataraxia makes “Omertà” feel like an isolated moment. The once again forced clean chorus here drowns out any of the nu-metalcore smatterings that “Omertà” has, making the attempted variation in sound near pointless.
Perhaps the most perplexing turn that Allt take on Ataraxia is when they slow their sound down and delve into the alt-metal sounds that are now dominating the genre. The first throw at this is during its title track “Ataraxia“, down-tempo riffs and atmospheric clean vocals, with the rather obtusely placed lyric of “Blowing me to pieces like a landmine“. Then there’s “Snowblind,” which opts into the Bad Omens stylings of gentle synths and dramatic vocals. While Allt do lean into proggier riffs at times to give it that distinction, there is little that steps outside the safe and well-trodden confines of this sound. The best is saved for last as “Avalon” closes out the record, indulging in much the same, except this one has a djenty breakdown as its crescendo, acting as a token moment to put some life into what is an otherwise dull track.
No slapping of genres or gimmicks can hide the bland and contrived sound present on Ataraxia. Outside the moments where Allt look to touch on other influences, ever so briefly, or look to replicate the successful sound of others, there is little here to impress or explore. Everything from the production styling, song structures, and their sound all fit within this ever-narrow pigeonhole that persists in modern metalcore. However, it would be unfair to solely put this at the feet of the Swedish band, as others releasing records this week do fall into the same trappings. On its current course and once the brief popularity these bands are attaining fades, the European metalcore sound will look decadent to many onlookers.
