Worlds Collide - All Hope Abandon

So I got this in the mail the other day. Quickest delivery ever. Serious. It came from Florida from some third party Amazon seller. I ordered it last Monday and it came that Wednesday. Awesome. Because I was dying, literally gasping for my last breaths, to hear this album. I know, as the story goes, that this wasnt heralded as the awesomeness that Object of Desire promised, but I do remember listening to this in my room, in my car, at school, wherever I could manage a few untouched moments to fill my ears with the fury and anguish of hardcore music... (oh, also the positivity and the unity! It wasnt all anguish and anger! I was a happy kid who loved the emotional displays present in music)

Well, upon popping this in the first song instantly sent waves of nostalgia washing over me. Ritual is an awesome metal song that totally fits within the promises laid forth by the 7". I think there is a definite early Soundgarden feel to the intro riffs. From there it is a pure Megadeth riff. The song is great and is no doubt the highest point on the record. There are tons of great sections, tons of great grooves and rhythms. And that is one of Worlds Collides strong points. Ken was and is, obviously, a good guitar player, lacking no chops and maintaining a decent sound throughout most of his recorded output. And he is really good at keeping things interesting (which I why I should really give Damnation AD another shot). Even Battery had a great amount of riffs for a hardcore band. (Not to leave Graham Land out, but he is not on this release as I think he was playing with Shelter at this point.)

It's no secret that Worlds Collide were less of a hardcore band and more of a metal band (at least in my eyes). This is ever present on All Hope Abandon. She's Drowning is the second song and truly sets the pace for the remainder of the album. More of a mid-paced affair and less appetizing as their strongest cuts, but still an awesome song. Faces is a long one that doesnt really need to be. The version from Pain Is Temporary is much shorter. On this version they tack on an extra 4 minutes of mid paced sludginess that may or may not be your cup of tea. It's good as an album side closer, but in a CD or MP3 format it kind of sags the middle a little. Crusade is another awesome song, but its the least metal and the most grungy, garnering even more Soundgarden references, but then the album closes with Any Worse which is back to the intensity of Ritual and the metal chug that made this band so appealing to begin with.

According to singer Matt Burger, this pained sort of feel is what he intended and is also indicative of the strains on the band members personal relationships (See the Aversion link in the last post and find Matt's comment, consider this a footnote of sorts). You can feel this in a number of places, especially the slower numbers. Overall it is still a good album and I definitely still like it. Though I think Ritual and Any Worse could have made a ridiculously good EP with Object and Absolute. Tell me what you think.

As stated before, all the members have gone on to perform in a variety of other hardcore bands and you should all seek these out if you are just looking for something new, have an intense fascination with where band members go to or are just getting into these bands from this era and are looking for more of the same.

Oh and check these pictures from the liners. ^_^