Review: Attila – “About That Life”

ATTILA

“About That Life”

Party Metal

Artery Recordings/Razor & Tie

Release Date: 6/25/13

Rating:9/10

Attila is the musical version of their name sake Attila the Hun. As their name sake was a thorn in the side of the Roman Empire, this band is the proverbial thorn in all metal purists side.  Their recent album “About That Life” is a new take on what was becoming a stale genre.  They take the mainstream and apply it to the metal world.  With tracks like “Message Me”, which opens with someone calling and receiving a voicemail and leaving a worried message, this is the first time I have heard a metal band incorporate antics like this into their music.  They seamlessly blend Beastie Boy style rhymes and Linkin Park style vocals in with a Thrash/Death Metal growl and sound.  This is why they have the mass appeal they do landing on Vans Warped Tour and charting on 3 separate charts on Billboard including the sacra saint Top 200.

This is not the only thing they do, these boys have raw talent! The guitar work of Chris Linck and Nate Salameh are mesmerizing.   They have the speed of Scott Ian and Dave Mustaine, but also capture the smoothness of blues based hard rock guitarist like Slash and “Dimebag” Darrell Abott.   Chris “Fronz” Fronzak’s unique vocal styling’s are unheard of in this genre whether he’s beat boxing, rapping or  growling. He plays off the band very well and the whole album has a unity to it that is hard to accomplish when mixing genres and styles.  While it is unified, it is not the same old song and dance. Every track stands on its own and could be a single.  They harken back the days of White Zombie and Anthrax while expanding on a sound found in acts like Limp Bizkit and System of a Down.

The only thing I like better than the album is the album cover. The black arm chair with the flash burst and sparks around it with a gold crown setting in the chair was ingenious.  It is very symbolic of the road this group is on.  The world of metal recognizes a very straight path of lineage starting with Black Sabbath as the creators and subsequent “Gods of Metal”. If Slayer is hailed as the reigning King’s of metal then they should be prepared to be dethroned because Attila has invaded their kingdom and is looking for their pound of flesh.

Brandon S –