Rise To Remain-City of Vultures
Rise To Remain have always been an intriguing if not altogether convincing prospect, their 2010 "Bridges Will Burn" EP was ample yet nothing special with only a couple of tracks, the huge single 'Nothing Left' for example, properly standing out as something worth one's time. Indeed this had led to accusations of nepotism due to vocalist Austin Dickinson having an obviously rather famous father in Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and a feeling that they're just not particularly great. Their highly-anticipated debut album "City of Vultures" therefore dispels these issues and proves that there is much more to the metallers than it first seemed.
The album is a fresh and powerful modern day metal record, channelling the heyday of Trivium circa 2005, and impresses in its consistency. Opener proper 'The Serpent' blends measured brutality with big grandiose melody, Dickinson's voice coming across with real power throughout, be he screaming like a raging demon or dabbling in soaring melodies, if Matt Heafy paid him a listen Trivium could indeed become a mighty prospect again, it's impressive stuff. Ben Tovey's lead guitar work is similarly killer, his parts on the title-track or 'Talking In Whispers' really take things up a level and frequently reach skyscraper heights.
Much like on Fightstar's three albums, Colin Richardson and Carl Bown's perfect production sounds like bliss on the ears and makes the extent of the record a joy to listen to, even more mid-tempo tracks like 'Roads' sounding gutsy and huge, allowing the album to flow well as a full piece. The concept behind Dickinson's lyrics is also immersive, exploring the idea of humans emotionally scavenging off of one another, essentially that no-one can be trusted, and gives refrains such as 'We're falling down tonight' and 'I don't want to waste my days walking around these hopeless streets' an added poignancy.
However perhaps the most endearing aspect of the record is the way that once can hear a plethora of influence within the band's sound-the aforementioned Trivium, Funeral For A Friend, Bullet For My Valentine-yet it never sounds like mimicry, the band sound like themselves. It gives a humble sense that the band are themselves just fans and are pulling their favourite bands into a melting pot to create something different, it's a listen free of cynicism. "City of Vultures" proves that Rise To Remain are a band worth your time so if you've dismissed them up to this point you should definitely give this a listen.