Being one of the most notable & innovative metalcore bands in the world doesn't come easy. Over the years, ABR has positioned themselves asBeing one of the most notable & innovative metalcore bands in the world doesn't come easy. Over the years, ABR has positioned themselves as just that with their ever-evolving sound & continual consistency of quality album releases. I was submerged into nu-metal as a young teen, but never seemed to come across this legendary band. In the middle of 2018, ABR came into my life & my ears would never be the same again. The first song i was ever able to consume from them, was "Dangerous", which is ironically one of the hit singles from the album. I randomly stumbled upon it while going down a Youtube music video wormhole. When the song came on, I had no idea what i was getting myself into. What i found during the video, was a new adulation toward a band that I had never heard of before. I immediately went to the next video in the queue, which just happened to be "The Frost". Not only did the video itself blow me away, but the song had me jumping out of my chair & screaming the chorus "Open soul, open mind. I'm finally focused on what's inside. I gained a new perspective". These words rang out & spoke to me on a new level of understanding. I instantly knew, that this was a monumental discovery for myself & my music collection. I was able to obtain the full LP & minutes later, I was neck deep in gnarly drum patterns, heavy guitar riffs, intense screaming & wildly composed music structures. One after another, a new adventure would begin with the transition into each new track. I caught myself asking out loud "IS THIS STILL THE SAME SONG?!", only to find out that, it was indeed. That type of response only occurs when i'm hearing something fresh & new. This album has notable breakdowns, riffs & lyrics that will remain embedded in my brain for quite some time. There are many key elements & aspects that i tend to seek out with every album that I experience. Besides consistency, progression is one of the main ones that i have found in many of my all-time favorites, Having the progression that Phantom Anthem does, is one of a kind & it truly showcases their musical brilliance. The album is close to an hour long, but listening to it in full, doesn't feel like that at all. It feels way shorter to me because time ceases to exist while experiencing this album. Some of the songs sound similar, so there is a redundancy factor existing yes, but the instrumentation, lyrics & concept makes up for that fact. I found the album close to a year of it being out & since that time, it has been heavily included in my constant rotation of music. I've heard a lot of metal in my life, but this band has a sound that stands out unlike any other. Having Phantom Anthem being the first album I had ever heard from ABR, I had to jump back to their Rescue & Restore, Found In Far Away Places & Leveler days to get a better feel of their evolution as a band. Even though they've had better albums in the past, this one is absolutely an all-time favorite of mine & has earned badges/honors, that only a handful have. There are many albums that I listen to once, maybe remember one or two songs, but barely listen to the album as a whole. Phantom Anthem easily earns the honor of having every song being very memorable & having me only wanting more from the band. This always puts me in a fantastic mood & I have no intention on having that change anytime soon, if ever at all. I highly doubt there will be a time, where i don't enjoy listening to this type of music, but only time will tell.
Standout Tracks: "Invisible Enemy", "The Frost", " Float", "Quake", "Coordinates"
Worst Track: None
Badges/Honors:
- Best New Album
- Best New Artist
- Reigning Metalcore Band
- Must-Have Album
- Beginning To End
- All-Time Favorite
- Top 10 Metal Album
- Best Breakdown "Invisible Enemy"
- Best New Metal Song "Invisible Enemy"
- New Favorite Album Artwork
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