Victim of the New Disease is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band All That Remains. It was released on November 9, 2018[4] on Razor & Tie Records. It is the final album to feature founding guitarist Oli Herbert, who died on October 17, 2018, less than a month prior to the album's release, and the band's final album with bassist Aaron Patrick and longtime drummer Jason Costa before their departures in 2021 and 2023, respectively.[5][6] The album marks a return to the band's heavier metalcore roots. Victim of the New Disease sold over 5,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 154 on Billboard 200 chart.[7]
In an interview, Phil Labonte stated with the album “We decided to throw a curveball and do the heaviest record since For We Are Many in 2010 It was the perfect way to follow-up Madness, where we did some different styles and songs and even covered a country song. People might’ve expected something more experimental, but throwing curveballs is what we do.”[8] In a sperate interview he added that the band “kind of just realized the last two records weren’t really our heaviest stuff and we just wanted to do something heavy. It was real simple, it wasn’t something that we took a lot of time contemplating.[9]
The album was produced by Dan Laskiewicz formerly of The Acacia Strain. Labonte said “We did, like, five demos, and once we finished the demos, we were, like, 'This is really going well.' We liked the way they were turning out and we liked the way that it felt, so we decided, 'Let's just finish the record right now. The demos are good — let's just go ahead and write a few more songs, and we'll be done with it.”[8]
The first single from the album was "Fuck Love". It was first posted to lead singer Phil Labonte's Instagram page as a cryptographic binary code leading to an unlisted YouTube video.[10]
Music
Following The Order of Things and Madness, which featured a more radio friendly sound, Victim of the New Disease saw the band return to a heavier sound along with melodic moments like their earlier work.[11]
During the production of the album, lead singer Phil Labonte was coming off a recent divorce, which inspired many of the lyrics on the album to explore darker emotional states, along with trying to make a statement on mental health and suicide.[12]
The album was released shortly after the death of founding guitarist Oli Herbert, which added emotional weight to its reception. His guitar parts on this album are singled out as especially strong.[13]
Victim of the New Disease has received critical acclaim from music critics, with praise being directed at a perceived return to creative and musical form as well as the return to All That Remains' heavier metalcore sound, which had largely been absent in recent material from the band in favor of a more melodic heavy metal and hard rock sound.[citation needed]
In a positive review for Exclaim! magazine, author Max Morin wrote "To say All That Remains are returning to their roots would oversimplify things. They have returned, but much smarter and more experienced — it's given their old formula new life. Victim of the New Disease has jerked All That Remains out of a decade long lull" and gave the album nine out of ten stars.[21] In another positive review Heavy Magazine wrote “The production is excellent and well balanced. There are lots of great riffs and enjoyable solos, all with that heavy crunch to the tone. There are just some fantastic heavy tracks that are great to get you headbanging away.[22] Timothy Janssen of Grimmgent stated “It’s mostly heavy and it feels like a true All That Remains album.”[23]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Phil Labonte; all music is composed by All That Remains.
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