SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ALLT – FROM THE NEW WORLD

ALLT
FROM THE NEW WORLD
CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

The concept of the future often sheds glimmers of excitement about where our lives are headed while at the same time unveiling a sinister air of quiet tension and fear that lingers with what lies beyond the present. Continuing the unnerving, unpropitious atmosphere that EP The Seed of Self-Destruction left off of, Allt’s new album, further extends its apocalyptic narrative by trying to answer the question, “What if something catastrophic happened to our planet? What would our emotional and physical being look and feel like in light of such circumstances?”

Allt explores profound themes of human existence, profound loneliness, and the strength of resilience in a way that sets them apart from other bands in the genre. From The New World delves into the exploration of what it means to confront the uncertainty of fate during the impending end of the world. What does that look like for us? Within such dark imagery lies a band’s venture of self-discovery in the aftermath of devastation and the duality of how fragile yet resilient the world can be despite it. Though these themes have always been present in the band’s repertoire, Allt’s new album permits these fatalistic ideas and feelings to run wild while also providing a platform for others to relate to a shared experience of self-doubt and the unwavering spirit that endures in all of us during difficult times.

Aiming to evoke the unsettling feel of radio waves beneath the massive metallic canopy of machinery and its control over us, Allt has crafted a vastly opulent synth-laden experience, drawing inspiration from both radioactivity and phantasmic forces that lie beneath the surface of it all. Combined with dynamic instrumentation, powerful vocals, and organic musical elements, Allt further grounds their musical experimentation that was flirted with on their last EP with palatable reality, bringing the listener into a scary new world that highlights the starkness of a post-nuclear world and the chaos and stillness that follows in the wake of such circumstances.
“A Flash of Light” begins its cinematic, wraithlike journey, enveloped in transcendent synths wrapped in a sense of despondency and panic hidden between its diabolic guitar energies before diving into the singles “Remnant” and “Aquila.” A violent and nightmarish dance of electronic elements, ductile atmospheric tension, and antagonistic djenty guitar riffs, Allt paints a musically cataclysmic experience that blends beautifully with the dark and brooding vocals injected into the tortured screams and melancholic cleans. Such evolved characteristics of the band’s use of down-tuned, palm-muted, high-gain riffs continue to be the glue of these experiences, each track piggybacking off the other, further extrapolating on each layered narrative masterpiece that only details a broader picture of Allt’s use of stylistic blends of deathcore and metalcore that make up the backbone of their music while integrating interesting lithesome sections of progressive metal and post-hardcore sections that only help to drive the vision From The New World successfully achieves.

“Memory of Light” and “Echoes” continue to push their gingery spirit forward. They pack in all the aggressive textures and harmonies elegantly through their runtime, offering an awe-inspiring amount of diversity within each experience. “Echoes” somewhat drenches its high-octane energies, exchanging its effervescent flames of agitation for a more solemn tone, yet still maintains its vitriolic identity that the band has successfully molded into each experience up to this point.

“The Orphan Breed” and “Dissect Yourself” effortlessly sew in different stylistic elements, offering a fluid cadence that cleverly displays a large number of belligerent contrasts that are built nicely around metallic tropes specific to this genre. Still, it never feels formulaic or stale, the album’s production playing a huge role in delivering these crisp, gravid, and punchy soundscapes the band has been known for.

A record like this seeks to be completely vulnerable and honest in its lyrics and its instrumental delivery. While some segments aim for a more traditional kind of structure, other tracks like “Emanate” and “Ephemeral” go for the gusto, trading in some of the familiarity on the album for something more oobleck, making it a fun and experimental time on the album that balances its progressive, atypical music structures, making it some of the most beautifully engaging listening experiences on the record.
“Cycles” ends Allt’s narrative magnum opus, maintaining its highly polished, cinematic textures while keeping much of the irascible writing style at the front and center between their infectious djent riffs, cloaked in a slew of loose-limbed energies in its presence.

From The New World is an audacious album with a demanding song structure that aims to defy the conventions of modern metalcore sound, shaping something incredibly nostalgic while also entirely generating something fresh and captivating. The thick and prominent production allows a lot of these reverberating and dense structures, vocals, and atmospheric synth concepts to shine through. For those who considered The Seed of Self Destruction to be the band’s most energetic and heartfelt work to date, From The New World represents Allt’s most emotionally stirring and compelling effort yet.

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