Rewind Review: Attack Attack! - Attack Attack!
Attack Attack! is and almost certainly will always be mainly remembered for their absurd music video for their song Stick Stickly along with their comical song titles and over-the-top auto-tuned vocals. Believe it or not though, beyond all the horrid crab-core dancing and ridiculous electronic dance passages, there is quite a large amount of talent to be found at the core of the band. While I'd say the groups sole excellent album was their and final record, they do have some very strong tracks that can be fun to look back on. Many of these tracks can be found on their sophomore album, the self-titled, Attack Attack!
One theme of the infamous first record that continues here are the comically song titles, which can be funny but also takes a bit away from the tracks themselves in certain instances like the opening track, Sexual Man Chocolate. The song has a chilling piano line sounding reminiscent to some of the heavier post-hardcore bands of the mid 2000's. The usage of deeper vocals would shock many listeners that are more familiar with Beartooth as if I didn't know it was Caleb Shomo I would've never guessed it. AC-130 is easily the best rack to be found on this release with it's crunchy and crushing riffs and head-bobbing breakdown.
As much as I like Shomo and the rest of the band, I have to be honest, there is some inexcusably awful stuff here that didn't age well.Tracks like Shut Your Mouth and Fumbles O'Brian feature some very cheesy electronic dance arrangements, which age especially horribly. The auto-tuned singing is quite unbearable at times. I don't think the band is being serious on a lot of these tracks so I give them a bit of a pass and there is still some nice heavy parts that save several songs.
There are some absolutely crushing breakdowns on Attack Attack! that may shock many listeners but it's far fro the bands best work. Don't get me wrong however, there is some material to really enjoy here and it was quite clear that the band was headed in the right direction. This record is when the band made it clear that they had very real talent beyond the ridiculousness of their first album. While their potential didn't come to fruition until their third and final album, there's much to like about this one. I believe a 3 out of 5 stars is both a fair and respectable grade for this self-titled Attack Attack! release. Caleb Shomo is an undoubtedly proficient and talented songwriter and his skills were first displayed here which makes this a very significant album in the core scene.
