Review: Heavy metal night at Knitting Factory with All That Remains, Miss May I, Varials and Tallah

Metalcore masters All That Remains celebrated the 15th anniversary of their breakout album “The Fall of Ideals” at Knitting Factory on April 13, and the band was joined by established and up-and-coming artists Miss May I, Varials and Tallah.

Openers Tallah and Varials brought a youthful energy to start the evening. Tallah, a nu metal band from Pennsylvania, appeared with wild outfits and energy. Varials, an established metalcore act from Philadelphia, performed a ripping set filled with classic 808 bass drops, and the crowd was glad to reciprocate with some mighty circle pits.

Dayton, Ohio’s Miss May I, whose 2007 debut album “Apologies Are for the Weak” was released with members still in high school delivered, a powerful performance afterward. Since their debut, the band has clung to traditional metalcore tropes – a mix of clean and harsh vocals, melodic Iron-Maiden-esque guitars and brutal breakdowns.

Over the course of their career, they have continually pushed to master these elements. With stellar stage performance, Miss May I performed mostly newer tracks from their discography, including their new single “Unconquerable” and the super-catchy “Shadows Inside.”

To close the evening, All That Remains played their 2006 breakthrough album “The Fall of Ideals” in its entirety. The billboard-charting album, which was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage, launched All That Remains into the mainstream metal scene. With catchy vocal hooks, memorable melodies and sick guitar shreddies, fans still adore the album today.

Highlights included performances of the album’s singles “This Calling,” “The Air That I Breathe” and “Not Alone.” Fans of the Guitar Hero franchise also had a chance to hear “Six,” which was an unlockable track on Guitar Hero II. For an encore, the band performed “If I Was Nothing” off 2012’s “A War You Cannot Win” and “Two Weeks” off 2008’s “Overcome.”

Since their inception, All That Remains has battled relentless lineup changes, leaving legendary vocalist Phil Labonte, who could be seen before the show getting down to ABBA, as the only remaining original member. In 2015, longtime bassist Jeanne Sagan left the band to pursue other projects.

In 2018, guitarist Oli Herbert perished in an untimely and suspicious manner a week after listing his wife Beth Herbert as the sole beneficiary of his estate. Labonte has gone on record with Blabbermouth to call his guitar player and friend’s former wife “a garbage human being.” During a brief interlude, fans chanted “Oli” in his memory.

All That Remains has been visiting Spokane regularly since 2004, which means many fans in Spokane have been seeing the band since before their major breakthrough. While metalcore is often sneered upon by the metal snobbery, it seems the genre’s – and All That Remains – fans have remained loyal. Until next time, Labonte and All That Remains.