Album Review: Attila – Chaos (Sharptone Records)

Attila’s 7th album comes with the usual bunch of controversy that sounds most of the metalcore outfits releases. The pre-release single, Public Apology hardly helped the negative image surrounding the band:

“I want every single one of you to know that I am truly sorry, from the bottom of my heart, I’m so sorry…sorry that you’re a little bitch”.

Yeah, Attila really don’t care what you think of them & this review isn’t about the band as a whole. Sexist & abusive lyrics aside, does the music hold up? Have Attila created something special here?

The straight answer is no.

The glaring issue lies in just how generic their brand of metalcore is, this stuff was old 10 years ago. There isn’t an original riff, breakdown or solo throughout its 11 track run & the rap metal style that slips into death metal throaty roars is near laughable throughout.

This isn’t an album to incite controversy, an album to make you angry, for that you’d have to actually care about it & it’s more likely to put you to sleep. It feels like a joke, like a heavier Insane Clown Posse but without the self-deprecating humour.

“I say cunt, I say bitch, you mother-fuckers get offended by anything”

It’s hard to know just who would actually like this, there are hundreds of metalcore bands doing this better. Songs like Bulletproof & Obsession are of such low quality, such pointless noise that they seem to drag on for hours when they’re only a couple of minutes long.

The worst song on the album though comes at the mid-point mark. Moshpit (featuring Ookay) is absolutely horrible. A dance/techno track with some seriously jarring rap sections, it’s final moments briefly breakdown into death metal & it’s embarrassingly cringe-worthy. One of the worst songs to ever be committed to record.

The latter half of the album fares no better. It’s just so boring & while the frontman (Fronzilla) is an energetic fella his lyrics are just awful. Not in a ‘oh, they’re so offensive’ but in an ‘oh, this is hilariously bad’. It’s dumb stuff that tries to be edgy but comes across like a little kid who has heard swear words & is repeating them to his pals at school.

Music should move you, one way or another & Chaos doesn’t do that at all. It’s stunning that by time All Hail Rock & Roll comes on that the band have been able to sustain this uninspired mess for so long. No-ones looking for 10 minute epics from Atilla but they can’t even throw together an interesting 3/4 minute song.

Attila thrive on a ‘we don’t care’ attitude but it’s resulting in such poor music. When your statement is calling people bitches over terrible metalcore with constant breakdowns that wouldn’t move a group of caffeine addicts who’ve not had coffee all day, your message is well & truly lost.

“I’m the king of the moshpit”

Course you are, fella.

Overall Track Listing:

1. Ignite
2. Bulletproof
3. Public Apology
4. Obsession
5. Moshpit (featuring Ookay)
6. Rise Up
7. Let’s Get Abducted
8. Legend
9. Queen
10. All Hail Rock and Roll
11. King