Weekly Update #39 – February 2, 2025

FEATURED ALBUM
Adestria // Chapters
Released: March 27, 2012

I’ve had this in my drafts since 2019, and six years later, it’s more true than ever. Adestria is one of my favorite bands that never made it big. I’ve been listening to their 2012 album ‘Chapters’ so much recently, and it kills me that they didn’t blow up.

In some ways, I think Adestria was too far ahead of its time. Their vocalist had a range that very few metalcore bands have ever matched and people just weren’t ready for the higher-pitched default screams. It’s not quite on the same level as Texas In July’s early releases, but it’s definitely a unique sound. He wasn’t boxed in by his abilities, and every line was purposefully screamed to build the songs a certain way. He also did all of the singing, making him an especially versatile and dynamic frontman.

Adestria stood out from other metalcore bands of the early 2010s because they weren’t a standard down-tuned, chug band. They played relatively fast and saved the drop tuning and low screams for the breakdowns. It’s not a coincidence that I’m writing this review after the 20th Anniversary Edition of ‘Thrill Seeker’ from August Burns Red and name dropping bands like Texas In July. Under the deep v-necks and occasional synth sections, Adestria was a pretty serious metalcore band, and one of the best to combine those fast, heavy roots with fun choruses.

The songs constantly move around, and the higher screams aren’t out of place among the guitars. If you’ve listened to Adept’s old albums, they had a similar dynamic. There’s a different screaming style for every verse, similar to the approach on ‘Thrill Seeker,’ which helps the vocals keep pace with the evolving instruments.

With all of the shifting sounds, Adestria did a great job balancing light and heavy sections. Especially noteworthy is how they found the sweet spot where they could be as heavy as they were while still having upbeat instrumentals and piano synths that didn’t sound out of place. They also transitioned into uplifting choruses without breaking their songs into chunks. It’s rare, especially among older albums, for me to really enjoy choruses, but they’re done so well, and blended in so seamlessly, that they’re one of my favorite parts of ‘Chapters’.

Every song on this album is a highlight in my eyes, but “1984, “Compromised,” and “This Ship, A Coffin” are must listens. “Whiskey For The Soul” features Telle from The Word Alive and “Scarlet Letter” features Scott Barnes from In Fear and Faith, both of which were heavy hitters at the time.  

Adestria released another album two years later, but it didn’t have the same magic as ‘Chapters’. Still, I blame their record label for the lack of attention they received because this album (and the EP that came out before it) should have set them up for a bright future.

Playlist of New Songs

Quick playlist highlights:

– Great American Ghost just released their new album. It’s so good. Definitely expect to see it as a featured album in the near future. If you like Fit For An Autopsy, I feel like these guys have the same vibe. The sounds are different, but they occupy a similar space in my mind.

– Deafheaven seems to have gotten the message. After inexplicably abandoning their blackgaze / post black metal style on ‘Infinite Granite,’ they have returned to their roots with this new single, and it’s great. I forgot that I reviewed ‘Infinite Granite’ in 2021 and never posted it – it was just so far out of left field. Maybe I’ll throw it in as an extra review when I feature the new record which comes out March 28.

– All That Remains just released their new album. I haven’t listened to the whole thing, but this single is solid. I’m kind of expecting edgy, anti-woke lyrics given the vocalist’s opinions on Twitter (and the fact that the album is called ‘AntiFragile’), but I’ll give it a fair shot. ‘The Fall of Ideals’ is legitimately one of the best metalcore albums of all time so I can give All That Remains a little leeway.

– Poison The Well has a new single! I didn’t realize that they released an EP in 2022 (or forgot that it came out) so I was shocked to see this. These guys are one of the OG metalcore bands. Their rough sound might insult new listeners’ sensibilities, but this is like a time portal into the past. Bands like Dying Wish play a certain kind of “revival metalcore,” but Poison The Well will show you the other side.

– Dead/Awake is a pretty neat deathcore band. This single actually sounds a bit like PsychoFrame.

– Enterprise Earth just released a new EP. Need to listen to it more, but it seems different from their 2024 album. Heavier and darker.

– Impending Doom is dropping an EP on February 7. We already have four of the songs so it’s shaping up to be a solid release.

– Caliban has a new track featuring The Browning. I don’t know why I’ve never been super into these guys – they did a split EP with Heaven Shall Burn a long time ago and I just favored Heaven Shall Burn more. Interesting to see how they’ve changed over time though. They’re moving towards the sound that a lot of European metalcore bands have adopted.

– Aviana is so sick. This is the third single, but I didn’t find anything about a future album/EP. Something has to be on the way.

– It looks like Within Destruction is continuing their weeb journey. They returned to their original deathcore sound on their 2023 EP, but I guess the Japanese themes are back. It sounds decent if you don’t listen too closely. I just don’t think that their fans are going to appreciate the whiplash. People who are genuinely into slamming deathcore (and are not too interested in other styles) are probably not going to dig this.

DRAMA – The Amity Affliction Kicks Out Clean Vocalist

The Amity Affliction is going through it. After peaking in 2014, they’ve been chasing that high for over a decade. They went completely off the rails in 2018 with ‘Misery’ and have been trying to mount a comeback ever since. Most recently, they re-recorded ‘Let The Ocean Take Me,’ further proof that they’re trying to return to the glory days. Wait, this doesn’t have anything to do with them kicking clean vocalist Ahren Stringer out of the band. Oops, guess I can’t pass up an opportunity to make fun of their 2018 album which can only be described as one of the biggest missteps a metalcore band has ever taken.

Uh, but yeah, Ahren Stringer is gone. One of the most distinctive vocalists in the metalcore genre, and arguably the life of The Amity Affliction’s music, has been given the boot.

Here’s the backstory. In 2024, TAA announced that Stringer wouldn’t be part of their North American tour. A few months later, Stringer announced that he would be taking a hiatus from the band in 2025. Now, at the start of 2025, Stringer has indicated that he has been forced out of the band (see screenshot below).

Weirdly, it doesn’t look like The Amity Affliction has announced Ahren’s departure. Ahren even had to make an Instagram post saying that he is not touring with the band and that he’s asked TAA to clearly communicate that to fans. I’m guessing TAA doesn’t want to do that though because Ahren’s absence will definitely impact ticket sales.

There’s a lot of speculation that I don’t care to get into, but the most popular theory is that Stringer is an addict that has refused the band’s request to get sober. It’s kind of a weird situation because Joel Birch, the band’s screamer, and also one of the biggest whiners on the planet, has had his fair share of difficulties – he’ll be nine years sober in March if that gives you an idea. So for a band that constantly sings about suicide, struggles with mental health, and fighting addiction, it’s kind of wild to see them turn their back on its only remaining original member – a guy Joel has described as a brother.

That being said, Ahren is probably being super difficult and not giving them much of a choice. The whole thing sucks. The only thing that would suck more is if Ahren kills himself and we have to listen to The Amity Affliction sing about it for the next 10 years.