All Ends – A Road To Depression

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Nuclear Blast
Produced by Roberto Laghi

Far back in 2003, In Flames guitarists Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte hit upon the idea to take their brand of heavy melodic guitar riffing, pump the melodic sensibilities to eleven and then have two women duet over it. The result was All Ends, a melodic metal act bursting with pop melodies yet still holding to a raw heavy guitar framework. Even with its founders sitting quietly behind the scenes as the band’s songwriters, lust for fame and success pushed the band to release a debut EP and later an album, as well as a wave of singles and videos. The band’s output was somewhat shallow, but never made any claims of depth, unashamedly delivering slab after slab of hook-laden hard rock.

Success never did seem to happen for the band though, and by 2009 the band were down a record label (Gun Records, which collapsed that year), and down one of their two front women (Björn’s sister, Emma). Thankfully they were given a lifeline and signed with the much more stable Nuclear Blast and enlisted new singer Jonna Sailon for a second album, A Road To Depression.

The electro melody line that opens up the album might suggest that something has changed, but as opener Obvious kicks in it’s clear the main intent is still here – play loud instruments, have pretty rock chicks sing along, make catchy hard rock. It might sound a little cynical, but it works extremely well. This is a band making good pop music for the sake of good pop music, with little consideration for anything else. Lead single Generation Disgrace follows suit, with an infectious melody, danceable beat and no shortage of hard guitar riffs. If these songs found their way into the mainstream, mainstream rock would never have it so good.

One thing does become noticeable early on in the record though – Jonna Sailon doesn’t seem to be bringing anything new to the mix. On the band’s debut album, whilst Emma Gelotte could often sound similar to her co-singer Tinna Karlsdottir, she had a richer and more showy style in her singing that contrasted well with Tinna’s more emotive rock singing. Jonna seems more or less content to simply be Tinna #2, with her parts often rather hard to pick out against her more veteran counterpart. This is a very minor quibble – the dueling vocals still work well and Jonna still sounds great, but there’s little contrast between the two singers.

By I’m A Monster, the album does start to derail, as the band moves away from catchy hook-heavy melodies to big and heavy power ballads. This continues with Hear Me Now, Don’t Be Scared and the piano-driven Nobody’s Story, all of which don’t sound bad, but take the energy away from the album as a whole. Thankfully there are still healthy nuggets of hard rock and the likes of Area 1 and Stupid People continue the theme set before, but the album quickly feels very split in half making for a jarring listening experience. A few ballads were certainly required (in fact they were arguably highlights on the band’s debut), but the large quantity here make the album feel rather split. The album closes with the somewhat sombre title track, showing not only a latter period In Flames influence in the chorus’s guitars (understandably), but also electronic influences from bands such as Depeche Mode. This is by far the band’s most interesting track to date, hinting that perhaps there is more to the band than just good pop songs.

In conclusion, does A Road to Depression live up to the band’s first album? Not really no, its too bogged-down by ballads whilst the debut was fresh and full of life. Is it a good album, though? Sure, so long as you can see past its rather apparent faults. Is this an innovative and ground-breaking band? Not on your life – but then that has never, and no doubt will never be the point. All Ends are a band about making hard rock with a mainstream commercial appeal, valuing catchy melodies with a swagger. Whilst the band have tried to flirt with the idea of doing something more progressive, where the band actually succeed is when they deliver straight up catchy hard rock songs. Which is certainly no bad thing.

“ catchy hook-heavy melodies ”

Tracklist: Obvious / Generation Disgrace / I Know Who I Am / I’m A Monster / Hear Me Now / Area 1 / Don’t Be Scared / Nobody’s Story / Stupid People / Wretch / Road To Depression

Photo(s): Robert Samsonowitz | www.rbrt.org

Written by James Donovan
More: 2010, Albums, Female-fronted, Hard Rock, All Ends