About That Life has so many problems with that it's almost tragic. From a musical standpoint, it's about as generic as you can possibly get. An overwhelming majority of the music is just the same brOOtal breakdown that weak deathcore bands constantly recycle because they don't know how to write anything else. At a couple points on the record Attila gets a whim of inspiration and whips out a cool solo or melody, but as soon as it's over, they go right back to the same stale deathcore chugfests that plague that rest of the album. If nothing else, Atilla can take pride in the fact that this record earns them a well-deserved master's degree in cliched, overdone deathcore riffs. Guitarists Chris Link and Nate Salameh have open-note strumming down to a science and hXc bros everywhere should fight an invisible ninja in honor of these generic deathcore legends. Making the boring music even worse is the presence of vocalist Chris "Fronzilla" Fronzak. Fronzak's vocals are absolutely laughable. His low screams are muddy and weak while his highs are damn near impossible to listen to without breaking into a hysterical laughing fit. On top of failing at screaming, this dude further embarrasses himself by rapping at a few points on this record. I don't know who in the band though that was a good idea in the slightest, Fronzak's rap skills make Bubba Sparxxx look like the second coming of Tupac. With his performance on this record, Fronzak gives guys like Danny Warsnop, Oli Sykes and Alex Kohler a legitimate run for the title for worst vocalist in all of metal.
The horribly uninspired music isn't even the worst part of About That Life, it's the message Atilla has and the general attitude they have as a band. This is a band that thinks they are being edgy and controversial by using pervasive language and saying a bunch of "ignorant" shit in their lyrics (i.e. the title track which contains this segment of almost Shakespearean poetry "Fuck church, hit a bong, then go smash a fucking bottle, got a few sluts to help me roll a few blunts and they never question me cause they know I hate cunts".) Newsflash: It's not edgy or controversial, it's just sad. Making music with the sole intent to try and shock someone is cheap and amateurish. The saddest part about Attila's music is there is not even a drop of irony to it. These dudes are dead serious with their half-baked, idiotic ramblings about the rage lifestyle. It's honestly hilarious to think of Chris Fronzak and his moronic bandmates sitting in the studio just thinking of different ways they can try to offend people simply by making comments that could be deemed offensive by some conservative who still gets their feathers ruffled when someone drops an F-bomb (The type of people who would be offended by their music would and will not ever hear it.) If they put as much effort into their music as they did trying to piss people off with their "ignorant" lyrics about bad bitches and the rage lifestyle, they would probably be fucking modern metal pioneers. Despite Fronzak and co.'s gratuitous effort to send the listener into a gasp-induced coma from their lyrics, I can safely say that the only thing that is offensive about Attila's music is how bland and wholly forgettable it is.
About That Life is the type of record that makes me sad about the future of metal. Poorly-written, childish bullshit like this is selling while other artists who take time to hone their craft and are far more deserving of success are fucking starving. Music is clearly subjective and I respect everyone's opinions, but I honestly can't see how anyone could support this band of traveling assclowns. These guys are essentially the Carlos Mencia of metal: They're talentless hacks whose only goal is try and shock an audience. When it comes to Attila, I sure as hell am not about that life.
1/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
The solos on "Unforgiveable" and "Thug Life" and the intro riff on "Hellraiser"
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