EPK – All Else Fails – The Incident at Black Lake (2022)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations.com
“This EP is an evolution of All Else Fails in every aspect of its musicality, its songs are heavier, more complex, and deeper than ever. Employing elements of other genres like industrial noise, moody electronics, or ambient sampling has always been a hallmark of the band, but “The Incident at Black Lake” takes a new approach. It is a fusion of these core elements with a new level of technical metal prowess and a dramatically more dynamic vocal style. The three original songs and one cover explore themes of devastating mental illness, dystopic mass existential nihilism, and ideological fascism. “It took over 2 full years to write and produce this EP, we took our time with every part, every note, every modulated warble. Every musical element has a place and purpose. We are telling a horrifically personal, furiously aggressive, and unnervingly beautiful musical story of mental terror and surviving despair. With a dark heart, we present The Incident at Black Lake”.” – Barrett Kelsko – All Else Fails
For fans of Chimaira, Killswitch Engage, Revocation, Soilwork, Fleshgod Apocalypse
Band: All Else Fails
EP Title: The Incident at Black Lake
Release Date: Sept 30, 2022
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: CD Baby
Facebook.com/AllElseFailsCanada | Instagram.com/allelsefailscanada | YouTube.com/user/allelsefailscanada
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“The Incident at Black Lake might be “just” a four-track EP by All Else Fails, but its 25 minutes of music are absolutely intense and electrifying, proving why they’re undoubtedly one of the most important names of the Canadian Metalcore scene.” – The Headbanging Moose
“The third theme is my favorite without a doubt. “Flesh/Excess/Wealth” has one of the most vibrant riffs starting at minute 2`40« and they make up for it with a percussion chorus that had previously been heard on the vocals. Finally, when I couldn’t like it more, ALL ELSE FAILS decides to end with a tribute to my beloved DEATH. The cover that they do with “Crystal Mountain”, uniting the trail that Chuck Schuldiner left us while leaving his personal mark, to take off his hat. I love these Canadians and look forward to their next album.” – 9.5/10 – Necromance Magazine
“The EP itself is a cyclone of melodic metalcore fire, death metal toxicity and progressive imagination revealing ALL ELSE FAILS at their most open, intense and thrilling.” – The Ringmaster Review
“Being dark in nature, it tells the suffering that Klesko was facing and what he was seeing in his head. While very dark at times, it’s mind-bendingly beautiful to see it from this perspective. And I can’t wait to hear what else the band has to offer.” 4/5 – Metal Epidemic
““Flesh/Excess/Wealth” is a close second for my favorite song, however. Klesko says he wrote it about losing his sense of humanity. It’s a really aggressive song, but also contains some really beautiful clean singing and a wicked guitar solo. The final song on the EP is a cover of “Crystal Mountain” by the band DEATH, a song much loved by the band. Lyrically, the song fits the dark tone the band set for the previous songs on the EP. I think the band did a good job with the cover and putting their own sound to it. Overall, I thought this was a great EP where I could really feel the emotions that went into writing it.” – Metal-Temple
“”The Incident At Black Lake” is a solid EP” – Powermetal.de
“Canadian band All Else Fails are out with the EP “The Incident at Black Lake”, and this is a production that probably will be of interest to some fans of progressive metal. While a variety of a core based style of metal is at the heart of the proceedings here, the different vocal tones, the changes and alterations over to atmospheric laden and melodic metal, what might be described as thrash metal as well as some quirky instrument movements and expressive arrangement choices does add what I’d describe as a progressive spirit to the proceedings here… If metalcore with an expressive orientation and progressive aspirations sounds interesting to you, this is an EP you might consider becoming a bit more familiar with.” – Progressor
“A Monster of a Metal Opus” – The Edmonton Journal (The False Sanctuary 2018)
“All Else Fails has a striking level of detail, constant melodic bloodshed and unremitting rhythms that push through your throat leaving you with no choice but to bang your head.” – Boston Rock Radio (The False Sanctuary 2018)
“They are by turns pissed and melodic, speedy and anthemic – but always organic sounding….their song “The Sons Of Plenty”, a tune that encompasses all those things and demonstrates what the band is capable of.” – Gear Gods (The Forever Lie 2017)
“Guttural heaviness + impacting music = You’ll like it!” – CFMU 93.3 FM – Master Radio (Hamilton, ON) ( The Forever Lie 2017)
“From song to song you are greeted by pummeling riffs, heavy blasting drums, thick bass lines and vocals that transition between menacing and deadly growls to soaring and highly intoxicating cleans. Before you know it All Else Fails has you headbanging and singing along to each of their songs.” – Cadaver Garden (The Forever Lie 2017)
“this six track EP sees this quartet expand their mutant thrash blueprint with doses of melodic crooning and bursts of dizzying orchestral strings on Obedience At The Altar Of Sacrifice.” – Metal Hammer Mag UK (Fucktropolis – 2013)
““Fucktropolis”. What an awesome name for an EP. And what an awesome EP it is.” – Metal Temple (Fucktropolis – 2013)
“They have a very ominous sound, if you will, with quick, intricate and skillful instrumentals – especially the drumming. Their talent really shows through in their final product.” – Spill Magazine (Fucktropolis – 2013)
[Download EP Cover | Download EP Lyrics]
Band: All Else Fails
EP Title: The Incident at Black Lake
Release Date: Sept 30, 2022
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: CD Baby
Track Listing:
1. I, Defiler (5:48)
2. Devour the Sun (8:24)
3. Flesh /Excess /Wealth (5:36)
4. Crystal Mountain (5:19)
EP Length: 25:09
EP Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: All Else Fails (Barrett Klesko, John Saturley, Coco Lee, Nelson Collins-Lee)
• All songs written by: All Else Fails (Barrett Klesko, John Saturley, Coco Lee, Nelson Collins-Lee)
• Produced by: All Else Fails (Barrett Klesko, John Saturley, Coco Lee, Nelson Collins-Lee)
• Mixed by: Bevin Booth
• Mastered by: Bevin Booth
• Album Artwork by: Zulmi_m (https://www.fiverr.com/zulmi_m)
• Member of SOCAN
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
EP Recording and Live Band Line Up:
Barrett Klesko – Vocals, Guitar
John Saturley – Guitar
Coco Lee – Bass, Vocals
Nelson Collins-Lee – Drums
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The EP as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
This EP is fucking dark, musically and lyrically. I wrote my parts in the darkest, most distressed headspace I have ever been in. Most of the time during the writing of this EP, I was convinced that I had been unglued from time, I was barely functioning. Through the fog and sensation of reality warping around me, I somehow found clarity in my writing. Weirdly, at first, I didn’t know that I was writing about myself, I was just kind of writing. I remember there was a day when we got our first mix back, and I hadn’t heard the songs in a few weeks, 30 seconds into the first verse, I collapsed in this park I was walking in, and I realized that the songs were me, describing the suffering I had been experiencing so that I could understand what was happening in my own head, it was completely overwhelming. I had created something so direct, with zero awareness that I was doing so. It was a mind-bending experience as if a past version of myself had reached out through time to help me understand what was happening to me, an absolute headfuck. For my contributions musically I created tones and sounds that conveyed how distorted the world around me felt, I was attempting to use the music to level out the turmoil I was experiencing internally. I was experiencing reality in waves of vertigo, time-loss, and visual blackouts, I was trying to push back on these sensations with music. I think this EP is beautiful, there is elegance in darkness. I think it’s sad because I know the turmoil and pain it took to write it, and I think it’s powerful because it’s the first time I have truly been honest in my music.
Track by Track explained (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
I, Defiler: The first song I wrote lyrically for the EP. In the early days of my spiral, when confusion about my own state was at its highest. I was doing everything I could to understand the suffering I was experiencing. I tried using Acid in an attempt to explore my own mind. Informally guided trips allowed me to see aspects of myself that I hadn’t considered, and I was desperately searching for clarity I couldn’t find in the real world. Primarily this song is about those explorations of self, both the positives and the futility. The song opens with the line “We are the Watcher” which is the experience of standing outside my own body and judging myself as lacking. During one of these trips my mind disconnected from the flow of time for the first time, I describe it as being able to “slide the scale” into different times in my own life, often which had points anchored in trauma, but occasionally were sitting in places of peace and beauty. The lyrics attempt to put to music these sensations, and the following experiences of both déjà vu and Jamais vu, sometimes simultaneously. Musically the song is erratic, kinetic, and industrial. It is heavy, both in guitars but in electronics and noise as well, and carries a time change into its bridge that furthers the disconnect between perception and reality.
Devour the Sun: This song is an allegory. A child from a beautiful nameless place travels across existence. It was born in warmth and life, from an engine of creation, and its only need is to share who it is with whatever it comes in contact with. As it travels, it leaves a piece of its radiance behind as a gift, a tiny slice of its essence that it shares with exuberance. It travels for years, shining it’s light on whatever it encounters, however, over the long years, it eventually forgets who it is, and with that, where it came from. The child drifts, older now, and comfortable at first to be pulled along by the forces around it, buffeted across the ether, fulfilled by the simple act of experience. Over time, however, discontent begins to grow. Who was it? There must be a purpose beyond drifting endlessly in the black. Its questions turn to screams and cries in the heavens, but the black has no answers. Eventually, devoid of solace, its voice becomes quiet and its mind despondent. It slowly diminishes, becoming a faded husk, lost inside its own ruminations, until one day it enters the atmosphere of a nameless biome. For the first time in years, it sees its own reflection. Cast back unto itself by the starry eyes of a young girl, undistorted by expectation, its fragmented and damaged memories return. It knows once again that long ago it was a star, a sun, burning bright in the deepest reaches of the universe. In this child’s eye, the light that was once a star becomes an experience; bright, beautiful, and warm, and then a memory; comforting and soft. For a moment, the light knows peace in the surety of itself, but the child sleeps, the memory fades, and the light from the long-dead star is lost forever in nothingness. Musically this song follows an unconventional narrative. It ebbs and flows, thrash riffs turn to piano-esq clean parts. Soaring melodies devolve into full-bodied guttural torment before becoming aethereal whispers.
Flesh /Excess /Wealth: This song explores the horror of having the sense of my own humanity removed from my conscious existence. I live in a time where I am taught to ignore my strongest human instincts, to follow systems put in place to hurt me, and to ignore what I perceive with my senses. I put progress and individualism over kindness and community, I have forgotten that I am part of a greater universe to which humanity has barely opened our eyes to. I hurt myself in the name of our god; currency, I humiliate myself at the altar of ego. I place the needs of the unknown few above the wanting many and am often not aware of doing so. This song is about disconnection. Musically it is oppressive, militant, violent, and aggressive.
Crystal Mountain: This is a song we love, and felt that we could cover faithfully at its core, while adding our own twists to its soundscape, to justify its existence. Lyrically it speaks to religious oppression on a personal and community level.
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BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:
1. During a festival performance in India, Barrett was stage diving in the crowd. When he tried to return over the barricade, he was mistaken for a fan rushing the stage, and beaten with what he describes as “whapping sticks”. Post-show, the security team asked for selfies which Barrett agreed to on the condition that he got to hold one of the sticks.
2. During the recording of this album the band founded a “Bourbon Club”, in which they sampled (consumed) and reviewed over 60 bottles of Bourbon. The group favorite for both quality and price point: Four Roses.
3. The band initially intended to release this album as one 25-minute song due to the flow between songs and old-school story telling vibe that it evoked, but scrapped the idea in favour of a more fan friendly, standardized experience. The album is still recommended by the band to be consumed as a whole.
4. John and Barrett miscalculated the strength of some weed edibles once on tour, leading to an incident called “The Brain-Lasering”.
5. The programming / keyboards / noise were originally started as an afterthought to a very guitar forward album, but as the band began work on writing these parts, the songs took on a whole new dimension, fundamentally changing their sound. The intensity of the work and the level that these layers affected the songs have led us to described the process as “scoring the soundtrack to our own album”.
About:
Over the last 15 years, Edmonton, Alberta based award-winning metal band All Else Fails has become a cornerstone of the melodic heavy metal community in Canada. Combining intense riffs, intricate rhythm sections, brutal guttural screams, and melodic yet unusual vocal lines paired with relevant and relatable lyrics, All Else Fails’ message resonates with us all.
Formed in 2006 with the release of their self-titled EP, All Else Fails has gone on to release 9 studio albums, many of which have garnered awards and nominations from across the Canadian music industry and have propelled the band into live performances all over the world, including their massively successful tour of India in 2017.
For the past two years, the band has been hard at work writing their new album “The Incident at Black Lake.” A deeply personal, brutally honest, and staggeringly complex take on the reality-bending mental struggles of vocalist and founder, Barrett Klesko (The Misfires, The Order of Chaos). The band is filled out by guitarist John Saturley (The Order of Chaos, Skepsis), bassist and vocalist Coco Lee (Eternal Prophecy), and drummer Nelson Collins-Lee (The 21st Agenda, Skepsis). The album is produced by Bevin Booth of In the Booth Recordings and engineered at The Electric Treehouse in Edmonton, Alberta.
In 2022, the band is returning to their DIY roots by mindfully abandoning their social media and redirecting their energy to contributing to their local metal scene by building a direct personal connection to their fans and followers, living in line with a humanist philosophy and encouraging a culture of support between artists. All Else Fails’ new single “Flesh /Excess /Wealth” drops in early September with the full EP “The Incident at Black Lake” releasing September 30th. Fans can experience their explosive new live show this fall in Western Canada.
All Else Fails is:
Barrett Klesko – Vocals, Guitar
John Saturley – Guitar
Coco Lee – Bass, Vocals
Nelson Collins-Lee – Drums
Discography:
2022 – The Incident at Black Lake (EP)
2018 – The False Sanctuary (EP)
2017 – The Forever Lie (EP)
2013 – Fucktropolis (EP)
2012 – Ruins Punk for Everyone – LP
2011 – The Oracle: What Was, Is, and Could Have Been Special Edition Re – Release (full length)
2010 – The Oracle: What Was, Is, and Could Have Been EP
2008 – Against the Darkening Sky – LP
2007 – Of Ashes and Accusations Live DVD / CD
2006 – Self-Titled EP
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