All That Remains' Mike Discusses the Madness of the New Album

It's been almost 20 years for All That Remains, an act that has released countless releases, over the span of their musical careers. This latest and newest effort is called "Madness" and happens to be the band's eighth album to date, while album number ten isn't that far off. This "Madness" release is filled with material that has pushed the band's limited ever so further than before. Guitarist Mike Martin discusses this album, and plans on touring between now and the rest of this year!


1. What is your name and what instrument do you play?

My name is Mike Martin and I play rhythm guitar.

2.  How did you become a part of the band?

I became part of the band just from playing local shows and getting to know Phil through the music scene in general.  It was a cool thing to be a part of back then and everyone ended up playing together in bands eventually.  It'll be 15 years this May that I've been in the band!

3. ATR had a female member for some time, now that you do not, do you feel there is a difference in the way you are seen?  In your music?

I definitely feel no difference now not having a female in the band.  I don't really think it changes how we work or how the band is viewed at all.  We've had tons of member changes it's nothing new to us.

4. Very soon the band will have been together for 20 years, do you have anything in mind in terms of celebrating the big 2-0?

No plans yet for any kind of 20 year anniversary celebration but I'm sure something will come up eventually.  I'd love to do something for it.  It's a pretty amazing accomplishment to be able to last that long in the music world for sure.

5. Most, if not all, of your releases have all been released via Prosthetic Records/Razor and Tie Records, if not just Razor and Tie Records. How has the relationship with the label been?  What makes you stay?

The relationship with the label has always been great.  I think having success over a certain number of years is what makes us stay.  If we weren't doing any good for each other then it would never have lasted this long.  We work hard for them and they do the same for us.

6. "Madness" is your eighth full-length album, and first to be produced by Howard Benson, as well as feature bassist Aaron Patrick. How did it feel to change things up for this album?

It was definitely a pretty big change doing this record in LA with Howard.  We're so used to our home studio it always feels weird to record anywhere else.  Howard's studio though is so beautiful and the people that work there are so great it was really easy to adapt quickly.  Getting to record in a studio like that isn't something every band gets the opportunity to do so it was just really a pleasure being there.

7. Can you explain the title "Madness", what makes this album Madness in your mind?

I can't really explain the title of the album exactly how Phil sees it honestly.  I think as far as the world goes at this time that "Madness" is a pretty accurate, general term for how chaotic things seem to be lately.

8. How about the album's artwork for "Madness" does it have a meaning to it?

As far as artwork goes, I'm really the last person to ask on that one sorry haha.  That stuff I usually leave to everyone else.  Besides the music itself, I'm about the least artistic person alive!

9. Did you get everything into the album that you wanted, or was there more you wanted to do / include that didn't get to be done with it?

I think we got everything into the album that we wanted to for the time that we had.  It's a little harder when there is a deadline.  I think when you have a deadline it makes you take a certain amount of material and focus harder.  Bands love being in the studio and if you have unlimited time and an unlimited budget you can sit there forever and just never finish.  That's why you see lots of huge bands with huge budgets take 5 years to make a record.  They can sit around and take their time.  In reality, if the songs are mostly put together, it should never take much more than a month to do an album in my opinion.

10. Why were "Safe House" and the title track "Madness" made the first singles for this album?

Safehouse and Madness were picked as the first two songs to be released just cuz we typically release two very different types of songs right away for variety purposes.  Our albums are always filled with a lot of different styles and we just like to showcase more of what we do.  We are very aware it doesn't always make everyone happy but we are also aware that that's literally impossible at this point.

11. What do you all have planned as far as playing shows and going out on tour?

All the touring plans are getting announced as we speak.  Lots of festivals, lots of headlining club shows, and lots of really cool shows supporting some awesome bands as well.  There is definitely gonna be a lot of stuff that continues to be announced shortly as soon as it's all confirmed but with the album coming out at the end of April you can assume we'll be on the road for the rest of the year.  Just keep an eye out for dates as they get filled in.

12. Would you like to add or say anything more about this album or in general for everyone to hear?

Nothing more to add really.  Just thank you to everyone who has ever supported the band.  Eight records is not an easy thing to do and we're all very fortunate to be able to do this still.  Thank you!