All That Remains released Victim of the New Disease on November 9, 2018. Their ninth studio album followed Madness with a deliberate move toward heavier material, recorded with producer Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz. It also became their final album with founding guitarist Oli Herbert, who died the month before its release.
The direction came from a straightforward conversation within the band. Looking back in a 2019 interview with Decibel, vocalist Phil Labonte said their previous two records hadn’t been their heaviest, and they wanted to change that. For We Are Many was a reference point for the kind of All That Remains record he wanted to make. That choice still left room for the musicians’ other interests. Labonte explained to Antihero Magazine in early 2019 that metal was their shared foundation, while his own listening also included pop and electronic music. For him, the distinction was how much heavy material a particular album contained. “We haven’t put out a record that doesn’t have heavy stuff on it,” he told Antihero.
Working with Laskiewicz, the band put together roughly five demos early in 2018. Those recordings gave them enough confidence to keep going, and by the end of July the album was mixed and mastered. Labonte described that pace to Decibel as unusually quick for All That Remains, estimating that the work had taken four or five months.
The lyrics had their own source of upheaval. In a release-day interview with Loudwire, Labonte connected the relationship troubles running through the songs to his divorce. He’d wanted to name the album after its opening track, “Fuck Love,” but management and the label rejected the idea over marketing concerns. Their manager suggested a line from another song instead, giving the record its eventual title. Labonte also resisted explaining every lyric, wanting listeners to find their own meaning.
“Just Tell Me Something” added Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop to that personal material. The singers already knew each other through touring, and Labonte sent him the track with an invitation to sing its second verse and chorus. Worsnop accepted and returned his contribution.
Herbert’s death changed the circumstances in which those recordings reached fans. Labonte told Loudwire that the band usually discussed a finished record together while touring, and he regretted not having that conversation with Herbert about this one. On release day, the group announced that it would continue and retain its December European tour with Sevendust. In the accompanying statement, Labonte said Herbert had loved the record and would have wanted them to carry on. The album campaign would therefore take the band back onstage without the guitarist who had played on all nine of its records.
Jason Richardson stepped in for that tour. According to Labonte’s Decibel interview, bassist Aaron Patrick contacted him after seeing his guitar cover of “Chiron.” Richardson had known Herbert through earlier touring, and his preparation helped take practical pressure off the other members while they grieved. By April 2019, Labonte was discussing Richardson as a band member in an interview with Audio Ink Radio. Knowing the guitar parts and live commitments were covered, he explained, let the group concentrate on the personal and emotional work of coping with Herbert’s death.
