Divine Intervention

SIX-STRING-SAVANT JASON RICHARDSON ON THE NEW ALL THAT REMAINS ALBUM, DUAL GUITAR SOLOS, USING MUSIC THEORY AND IMPROVISATION (HIS ALLEGED ACHILLE'S HEEL)

- Nick Bowcott

IN THE WORLD of melodic metalcore, All That Remains are rightfully considered one of the genre's finest exponents, alongside the likes of Killswitch Engage, Trivium and Bullet for My Valentine. In fact, popular YouTuber and respected metalcore evangelist Nik Nocturnal describes the band's 2006 album, The Fall of Ideals, as follows: “It is God-tier; the riffs still hold up to this day and the hooks are huge. It is the perfect era of metalcore encapsulated in one amazing album.” The fact that said album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 2023 for sales in excess of 500,000 is proof positive of its importance.

A pivotal member of this band – which emerged from Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1998 – was, of course, original member and lead guitarist, Oli Herbert, a much respected and highly inspirational player and riff writer in modern metal. Sadly, he passed away in 2018. His replacement, Jason Richardson, wasn't only a close friend of Oli's but also, according to ATR's frontman, Phil Labonte, the late guitarist's choice. On a YouTube podcast called Drinks with Johnny, Labonte revealed that Oli had once said, “Look, if anything ever happened to me I'd want Jason to be the guy. He's the best guitarist in the world right now.” Consequently, when Richardson offered to fill in for his much-missed friend at some ATR shows, he was offered the gig.

Prior to joining All That Remains officially in 2019, Richardson had already carved his name in modern metal thanks to his precise, lightning-fast, virtuosic playing with Born of Osiris (2009-2011) and Chelsea Grin (2012-2015). These stints were quickly followed by a successful solo career with two albums thus far – I (2016) and