ALBUM REVIEW: Big Ole Album Vol. 1 – A Day To Remember

March 25, 2025 Ed Walton

A new album by A DAY TO REMEMBER has been unleashed. Released in a unique way, the physical release coming a few weeks back and the digital release coming this week, it’s a good way to go about ensuring that physical sales go through first before the access through streaming platforms quickly overtakes it. Now, it was the late 2000ss and early 2010s that the news of a new album by A DAY TO REMEMBER would have filled many metalcore/hard rock fans with joy. However, these days, it doesn’t quite have the same effect as Big Ole Album, Vol. 1 is a middle of the road album with a few moments here and there that are enjoyable but is ultimately largely forgettable.

Opening the album is the track, Make It Make Sense which does have a fun little riff that launches the album off, however it quickly slows down and feels like it’s trudging through to it’s finish, it isn’t quite the bang you’d hope that this album would start off with, showing quite clearly that A DAY TO REMEMBER don’t quite have the bite they had back in their prime. Feedback quickly follows and quickens the pace of the album slightly and piques your interest a little bit more than its predecessor with a great riff that hits hard as it builds up into a good breakdown which is sure to whip fans up into a frenzy when performed live. Lyrically however, it does feel a little cringey as it gives off a ‘don’t give a fuck attitude’ which suits a band in their younger days but when the band are nearing their forties, doesn’t quite have the same impact. Bad Blood keeps up the pace that Feedback brought toward the album but does feel like the two songs are interchangeable through sound but once again, you can respect that this song would be miles better in a live setting.

All My Friends is one of the album’s highlights and gives us a brief glimpse of the quality that we were used to with prime A DAY TO REMEMBER. From the verses to the chorus, it flows succinctly and gives us a nostalgic feel of being with friends at a house party while their music blared whilst drinking awful cheap alcohol but that doesn’t matter when you’ve got the company around you. To The Death is one of the heavier tracks on the album and once again harks to better memories of the band. Jeremy McKinnion’s vocals suit the aggressive nature of the song and goes hand in hand well with the punishing riffs that are on display throughout the song becoming one of the few highlights that Big Ole Album, Vol. 1 has to offer.

Flowers continues this little flash of quality as we reach the halfway point of the record and works as a fun sing along before sinking back into a mire of mediocrity. LeBron changes the album’s style and opts for a more pop-punk sound which will absolutely scratch the itch for fans of that genre, but the song itself doesn’t stick around in your mind and is almost instantly forgettable. Die For Me follows on and is a slight improvement on the album. Not written by the band but by Oli Sykes of BRING ME THE HORIZON which feels like a spiritual successor to their track DiE4u and even feels like it could have actually been on their latest album as it’s a more poppier sounding song that has a more anthemic nature to it rather than a bruising chaotic riff.

As we approach the latter half of the album, we reach the track Miracle, with a chorus that states “we need a fucking miracle” which sums up how you feel listening to it, it will genuinely take a miracle to bring this album back round from its middling nature. If there was any hope that this album would finish on a high, it is quickly quashed by the track Same Team, once again is a track that is interchangeable with the majority of the songs on this album with them all being different in song titles only, once again the lyrics in this track are a damning indictment of the quality as McKinnion shouts that “I wish I could do better”, us too bud.

The penultimate track that is Silence does however, offer a flash of quality right towards with its brooding nature that slowly boulders its way through to its end as it slowly builds and builds before a fun and unforgiving riff plays the track out combined with unnerving synths that give off a cool uneasy feeling to the track, it’s just a shame it comes too little too late. The same applies to Closer Than You Think as once again, it threatens to have a similar quality to the glory days of the band but never quite gets to that point, thankfully it does end on the album not on a band and not on a whimper, but maybe the bang a christmas cracker makes when pulled apart but ultimately leaves you feeling the album could have been so much more.

Big Ole Album, Vol 1. is one of the most frustrating listens you’ll hear all year, you’re wanting it to be good throughout the entire listen but ultimately it just isn’t. Considering they’ve been teasing it since 2022 after the release of Miracle, you’d think they’d have at least been able to bring out an album of some quality. As you reach the end of the album, all you’re left with is a feeling of crushing disappointment, not a buzz of energy their early efforts left you with. For a die hard fan of A DAY TO REMEMBER, you may find some form of quality within this record, but for a casual listener of the band, you’d be forgiven for turning it off and listening to their tunes from the band’s glory days instead. The fact that this is Vol. 1 suggests there’s more to come, hopefully whatever it is is a vast improvement.

Rating: 5/10