Ohio’s Miss
May I have been a favorite of the metalcore genre since their 2009 debut
Apologies Are for the Weak. After touring with such heavy weights as The Devil
Wears Prada and a run on the Vans Warped Tour, Miss May I have moved closer to
the forefront of the genre. With all that being said, the impending release of
their newest album At Heart had the eyes of many on this band. Would this new
album propel them over so many copy cat bands and to the front of the pack?
Well, let’s look at the new album and see what it has to offer.
Vocalist
Levi Benton and the boys start off with a short instrumental that also doubles
as the title track, but track two is where we really want to turn up the
volume. The song is called “Hey Mister” and it’s the lead-off single. By now, I
am sure many are familiar with it. There’s a pretty good riff that weaves it
way throughout the song, buzzing along and weaving in and out. The chorus
features a mix of clean vocals, provided again by bassist Ryan Neff, and Levi’s
screams. It’s not a bad choice for a lead-off single and it’s worthy enough of
getting the listener’s attention.
“Opening
Wounds”, in my opinion, is a stronger overall song both musically and
lyrically. I think this song would be an excellent choice as the album’s second
single. “Ballad of a Broken Man” is also a good track with some nice riffs and
a good hook and it kicks some pretty major ass. Don’t worry; there are
definitely plenty of breakdowns on the album for all of those who haven’t grown
tired of them.
The rest of
the album will certainly appeal to the die-hards of the band and maybe even
some of the non die-hards because it sounds a lot like what they have been
doing. I don’t mean that to come across as a slam, but you are getting what you
expect from these guys and to some fans, that’s a good thing. I just don’t
think that they have broken any new ground on this new album. They haven’t
raised the bar, yet they haven’t lowered it either.
Don’t get me
wrong, I’m not saying it’s a bad album, yet it’s not an amazing album either.
Levi’s vocals are pretty consistent with what he has been doing, but in a genre
that is becoming almost over-saturated, you have to stand out and not just
blend in. He’s solid in his delivery and he is good at what he does, but on a
lot of songs there was nothing there that made me go “Wow!” As for the rest of the band, they put in a
solid performance. Lead guitarist Justin Aufdemkampe is really good and he
really did shine on several tracks, as did rhythm guitarist B.J. Stead. The
rhythm section of Jerob Boyd on drums and Ryan Neff on bass are as solid as
they come and they definitely can hold a song together when it may falter in
other areas.
I guess I was just looking for more originality,
something to make these talented guys stand out from the sea of similar bands.
I’m not sure if the changing of producers from Joey Sturgis to Machine was the
right thing to do. If these guys are going to want to run the marathon and not
just sprint, then they need to stand out in some way from these other bands.
The talent is there and maybe they just need to find their metal core Yoda to
guide them to that next level
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