Memphis May Fire Rise to the Challenge

The metal core genre is a big sea with a lot of little fish trying to jump to the head of the stream and become one of the big fish. It’s not always the easiest thing to do, but it is required in this business in order to survive. The Texas based metalcore band Memphis May Fire did just that with their 2011 album The Hollow. Now, they have released the follow-up to that album entitled Challenger and it looks as if they built on the momentum that followed that 2011 album.

Challenger, their second full length album for Rise Records, was produced by guitarist Kellen McGregor and Cameron Mizell, who also produced The Hallow. I think fans will be surprised by the intensity of this record along with the heartfelt messages found in the powerful lyrics. Lead singer Matty Mullins delivers a very performance that is stellar from the first track to the last; even though the last track is an instrumental.

“Alive in the Lights” is the second track on the album, but it’s the one that really gets things going. Mullins definitely knows how to deliver a catchy chorus. He mixes up his vocal deliver to where one moment he is singing in clean vocals and the next minute he’s screaming with power and passion in his voice. “Prove Me Right” is another killer track that rocks. It may use the “traditional” breakdown approach in this song, but it still manages to sound fresh and relevant.

“Vices” is one of the standout tracks on the album. The song starts out intense and hard and ready to melt your face. Then, the chorus kicks in and it gets very melodic and catchy. Where some bands may fail and not be able to pull it off, Memphis May Fire makes it work and it sounds really cool. Add a few dashes of electronic elements that compliment the song and all the parts come together to make a pretty awesome song.

“Losing Sight” is a pretty interesting track that features Danny Worsnop, lead vocalist of Asking Alexandria. Matty and Danny offer contrasting vocal stylings that seem to complement each other really well. It would be nice to hear more collaborations from these two. There’s another collaboration on the album on the song “”Miles Away” which features Kellin Quinn from Sleeping with Sirens. It’s a metalcore ballad of sorts which features some heartfelt and emotional lyrics about life on the road. This track really displays the band’s versatility and truly stands out.

Overall, it seems as if Memphis May Fire has definitely raised the bar on this release. I am pretty sure that if you liked The Hollow that you will be pleasantly surprised by this new album. Matty turns in a stellar vocal performance and sounds stronger than ever. Kellen McGregor lays down some pretty tasty licks throughout the album as well as adding depth to many songs with his additional vocal contributions. The electronic elements that he adds to the songs help to propel them from ordinary metalcore to something different and special.

Is it a perfect album? No, of course not and that’s ok. There are the pitfall, generic, traditional breakdowns scattered about, but those few bitter parts just make the sweeter spots that much sweeter. It’s great to see a young band push themselves and step it up from one release to another. That’s definitely a key to longevity and Memphis May Fire seems to be travelling down that track and not looking back.

MyChildren MyBride Experience A Rebirth With New CD

High school is generally a time to party and hang out with friends. It’s a time of enjoying the carefree lifestyle of being young and living for the moment. For Matthew Hasting, it was a time of self discovery and finding his inner voice. That’s when he put together his Christian metal core band MyChildren MyBride and started looking towards the future.

The band worked hard, toured and tried to find the right mix of musicians. There were so many lineup changes that a revolving door was needed to make it easier for those coming and going. Yet, determination prevailed as the band signed with Solid State Records and started creating a buzz. Their debut album Unbreakable came out in 2008 and its follow-up Lost Boy in 2010 and the road became their new home. Their hard work ethic and dedication started winning fans and critics over alike.

Now, it’s 2012 and their highly anticipated third album is about to be released. It’s odd for a band’s third album to be self-titled, but lead singer Matthew Hasting feels as if this album is a rebirth for them and they are starting over. After listening to it in its entirety, I do believe fans will agree with him. Producer Zeuss (Hatebreed,Shadows Fall,Suicide Silence) helped the boys tap into something that they had yet to discover about themselves and the results are pretty amazing.



The album opens with “Morpheus” which sets a tone of importance for the album. It’s a short track clocking in at 1:34 and starts off somberly, but builds as the whispered intro is joined by the chugging guitar riffs and drums thirty seconds in. It leads into “On Wings of Integrity Part 2”. This song is definitely one written especially for the fans. The band continued the song lyrically from its predecessor and it is a really something special. It’s sure to go over really well live with chants of “we are the voice of this generation” which just screams audience participation.

“Anathema” kicks things into high gear with its faster, more aggressive tempo. Mathis Arnell is a beast on the drums on this track too. The song also has a cool breakdown about two minutes in where it gets totally quiet and you think the song is over, but it’s not. The next track, “God of Nothing”, is one of the band’s most creative shining moments in its young career. The musician ship is top notch and

Matt’s vocals show a great deal of diversity. The song starts with a very effective spoken intro and leads into the heaviest and most intense journey that the guys have ever taken you on in four minutes. Matt mixes his spoken word with this more common aggressive styling and it really clicks. I love how the song drops off suddenly at the end with only a piano closing it out in a haunting fashion.

“The Endless” is one of the more powerful songs lyrically on the album. Although the guys are all Christians, they don’t make that the prime focus of their lyrical content. Their songs have a positive theme to them that are universally appealing regardless of one’s religious beliefs. The song deals with death and losing those who are close to you. Always remember that no matter how bad you think you have it, there’s someone else who has it worse.

“Hell or High Water” is another song where the boys seem all jacked up on Red Bull. High energy and high intensity on this track that just flat out rocks. The album closes in a big way with the very strong track “No One Listens, No One Cares”. It’s definitely a standout track and particularly strong on the musicianship aspect. The drumming by Mathis is stellar and the dual guitar attack of Robert Bloomfield and Hunter Wells shows off some of the most insane and creative guitar work on the album. It’s an awesome choice to finish on such a strong note.

I have to say that the guys have definitely raised the bar on this album. Zeuss has awoken a sleeping beast on this one. They are more aggressive than ever and seemed more focused and determined. As mentioned before, it is like a new start for the band. The riffs are more brutal, the choruses are bigger and more epic and the guys sound hungry. A very strong album with a very positive message and worthy of praise.

The Force Is Strong For The Empire Shall Fall's New Release

Every now and then an album is released that just demands to be heard by the masses. Now, that’s a pretty bold statement to make, but I do believe that this is one of those albums. The Empire Shall Fall is not a Star Wars reference, but a fairly new metal core band founded by former Killswitch Engage lead singer Jesse Leach. They released their debut album Awaken in 2008 and garnered quite a bit of attention for their non-conventional sound. It was a hybrid of jazz, punk and metal core and definitely caught quite a few people’s attention.

Their new release is entitled Volume 1: Solar Plexus and is being released on 180 gram vinyl and digitally only for the time being. It is the first of three EPs to be released and all three will have a theme that ties them all together. The band has stated in an interview that the album is about “picking up the pieces of your life and starting over.” Once all three of the EPs are released, the band will release an actual CD with all three combined into one. An interesting and bold concept, so let’s take a look at Volume 1.

The album consists of a total of seven tracks with four being complete songs and three being instrumentals. “The Genesis of These Scars” open this journey that the listener is about to take off on and it goes from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds! Jesse mixes clean vocals and screams in a very effective way. The arrangement on this song is also amazing in the way it mixes up alternating from metal core to a more melodic styling.

“Narrow the Path I Walk Part 1” and “As the City Sleeps” are great songs and show the versatility of the band. On their debut album, the guys really did break down the stereotypical walls established by a genre. They brought so many different elements into the mix and made their sound fresh and new and not just “traditional” metal core. These two songs bring even more of that to the table.

My favorite song on this album is the closing track, “The Final Redemption” which clocks in at an impressive 7:48. The beginning is very slow and has a jazz feel to it, but it builds. It really hits its groove at the 38 second mark. I think this is the bands’ shining moment on this track. It’s heavy, it’s melodic, it’s progressive, and it’s djent and more all rolled up into one. Jesse vocal delivery is stellar on this as well as some amazing guitar work by Jake Davenport and Marcus de Lisle.

The only problem that I have with this album is that it is way too short! I know it’s just an EP, but you just don’t want it to end. The instrumental tracks really work great to connect the songs together and they don’t just seem like throwaway tracks. The guys really have put together something special here and I cannot wait for part 2 to be released. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up and give it a listen. In a genre of so many sound-alike’s, The Empire Shall Fall are carving a niche out for themselves that is going to propel them to the font of this genre. With the way that these guys are going, they may even create an entirely new genre on their own.

The Air I Breathe Come Out Swinging On Debut

The music industry has always been a breeding ground for below par bands to jump on the coat tails of a popular genre and bleed it for all its creative worth until everyone is sick of hearing it. It happened in the 70s with disco. It happened in the 80s with hair bands. Now, the metal core scene needs to be aware of how history is prone to repeating itself. Yet, once in a while, a glimmer seems to shine through the sea of mediocrity.

A group of guys from New Jersey calling themselves The Air I Breathe have recently unleashed their debut album Great Faith in Fools onto the metal core scene. They have definitely created some waves in this somewhat stagnant pool of imitators. While not necessarily recreating the genre, TAIB show signs of uniqueness and creativity that are needed to keep the metal core scene thriving and fresh.

The opening track “The Inevitable” is a short track whose intro is an odd subway conjuring sound. The only line in this song pretty much sets the tone for the album, ‘When the world turns its back on you, turn your back on the f’n world”. That leads into “Take This to Heart” which begins with Tony Dougard’s guttural growls and the one-two guitar punch of Jesse Butler and Cam Baptisa. This song grabs you by the jugular and refuses to let go.

There are plenty of the quote unquote “traditional” elements of metal core throughout the album. The riffs are heavy and there are plenty of breakdowns to be found so as not to disappoint the enthusiasts. Yet, Cam’s blistering finger work is refreshing to the ear and a style that will surely elevate him to a higher level of guitar hero worthiness.

There are quite a few standout tracks on here. “The Life I Promised” and “Here’s To Letting Go” are two great examples of how this band is much stronger than what you usually get from a group’s debut effort. The guitar work is insanely solid and Tony does a great job mixing in clean vocals on the chorus to compliment the aggressiveness of his growls. “XIII” is a song that proves size doesn’t matter. It clocks in at less than three minutes, but it proves to be a song small in quantity, yet heavy in quality. If this doesn’t get you head banging, then there is not much hope for you and maybe you need to get back to your Top 40 fluffy songs.

Great Faith in Fools is a very strong album by TAIB and is much stronger than the label “debut” usually implies. Is there room for improvement? I would have to make note of the song writing and hope for a little meatier content next time. I’m not asking to reinvent the wheel, but give me something with a little more substance.
The Air I Breathe is a band to get excited about. A young band that puts out a debut this strong is one to keep an eye on. I do highly recommend it and I hope people who may grown bored with the metal core genre will give it an honest listen. It may just kick start your hunger for this flavor that you’ve grown tired of.