ALBUM REVIEW: Broken – Memphis May Fire

Metalcore is Broken and MEMPHIS MAY FIRE are here to save it. After twelve eventful years together, their next era is opening its bright eyes and waking up to fight for its life.

You’d forgive MEMPHIS MAY FIRE for reproducing and rebranding their perfect formula with every album, particularly after well over a decade as a band, but the Nashville bruisers are by no means afraid of change. The antithesis of 2016’s optimistic This Light I Hold, seventh album Broken sings its sorrows from the bottom of its shattered heart and vows revenge with all its might. Expect blindsiding surprises from every angle, but never forget the band’s core happiness within their art and front man Matty Mullins’ words to Distorted Sound – “If you stick to one sound or genre forever, you lose out on creating something you could’ve loved.”

“I never used to be so dead inside,” cry the cavernous reflections of The Old Me, as contagious as album openers get and holding a beautiful riff at its heart. It’s not often you hear metalcore crying for days gone by, begging for history to repeat itself, but it feels nothing short of welcome in the hands of these experienced masters. The burdened Heavy Is The Weight takes a further contemplative turn with fond electronic twinkles before it delivers the most unexpected aspect of all – Christian rapper Andy Mineo on guest vocals. It’s a bold move in a scene that can’t do right for doing wrong, but somehow this adventurous move doesn’t feel at all out of place. Taking an even broader leap out of their comfort zone, the neatly melodic Sell My Soul is a breath of fresh air, and it’s not long before a powerful final chorus stomps down its size nines as ever.

True to its name, Mark My Words stands to prove the usual biting MEMPHIS MAY FIRE are by no means an extinct phoenix, returning to devastating form with flawless trickery from axeman Kellen McGregor and stellar efforts from sticksman Jake Garland. Similarly delivered with towering conviction and an authentic menacing tone, Mullins pours a generous amount of venom into Watch Out to balance out its impressive production. Resigning itself to its solemn fate, the punchy rhythm amid Who I Am forges a truly memorable outlet for its despair – “Maybe you should leave before I let you down again.”

While the defiance of Over It could carry the album on its own heavy shoulders, and the more melodic cleans and near angelic tones throughout Live Another Day fit as comfortably as an old glove, You And Me is the record’s most surprising contributor by a mile. Simplistic yet bursting with powerful emotion, this ballad is a far cry from their usual high octane roof-raising trademark, replaced with a thoughtful melody and barely any sign of metalcore madness. It may not be to everyone’s taste, yet there is a tremendous amount of bravery to be found in turning their entire signature image on its head and practically laying the band’s future on the line.

As left-of-field as Broken may seem to dedicated fans, this transition is a necessary step for MEMPHIS MAY FIRE to break the mould before the mould breaks around them. Metalcore needs to move forward, and the Tennessee titans are making their first courageous step into the unknown.

Rating: 9/10

Broken is out now via Rise Records.

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