ALBUM REVIEW: No Place For Me – Miss May I
Metalcore icons, MISS MAY I, are back with their eighth studio album, No Place For Me. In the near two decades the Ohio quartet have been together, they have gone on to achieve many accomplishments that go past their expectations back when they formed the band as teenagers fresh out of high school, yet they now have one very important thing to consider: what are they trying to say as artists? A question that can have many answers, but to MISS MAY I, it’s about being therapeutic for both them and their fans, so that’s what the entirety of this record is based on.
The album itself focuses heavily on themes relating to mental health, self-doubt, and intrusive thoughts, and the way we can either overcome it, or let it consume our mindsets. Paired with many a gnarly riff and heavy vocal as well as melodic compositions, we have something that you can equal parts mosh to as you can have an emotional cry to. The best of both worlds really.
Opening things up is Sanctuary, that sets the stage with distorted guitars in the foreground, somewhat resembling alarms in a dystopian state, before the drums signify the band coming in full force. Going between loud and then lowkey, matched with the transition of vocal styles, and then concluding with a gnarly breakdown, we’re off to a strong start. The fun thing with this record is how, whilst being metalcore at its heart, it’s unafraid to both embrace the genre and also think outside the box, allowing each track to standout in its own way, as shown on the following track Portrait Of Pain that explores classic rock sounds and incorporation of electronic elements during the breakdown towards the end. That and adding a theatrical twist where the switch between vocal styles of frontman, Levi Benton, that feel like something of a duet of two different personas and viewpoints. That theatrical flair can also be heard on Fire Falls where, after starting out as a bouncy metalcore number, brings in choir-like harmonies that makes you feel empowered.
As said, the album focuses on topics relating to mental health so of course you can expect lyrics that might hit a little too close to home, as heard on Hand Me A Halo that, while drawing some comparison to the melody of SLIPKNOT’s The Devil In I, covers the subject of being mentally burnt out from anxiety. There’s also Pray For Silence, that, while mainly feeling larger than life with a solid ‘blegh’ thrown in for good measure, we have a poetic moment where mental health is portrayed as a darker force, or perhaps a louder person, that tries to bring you down as they also spiral with their own issues.
Poetic, honest, and loud. Everything we’ve come to expect from MISS MAY I.
Rating: 8/10
No Place For Me is out now via Solid State Records.
Like MISS MAY I on Facebook.