Miss May I – At Heart

As if to confirm just how cutting edge Every Time I Die is on the metalcore front with their new full length Ex-Lives, I recently had the misfortune of tuning in to Miss May I’s recent full length, At Heart.  Derivative and repetitive sum up the disc in a matter of moments, the Troy, Ohio quintet falling in with just about every other generic metalcore act landing on Rise Records.  Sure, it’s an uphill battle at best between metalcore and me to start with, but At Heart does absolutely nothing to distance itself from its mediocre peers.

Founded on a pattern of breakdowns, growls and indulgent solos, Miss May I do little to define many of these eleven songs against each other.  The tempos remain predictable, drums hollow, and token clean vocals over produced.  Thump thump thump, pause, thump thump, and so on – a simple summary of the stale backdrop to be expected from the likes of “Second To No One” and “Hey Mister.”  Levi Benton’s vocals are lyrically audible which is a plus, but the lyrics lack punch and fail at offering any defining uniqueness to their track.  And where the backing screams and grunts should add emphasis they merely cloud the album in guttural sameness.  It’s as if Hot Topic commissioned Miss May I to write a storefront soundtrack, and thus At Heart was born.

It goes without saying that I think very little of Miss May I and that At Heart does nothing to change that.  If my recent praise of Every Time I Die proves anything, it’s that I’m capable of enjoying some of the higher concept metalcore out there, but that these average poster boys do little for me.  Word is that At Heart is a decent for what it is, so if Miss May I has gotten the job done for you in the past, then there’s probably something here for you.  But if you’re like me and struggle to connect with most glossy metalcore, then At Heart won’t likely won’t win you over.