Unlike many other bands, Miss May I has had relatively little turnover, keeping a stable lineup for most of the band’s existence. Formed in 2007, signed to Rise Records in 2008, and released their debut “Apologies Are For the Weak” in 2009, all while the band members were in high school. From a rather explosive start, they have released another six albums and toured with some big names in the scene, gaining quite the following. Since 2009, the band consisted of Levi Benton as harsh vocalist, Jerod Boyd on drums, Ryan Neff as bassist and clean vocalist, and BJ Stead and Justin Aufdemkampe on guitars. That is until both guitarists left in May 2024 and replaced by the singular Elisha Mullins (Fleshkiller, War of Ages, A Hill To Die Upon). MMI then signed to Solid State Records and promptly produced a 15th anniversary re-recording of their debut album featuring guest vocalists on every track.
I can understand why a band may re-record material, particularly to get a new lineup up to speed and work on chemistry. This doesn’t look like the case here with only a switching out of the guitar personnel with an accomplished veteran shredder. There are examples of composers who were notorious for rewriting and rearranging their older works, but that’s not the case either. From a comparative listen, the old songs were simply re-recorded. The length of every song is within five seconds of the original.
What we have here is a polished version of MMI‘s debut album. The new production takes much of the danger out of the metal side of their sound, leaving precision execution of technical passages supporting impassioned vocals. Although there are quite a few big names like Jake Luhrs (August Burns Red), Garrett Russel (Silent Planet) and Brook Reeves (Impending Doom), I struggle to hear the value that they add besides name recognition.
The good points are the technical proficiency of the musicians. The turns and bends that this traditional metalcore goes through is quite impressive, especially considering the age of the band at the first recording and even now as a veteran band. The speed is quite incredible on the drums particularly, but even the minute articulations of the guitars are so tight. I really enjoy the parts where they stray from being metalcore and let the music flow a bit more especially on “Apologies Are for the Weak” and “Harlot’s Breath” where the thrash riffs really shine. And it isn’t all bitter technical assaults as there are some nice melodic parts sprinkled throughout with Ryan Neff’s clean vocals. The lead guitar work adds a much appreciated melodic contrast as well with guitar solos where the one on “Arms of the Messiah” is particularly nice. For the metalcore scene fifteen years ago, this could’ve been a contender.
But I keep asking myself why. It doesn’t add to what the band already did and in fact took away some of the rookie stylings that make it attractive. They could have rewritten the lyrics to reflect where they are after fifteen years, but they didn’t, leaving the lasting impression of emotional confusion. It still sounds like unbridled raging emotions swinging from one end to the other with windows of clarity in the enjoyable clean vocals. Although quite technical and tight, the music was also forgettable with its rapid juxtapositions of incongruous styles. I know that this is the roots of metalcore, but it felt even less memorable and cohesive than other records of that era.
In contrast to this offering, I listened through “Shadows Inside” and found MMI quite enjoyable and profound as a more mature band. This release I see mainly for the nostalgic metalcore fans, in particular those that grew up with MMI. I don’t anticipate the band gaining new fans with this material. I am reminded of the passage from Luke 9:62:
“Jesus said, ‘No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
My hope is that this is a test project for Elisha on guitars and for their new record label before returning to making music with a broader appeal.
Rating: 6.0/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – A Dance With Aera Cura (feat. Garrett Russel)
2 – Architect (feat. Brian Wille)
3 – Not Our Tomorrow (feat. Brandan Schieppati)
4 – Arms Of The Messiah (feat. Scott Lewis)
5 – Apologies Are For The Weak (feat. Anthony Notarmaso)
6 – Harlot’s Breath (feat. Brook Reeves)
7 – Tides (feat. Jake Luhrs)
8 – Blessing With A Curse (feat. Trevor Wentworth)
9 – Porcelain Wings (feat. Telle Smith)
10 – Forgive And Forget (feat. Ryan Kirby and Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary)
Miss May I is:
Levi Benton – unclean vocals
Jerod Boyd – drums
Ryan Neff – bass and clean vocals
Elisha Mullins – lead guitar
Release Date: August 23, 2024
Record Label: Solid State Records
Discography:
Apologies Are for the Weak (2009)
Monument (2010)
At Heart (2012)
Rise of the Lion (2014)
Deathless (2015)
Shadows Inside (2017)
Curse of Existence (2022)
Apologies Are for the Weak – Re-recorded (2024)
Social Media: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify
Video for: Architect (feat. Currents)
Video for: A Dance With Aera Cura (feat. Silent Planet)
Video for: Harlot’s Breath (feat. Impending Doom)
Video for: Forgive and Forget (feat. Fit For a King)