MyChildren MyBride – Lost Boy
Release Date: June 8. 2010
Record Label: Solid State
MyChildren MyBride hail from the church of breakdowns and follow the book of circle pits religiously with their sophomore effort, Lost Boy. While their debut, Unbreakable, might have been more riff-centric, Lost Boy just wants to pulverize and destroy for forty minutes. The Madison, Alabama, quintet amp up the attitude throughout, thanks to producer Matt Goldman (Underoath) and the natural improvement from each band member.
This album is the ideal summer album for any metalcore fan. Much like how August Burn Red’s Constellations scorched your speakers last summer, MyChildren MyBride will do the same. Opening track “Terra Firma” starts this barbeque off just right. Guitars crunch and soar while vocalist Matthew Hasting unleashes his powerful screams. If there is one thing to be said about Lost Boy, it’s the improvement of Hasting’s vocals. Another certainty is Lost Boy never lets up, as it’s going 95 in a 50 throughout. “King of the Hopeless” features urgent yells from Hastings over dark melodic guitar chords – courtesy of Robert Bloomfield and Daniel Alvarado.
“Crimson Grim” and the title track get the album’s pulse beating a little faster, as MyChildren MyBride find their groove in these two tracks. Power chords and a raucous breakdown anchor the former, while the latter incorporates infectious gang vocals. While the album can lack focus and variation at times (one of the curses of playing this specific genre), Hasting and company still find a way to keep the energy up, such as the fun “Nuclear+.” The rhythm section of bassist Joe Lengson and drummer Mathis Arnell instantly draw you into the song, while the riffing from Bloomfield and Alvarado keeps your interest.
While some techniques are exhausted on Lost Boy, we can chalk those up to the band going through the bumps and bruises of a sophomore album. The barbaric “Digital Rebirth” would make Hagar the Horrible blush, while “Redeemer” is an exercise in swift domination.
The songs in Lost Boy were constructed in this way so that they’d transition over into the fun and energetic live show MyChildren MyBride put on. I’d say mission accomplished. Sure, Lost Boy isn't going to shake the metalcore world, but it’ll still create plenty of chaos in the pit and in your stereo all summer long.
Once again, Hasting’s emphatic bark cannot be understated – he makes each song his own and transitions between a gutteral growl and high yell throughout. Lost Boy portrays the healthy progression the band has made since Unbreakable. There is still work to be done, but MyChildren MyBride has put together a well-crafted piece of work – one that tells us that the band’s best work is still ahead of them.
I'd definitely say this CD is in the 80+ range; Matt really brought his A-game this record, me along with alot of people thought that the opening to King of The Hopeless was Nick Thomas from Take It Back, threw us all for a loop, was him all along.
So far I haven't enjoyed this nearly as much as Unbreakable, but I'm going to keep giving it a chance. These guys desperately need to diversify their sound, though.
I remember sitting in my room in 8th grade trying to play along with "Circle The Sky". They're still on the generic side, but this is a solid record and they've totally come a long way.
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