Band: MyChildren MyBride
Title: Lost Boy
Label: Solid State Records
Release Date: June 8, 2010
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
1. Terra Firma
2. Hooligans
3. King Of The Hopeless
4. Crimson Grim
5. Lost Boys
6. Dark Passenger
7. Gatekeeper
8. Digital Rebirth
9. Redeemer
10. Nuclear+
11. Lungs Full Of Water
I would say that for the past five to six months my musical diet has consisted of nothing but metal and hardcore and more metal and hardcore. I felt that I need a little “metal” palette cleansing for the 2nd half of the year of 2010 so the rest of the albums this year would start off with a clean slate. To some of your disgust or delight I have listened almost exclusively to country and soft Christian rock like Addison Road, Tenth Avenue North, Needtobreathe, and a little Jimmy Needham for the past several weeks.
To be honest with you I was nervous about Lost Boy. I really liked Unbreakable and for some reason I thought that, Unbreakable was going to be the pinnacle of MCMB success. I don’t know why I thought that but I just did. Really, it was unfounded for me to have those thoughts. This was the same band that I saw live in November 2008 in Minneapolis that had kid with a broken foot in a walker get out in the circle pit jumping around and shaking his walker in the air. Maybe the kid was faking the injury but any band that can get you up off your broken foot and shaking your walker in the air has definitely got the “X” or “it” factor as far as live shows. Musically, Lost Boy is a step up from Unbreakable. Unbreakable to me seemed like one huge breakdown with a few riffs thrown in here and there. Lost Boy on the other hand is different. In addition, Lost Boy is a lot heavier and more brutal than Unbreakable. You still have your destructive breakdowns but there is much more structure to the music. The riffs are a lot more crisp and memorable on this album. Lost Boy is definitely a bold progression from Unbreakable and a huge step in the right direction from a band with tons of talent.
I feel that in Lost Boy Matt’s vocals kind of matured a little. He had great pipes in Unbreakable; however, through all their touring he has seemed to have honed them into a much finer weapon in my opinion. It is not a huge difference but one I definitely picked up on from track 1. Now jumping into the vocals, Matt picks up where he left off with his aggressive guttural growls and higher screams. He opens his vocal assault with “Terra Firma” and never really lets up throughout the album until he chooses to let you catch your breath at “Gatekeeper” only then because it is an instrumental. Then after “Gatekeeper” it is pedal to the metal again until the completion of the album. MCMB also uses a fair amount of gang vocals in Lost Boy, which is sure to add to the crowd participation at their shows.
My favorite songs on Lost Boy are “Terra Firma,” “Hooligans,” “Crimson Grim,” and “Lost Boys.” These songs showcase MCMB’s brutality with the best combination of musicianship, songwriting, and vocal brutality. While MCMB does not break any new boundaries in metalcore, they do metalcore extremely well and put on one heck of a live show.
Overall: this is an excellent Solid State sophomore release for MyChildren MyBride. If you like music with brutal breakdowns and heavy riffs, than this is the CD for you. Lost Boy will have you looking for the closest pit or even have you starting your own. When MCMB takes the stage no one will be standing with their arms crossed on the sidelines because with MCMB full crowd participation is required and guaranteed.
