MEMPHIS MAY FIRE Broken

RISE

Prolific metalcore crew go back to the drawing board, with crayons

Memphis May Fire have achieved an impressive consistency over 12 years and five albums. But the main challenge facing them is how to innovate without leaving the genre behind. 2016’s This Light I Hold reintroduced elements of Southern rock swagger, but Broken throws its lot in with the current metalcore epidemic of try-hard nonsense. Heavy Is The Weight’s mumble-rap break sounds like it was dreamt up by someone with no understanding of either metal or hip hop. It’s a shame because at their best, MMP make fun, no-frills poppy metalcore but there’s a distinct dearth of interesting ideas on display this time around.

FOR FANS OF: Beartooth, Thousand Below, Northlane

ROB BARBOUR