It’s finally here. The Amity Affliction, hailing from Australia, have released their latest album Misery, and I can happily say that I found it quite enjoyable. One of my favorite aspects of music is the way it can change. Sometimes, this change may not always shape up to be what the band, or us fans, expected it to be but the effort is a courageous one for sure. The Amity Affliction have made a big change from heavy breakdown-riddled songs to a more electronic/synth dependent sound that resembles Bring Me the Horizon’s That’s the Spirit, only this time it was done correctly (Sorry, BMTH). Where the guitars and drums once thrashed, they now take on a more energetic 80’s feeling that pairs wondrously with the highly emotional lyrics that vocalist Joel Birch seems to never be short of-the trademark that makes them a step above the rest, in my opinion. Misery starts off with the passionate “Ivy (Doomsday)”, a song that reminds me a lot of The Used with a chorus that you can’t help but move your head to. Songs like “Feels Like I’m Dying”, “Burn Alive”, “D I E” and “Kick Rocks” change the pace of the album and showcase the electronic aspects of the album and really bring things down a notch from the past few years. A huge highlight of this album is that bassist/clean vocalist Ahren Stringer has taken his vocals to new heights. Where he used to sound monotonous and flat, he now sounds crisper and more refined to really make the choruses pop out at you. Screamer Joel Birch has also changed up his vocal style with more raspier screaming that is full of emotion rather than rage, but he still finds the right times to give us the guttural screams that made them such heavyweights in the scene. While newer fans will no doubt be excited about the new direction’s open accessibility, older fans will still find nostalgic comfort with headbangers like “Beltsville Blues” and “Holier Than Heaven”. A lot of the new sound stems from the partnership with producer Matt Squire (He was a huge reason that Underoath’s comeback album sounded so damn clean). While Misery is in no way the album that the Amity Affliction will be remembered for, it is a step in a direction that the band will be able to see success on and still crank out some catchy songs.
Top 3 Songs: Holier Than Heaven, Ivy (Doomsday), Feels Like I’m Dying
New Music with Brady 