Miss May I – No Place For Me Review

Miss May I have been a mainstay in my library – and the metalcore scene – for some time now. With seven albums under their belt, they’re now onto their eighth with No Place For Me, which is their debut album on Solid State Records. With such a rich legacy and clear fan favourites in their back catalogue, can the band impress with their latest record?

This was one of the albums I was looking forward to hearing this year. As I mentioned, this band has been bouncing around in my collection of music since their 2009 album, Apologies Are for the Weak, and though I dropped off somewhat since their 2017 album Shadows Inside, I was excited to see what the Ohio quartet were putting out.

I’ve always been a fan of their blend of metalcore that leaned more toward the style of Killswitch Engage and Avenged Sevenfold, and for the most part, they haven’t strayed from that path with No Place For Me. It’s still crushingly heavy with massive anthemic choruses. As modern metal has found itself in a bit of an overly polished space, it’s nice to hear a band that’s sticking to their roots.

That being said, Miss May I have stuck to their roots almost to a fault with this album. It’s very much a Miss May I album, with a lot of the tracklist following the same formula we’ve heard from this band before. Killer, heavy drums, aggressive screams, melodic clean (and sometimes screamed) choruses, and solos galore. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you love the band’s blend of 00s metalcore, but it does feel like a slight lack of growth. The band has explored different elements of metal in their past; some tracks from Apologies Are for the Weak lean into more of a deathcore sound, for example. But this album feels slightly stagnant.

Thematically, the album is very much about mental health, touching on anxieties, emotional exhaustion, and doubting yourself. Particularly poignant theme considering the state of the world right now. I feel we’re all suffering from some sort of mental health ailment, so a handful of tracks could really hit close to home.

Miss May I do have a great ability to balance massive, crushing metalcore with more melodic songs without losing the pace. Going from the almost industrial, nu-metal vibe of Hand Me A Halo into the more withheld Pray For Silence doesn’t feel like shifting gears too much; it’s still heavy, but in a more atmospheric way. That’s the thing I’ve always found with Miss May I, they’re able to balance crushing heaviness with more melodious moments while keeping everything coherent.

No Place For Me feels like it’s definitely going to be a grower. Upon my first few listens, it sat in the camp of one of those albums that’s good, but not great. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good songs on the album, but nothing immediately sticks out as a banger just yet. I definitely feel like No Place For Me could leave an impression, but it may take a few more listens for it to do so.