MY BITTER END

MY BITTER END is one of those metalcore bands that gets it right more than it gets it wrong. In other words, the style is done justice with a genuinely brutal approach that incorporates melody and compositional variety without sounding too generic. On "The Renovation", the impressive musicianship of bands like THE HUMAN ABSTRACT and ALL SHALL PERISH, especially the spiraling guitar work, is heard throughout. It is one of those albums that includes more than a modicum of memorable songwriting (though some spots do begin to sound samey) and arrangements that offer the listener plenty of musical firepower to absorb.

Of course, there is nothing here that will bowl anyone over or cause critics and fans to hail the "new and improved" metalcore. It is simply a case of a band that knows what it likes and does a pretty good job of delivering. A healthy dose of death metal (at least the 'core strain) is present, in part because of vocalist Tyler Guida's largely unintelligible growls and screams, not to mention some punishing rhythms led by quick-footed double-bass work, although the kick drum sound is irritatingly clicky. Clean vocals are found as well, but more in the background than the forefront (i.e. "Salvage the Structure", "Finding Level Ground", and the title track). Along with numerous sections of brutal crush comes a host of melodic guitar leads, scattered light parts, and period Swedecore flourishes. Here again, guitarists Todd Ranne and AJ Tompkins offer up loads of strong interplay and soaring melodies. Breakdowns are present, but are generally effective within the context of the main song structures.

It is not that "The Renovation" will make anyone forget that metalcore has saturated the scene. Even so, it is a generally enjoyable and fierce affair. It is difficult to record a metalcore album these days that begs for multiple listens, but at least "The Renovation" gets the job done right and is certainly worthy of more than one spin.