Formed in 2007, Miss May I emerged during the heart of MySpace metalcore. Breaking through on 2009’s Apologies Are For The Weak, they quickly carved out a space for themselves in the scene while collaborating with the likes of Rise Records and acclaimed producer Joey Sturgis.
As Miss May I have evolved further away from those formative years across the length of almost two decades, they’ve struck a precise balance between the melodic, third-wave metalcore riffage that would quickly define the band, and contemporary metal inflections. No Place For Me, out now via Solid State Records, their follow-up to 2022’s Curse of Existence and 2024’s Apologies Are For The Weak re-recording, finds this maturing blend of both old and new at peak performance.
Opening track “Sanctuary” is a tone-setting scorcher that strikes a seamless state of equilibrium between frontman Levi Benton’s devastating highs and lows. The closing stretch is a thunderous introduction to the album and immediately leads into the dazzling dramatics of “Portrait of Pain” (a sentiment echoed on later tracks as the band makes the entirety of No Place For Me feel urgent in message and mood, from trauma to self-destruction alike).
Alongside the crushing aesthetics of No Place For Me, the vocal melodies of Ryan Neff make for a silky smooth interplay between himself and Benton. On “Pray for Silence,” the back-and-forth of their vocals is sublime as Neff sighs, “I still can’t drown you out.” And on “Die On The Vine,” the clean vocals have progressive metal inflections that add layers of spectacle: “I wither but thrive in the light/Thrive in the light/Further away from the lie.”
A common denominator on No Place For Me is the brilliant mix from producer Nick Sampson (Polyphia, Nita Strauss). While much of modern metalcore is prone to muddy tones with the advent of djent riffage and ultra-downtuned instrumentals, every layer on this album is given space to breathe. The soaring chorus of “Bury Me Down” excels in its nuances, while the punishing “Ashes of the Altar” makes a maximum impact.
In the album’s closing moments, “Highbrow Thieves” finds the band again leaning into their heaviest inclinations—nitro-boosted by Sampson’s production—with extraordinary results. As Benton snarls, “No you won’t take a thing from me/You’re gonna have to kill me,” its punishing breakdown is a fitting adieu for No Place For Me.
Stream No Place For Me here.
