I didn't know being from North Carolina was a premier selling point. Of course they have a few dozen incredible bands, but I don't think hailing from the state is going to make your band better.
My Hero is Me (yes, their band name does have a grammatical error) uses this marketing scheme. "MY HERO IS ME follows in the same footsteps as Glass Casket, Between the Buried and Me, and Kill Whitney Dead," reads their Smartpunk and Amazon description.
But having heard their debut EP, Helen of Troy, to be released on 8/22, I'm not so sure about that. For a band that claims to "create a new face in metalcore," they sure play everything really slowly. In quite a few songs they play open chords at down tempo, so you think it's a breakdown. Then it goes on and on. Oh wait, it's a verse. So basically it's a slow verse that sounds like a weak breakdown. Insert confused look here.
The guitar-work leaves a bit to be desired. A good third of the album is open chords in that breakdown/verse fashion. Then most of the rest of the time they're playing some other bar chords. The drummer doesn't throw in much variation; it's mostly double pedal a few times on the down beat, then hit the snare on the up beat.
Their melodic segments sound a bit like Killswitch Engage, though at other times they are reminiscent of Hawthorne Heights. Perhaps the best song is "The Plot to Kill Bob Barker," which closes with a soft dual guitar thing that blends together nicely, while the vocalist sings softly. Reminds me of Hopesfall, circa Satellite Years.
I would classify this album as "needs work." My Hero is Me has the potential, but this EP is a little fragmented. A few times I find myself scratching my head, a few more times I find myself bored and waiting for the chord to change. All in all it sounds like a slower It Dies Today, Killswitch Engage, or If Hope Dies.
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C.L. '06 |
