Memphis May Fire has burst onto the metal scene in the recent year and a half(ish) and it’s been all uphill from there. The first time I heard Memphis May Fire was on the album The Hollow and I was extremely impress by “The Deceived” and “The Victim” in addition to the first track, “The Sinner.” Those songs threw down pretty hard and had a hard crisp togetherness to them. Too many metal bands these days just throw music together and it’s not fine tuned or cleaned up. A lot of this kind of music can sound really sloppy at times and just all and all not attractive.

Not the case with Memphis May Fire. Their music is buttoned down and torqued on with a Snap On breaker bar. Seriously these guys have some awesome talent and it shows through their rip current music. It just sucks you in to the point where you can’t come up until you’ve listened to the whole album.

On to the new stuff. I was pretty happy when Memphis May Fire released Challenger shortly after I was content with the amount of times I charged through The Hollow. “Without Walls” starts off the new album with some strong chants that lead into heavy guitars and drums plus the normal amount of screaming. I wouldn’t really call this a song in itself. It’s more like an intro of what’s to come on the new album.

There’s no mercy as you continue on through Challenger. Right into the full-length songs your ears are dominated by screams then rivaled by the clean chorus of “Alive In The Lights” which is really catchy. I dig this song a lot. The style is similar to a lot of what Memphis May Fire does, but it does show a bit of creativity in structure and glam.

If you listen to a lot of the album at once, the feel can seem a little repetitive, but that’s just the nature of this kind of music. There’s a lot of energy built up and embedded in the roots of this music and it just comes out through deafening screams and stylistically awesome breakdowns that can really get you going.

“Miles Away” is where Challenger takes a turn that I didn’t expect. Slowing way down for a duo with Kellin Quinn seemed a bit out of place for Memphis May Fire seeing as most of this album is full on metal. It is a nice change from the previous tracks, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it.

Although I didn’t really enjoy “Miles Away,” Memphis May Fire redeemed themselves with me on “Losing Sight” featuring Danny Worsnop. This song really throws down. It’s solid, it’s fast paced and it’s just awesome.

Now there is that crowd that really hates Asking Alexandria for some reason, but there’s no hate here. I don’t have anything against them and think they put out the music that they feel shows them off best. Danny’s vocals on this track shine next to Chase Ryan Robbins and add a cool dynamic when it comes to changing things up from the norm.

Although it’s not the best metal I’ve heard and Memphis May Fire have not made it into my favorites in terms of metal/hardcore/screamo bands YET, they are defiantly earning their way up to a spot next to my favorites.

Challenger - Memphis May Fire    3/5 Stars    Favorite Track: Losing Sight

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