Single Review | Memphis May Fire "Blood & Water" (A glorious return to heavy music.)


"You can't believe what you hear from the mouth of a serpent."


On Friday, Memphis May Fire released the first single from their upcoming 2021 album release "Blood & Water", and it sounds better than anyone would've imagined. They've completely trashed the edgy "alt-dad rock" sound that was heard on "Broken"; an album that even diehard fans refuse to acknowledge its existence, and decided to go HEAVY once again. 

The heavyweight metalcore titans from the Lone Star State have always been well known for mixing heavy music with soaring melodies and unique guitar riffs, with their most well known and critically acclaimed discography consisting of "The Hollow" and "Challenger." While "Unconditional" and "This Light I Hold" are considered to be acquired tastes and pale in comparison to their aforementioned work, these albums are solid and deserve to be heard. After hearing the divisive release that was "Broken", many fans feared that the MMF they knew and loved was dead and gone. Fortunately, they were wrong.

The song begins with a lofi intro that may sound otherworldly at first, but when the music comes alive, it's hard to not be excited about this experience. It's groovy. It's catchy. Not to mention the riff is filthy, even for a band like MMF, and Matty hasn't even started saying words yet.

But when he does... wait?? Is it 2011 again? Matty barks with a beautiful, resounding voice, a voice that sounds mature and has aged like fine wine. His distinct cadence permeates throughout the whole track, creating an authoritative voice while remaining very clear-spoken. 

The chorus is soaring. The melodies are beautiful. And the breakdown (yes there's a breakdown!) is pure disgust and comes complete with a nice djenty chug, intense bass line, wicked drumming dexterity, and a rare guttural from Mr. Mullins. 

In closing, this is MMF but dialed up to eleven. Fans got what they wanted from this band and then some. This song was extremely heavy, harkening back to their early work while also going in a new direction. Some fans might even go as far to say its some of their best work period, as it's a very mature sounding MMF that retains the iconic sound that made them famous ten years ago. It's a good time to be a fan of Memphis May Fire and a metalcore fan in general.

To put it simply; "Blood & Water" is an excellent track, and while it's formulaic and follows a very generic structure, it has enough surprises to keep the experience interesting and exciting. It's one of the best metalcore releases and releases in general from 2021 thus far. - Dylan Stearman

Rating: 4.5/5

Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

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