My Bitter End

My Bitter End’s lightening speed, guitar sweep-obsessed brand of deathcore has been plied by the likes of Between the Buried and Me and Glass Casket for quite some time now. Whether or not they bring anything particularly groundbreaking to the table is debatable, but there is no denying their youthful exuberance. Arguably faster, more aggressive and tightly plotted than BTBAM’s densely written, prog-infused approach, My Bitter End opt for a more punishing, mosh savvy attack, which is about all that sets them apart, as far as songwriting is concerned. Two or three momentary bursts of clean vocals, employed with varying degrees of success, slightly buffer the relentless blasting, battering and "breeeee”-ing. With that said, the intensity and technical skill shown on The Renovation are well ahead of many similar groups and are particularly impressive considering My Bitter End’s roots as a second tier metalcore act. Jamie King’s flat, utterly lifeless engineering is a serious point against the effort, however — the bass drum trigger is nearly unlistenable, and the mix glosses the record over with a computerised sheen. A noteworthy effort from a vastly improved outfit, but it’ll be some time before the little inconsistencies are properly ironed out.