Lost Boy

Lost Boy

Madison, Alabama’s MyChildren MyBride are a Christian metalcore quartet and their second long-player sounds just as fierce and driving as 2008’s Unbreakable.But this time around they take some daring liberties with the uniform styles of the genre. Where Unbreakable was anchored to typically brutal larynx-shredding over repetitively stabbing guitar riffs and double kick-drums that open fire like a sniper team, Lost Boy fearlessly injects some melody into the formula. Halfway through opening cut “Terra Firma” the guitars pound out some catchy riffs and vocalist Matthew Hasting belts out a chorus that’s actually memorable, even if most people won’t be able to sing along with it. The following “Hooligans” and the pummeling “Redeemer” both lean on some triumphant gang-vocals that sound somewhat inspired by early Misfits recordings, while the title-track is a ferocious and feral release of stormy temper-tantrums reined in by sharp, allocated burst of airtight rhythms. Just try walking away from this song with a clear mind — those punchy guitar leads in the chorus are more infectious than the black plague.