Rerecording its fourth album for the 10th anniversary, Queensland post-hardcore act The Amity Affliction sounds even sharper and more intense than it did a decade before. That’s especially true on opener “Pittsburgh,” which achieved platinum sales in Australia and remains the band’s signature track. Named for a stop on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour where vocalist Joel Birch was sent to the hospital after an extreme combination of summer heat and alcohol withdrawal, that deeply emotional anthem describes losing control of one’s body before the urgent mantra “Please tell me I am not undone”—delivered not just by Birch, but also via bassist Ahren Stringer’s cleaner vocals and uplifting backing vocals. The rest of Let the Ocean Take Me follows through on that initial sense of high stakes, delivering songs that often start off with thunderous intensity before Stringer’s voice rises up in dramatic counterpoint. As for differences between the original version and this revisited one, they are subtle but definitely there. Dan Brown, who had just been upgraded from touring guitarist to rhythm guitarist when this album was recorded, is now playing the lead parts once cut by departed co-founder Troy Brady. Other changes are more about mood and maturity, with altered tones and effects. But the album’s unflinching themes of addiction and mental health ring just as true as ever, and Birch and his bandmates don’t shrink from diving back into the fire that forged some of their most beloved work to date.
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