Album Review: The Murder Of My Sweet - Brave Tin World

Here's the thing; a band that is trying to be 'cinematic' has two things going against them. One is that unless they are paying for real orchestras and people who know how to record and mix them, the records are never going to sound as grand and huge as they want. The other is that most metal musicians don't know the finer points of classical composition, so what we're actually getting is more akin to synth-rock, but with better sounding patches. Actually writing something that deserves to be orchestrated, and pulling it off on record, is beyond the capabilities of most metal bands. Even the ones who do it 'best' struggle to write solid metal songs for the foundation. It's just hard to take on big tasks.

The Murder Of My Sweet have done that their entire career, trying to delivering cinematic albums that offer drama beyond the typical melodic metal band. I've heard their last couple of records, and they were.... fine. There were good songs, but if I'm being honest, I really don't remember much of either record I know I listened to.

"Tin Soldiers" finds a trick to make everything work together; it doesn't try to. Opening with pianos, strings, and Angelica Rylin's vocals, there's plenty of drama in those moments before the rest of the band kicks in. When they do, the song shifts into being a standard metal track, until some orchestrated bits pop up again in the short instrumental bridge. The metal and cinema get separated almost entirely, which isn't distracting, but it does undercut some of the band's identity.

Like the previous record, this album finds the band trying to streamline their songwriting, which has two effects. One is that there are less wasted moments, so the record feels tight, despite its length. The other is that there is less room for their cinematic tendencies, so this record doesn't exactly feel like that label should be applied to it. It's far more of a melodic metal album than anything more grandiose. That's not a bad thing, per se, but merely an observation.

As melodic metal, the band does a very nice job. The melody in "Tin Solidiers" does feel familiar, but it's hooky and engaging, as are many of these songs. Especially when Angelica's voice is layered with backing vocals, the band's sound becomes lush, and closer to the goal of what they're trying to achieve. A song like "Reasons To Live", which is ok, would be elevated by adding more voices to really boost the melody. It gets a bit lost in the mix without a stronger indication of what the hook of the song is supposed to be.

As a metal band, though, this album can be a bit soft and billowy. Angelica's voice is naturally smooth, and the band doesn't add in much grit or energy to balance things out. Especially in the middle section of the record, things can get a little bit tired, and in need of a slight jolt that never really comes. They're still good songs, but I need to hear a bit more bite to keep my attention fully engaged.

The album starts off very strong, and it just can't keep that up. The remainder is fine, but like the last couple of albums I mentioned before, it's not nearly exciting enough for me to say I'm going to remember this music going forward. It's a pleasant listen, but is that enough? By the end of the year, my head is so filled with music that I don't think it is. Albums like this are nice diversions, but they aren't what I'm searching for. The Murder Of My Sweet is still a solid band, but they haven't taken the necessary steps forward just yet.