Four years between albums is somewhat standard for bands these days, but it’s also exciting as that anticipation is there, the knowing that after hearing a few singles that the full length is coming, and for Miss May I, here it is. Their newest album ‘No Place For Me’, so let’s check it out.
Almost what sounds like sirens ring out to start the album and ‘Sanctuary’ and as the drums kick in I can tell they are about to waste no time getting into this one, and how right was I? Those guitars take it from a melodic riff to chunky as all get up with the heavy vocals and clean balancing perfect, this song has it all and we’re only on song one. That is how you start an album! ‘Portrait of Pain’ is up and those awesome little guitar squeals that make me happy set the scene and once again, this balance is what it’s all about as the unclean vocals take front and centre before those sweeping clean ones come in almost angelically to draw you in even further and I love an abrupt ending which they nailed here. ‘Dead Behind The Eyes’ is HEAVY!!! That double kick is insane!! I like this track, stand out so far for me, there’s a whole lot going on yet it’s not muddled at all, that’s some awesome work. Then ‘Pray For Silence’ and its sweeping guitar intro leads into this one and yeah I know I just had a standout but this one took that mantle, oh wow this one is a banger. This is as close as you’ll get to a ballad on the album, so yeah this was at a volume of around 8 instead of 10 (so that constitutes a ballad I guess).
See, back up to a 10 with ‘Death Threat’ which we’d had a taste of as a single, so many would be familiar with this one, and as they should, this is how you do it. It’s almost upsetting I’m at home alone writing this as it’s the perfect song to be smashing yourself against people in a pit to, alas, not today. This breakdown is exactly what this song needed and it was done perfectly. ‘Die On The Vine’ is frantic and absolutely keeps things moving along at the pace the album has already set. Oh wait, what is happening here, that just did a 180 and switched things up, almost took on a Faith No More vibe for a second, wow, that was an excellent way to close out that song. ‘Fire Falls’ takes on a different atmospheric feel and starting off clean and what a chorus, damn, this one is magnificent!
With only a few to go, ‘Bury Me Down’ keeps the energy high and what I’m loving about this album is none of it sounds muddled at all, there is so much going on and you can hear every bit of it, impressive. Oh yeah, chunky!! Hello guitar solo! Yeah that makes me happy, this is some killer production on this one from Nick Sampson who has worked with the band before and he gets their sound perfectly. ‘Ashes of The Altar’ has one hell of a groove and keep things driving along. Love the turn this one takes too, man you can’t ever predict where some of these songs will go and that’s what I love about music, it just takes you places, some unexpected and this album is taking me to those places. We close out the album with ‘Highbrow Thieves’ and it’s the perfect way to round this album out… HEAVY!! May as well go out the way we came in, with a bang and this one is obvious as to why it was chosen as a single as this is a song destined to be played live for a long time and enjoyed by many. To go out the way this song did with that level of brutality was perfect. Damn…
Twenty years into their career and now with this their eighth album, Miss May I have made a damn good album with ‘No Place For Me’. It’s heavy… sorry I mean HEAVY (better), and the flawless production allows these songs to be heard properly and every part to be savoured. This album is huge and if you’re jumping on the Miss May I train with this album, what a stop to get on at! If you’re already on the train then you’ll want to stay on this journey.
Essential Information:
From: Troy, Ohio, USA
Release date: 2 October 2026
Record label: Solid State Records
Produced By: Nick Sampson
Website: https://missmayi.com/
Track Listing:
Sanctuary
Portrait of Pain
Dead Behind The Eyes
Pray For Silence
Death Threat
Die On The Vine
Fire Falls
Bury Me Down
Ashes of The Altar
Highbrow Thieves
