Killswitch Engage, Trivium, and All That Remains better watch their backs; Mutiny Within is beating them at their own game. To say that Mutiny Within’s brand of metalcore is infectious would be an understatement. Their debut album takes every awesome aspect of metalcore and then multiplies it tenfold. This is Killswitch Engage with harder aggression. This is Trivium with better technical chops. This is All That Remains with more atmosphere.

The first thing you’ll notice about this album is not the technically sound, aggressive, and chunky guitars. No, you’ll notice the voice of lead man Chris. I have never in my long career as a metal fan, ever heard such amazing vocals. Chris can delve low and growl with the best of them, and then a millisecond later, take his voice high enough to give any soul diva a run for her money. His range is absolutely insane. We’re not talking “80’s metal annoyingly high” clean vocals, either. We’re talking “this could destroy any American Idol’s career” caliber singing. That he’s lent his powerful and talented vocal chords to a metal band is even more impressive. You just don’t hear vocals like this, even from the aforementioned metalcore stalwarts. It truly makes this music special and, in a way, carries the whole album.

Brandon and Dan’s guitar work should not go unmentioned, because it’s equally as awesome. The guitar tuning is low enough to have that angry, crunchy bite when chugging and yet they can fill just about any slow, light part with ease. The riffs are plenty varied, never becoming stale as every song has its own structure and theme. Solos are in the Dragonforce vein, just not as wacky and long, which serves to enhance the sheer technical magnitude of what’s being played. These guitarists know their fretboards well and it’s obvious every time they decide to go into overdrive. Add to all of that some awesome tapping and arpeggio sweeps running between verses and choruses and you’ve got a complete package of awesome. Oh, and while I’m on guitars, dare I mention that bassist AJ is just as technically gifted as his six-string cohorts? He actually sweeps on his bass, death metal style.

To round out the sound, Bill does a great job on the drumkit. It’s just a shame that some of his work is almost drowned out by the mix. I found it hard to follow him at points when everything else (guitars, keyboards, Chris) was running hard. Still, his work is better than good, and doesn’t stick out sorely (looking at you, All That Remains) with its tuning. Keyboardist Drew pads the music, giving it a fuller, richer sound. Without the atmospherics and the underlying melodies he brings, the music as a whole would have a hard time keeping up with Chris.

Putting it simply, Mutiny Within’s debut album is everything great metalcore should be: melodic, aggressive, technical, and approachable. There are hard hitters (“Year of Affliction”) and slow burners (“Falling Forever”), every one of which would be fitting on any radio playlist or action movie soundtrack. This is epic, talented metalcore and anyone who’s a fan of the genre should pick this one up the day it hits. I for one can’t get some of these songs out of my head and I highly doubt many of you will either.

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