Miss May I

Miss May I, an Ohio metalcore outfit distinguished by their intense guitar playing and vocals that shift between clean singing and screams, surfaced near the close of the 2000s with a technically demanding post-hardcore approach steeped in death metal and thrash. The group introduced itself in 2009 through Apologies for the Weak and has held a steady position within heavy music circles for more than twenty years, delivering a succession of well-regarded albums including At Heart, Rise of the Lion, Deathless, and Curse of Existence that merge unrelenting brutality with melodic weight.

Formed in Troy, Ohio in 2006 during the members’ high school years, the lineup features guitarists Justin Aufdemkampe and B.J. Stead, singer Levi Benton, drummer Jerod Boyd, and bassist/vocalist Ryan Neff. Early demo recordings brought a contract with Rise Records and the issuance of their first album, 2009’s Apologies Are for the Weak. After extensive touring alongside Carnifex, blessthefall, and the Devil Wears Prada, the band entered the studio with producer Joey Sturgis, resulting in the 2010 release Monument, which reached number 76 on the Billboard 200 and marked their strongest commercial showing at the time. The following year was dominated by live dates, among them appearances on the Vans Warped Tour and co-headlining runs with We Came as Romans and Pierce the Veil. Recording resumed in early 2012, producing At Heart later that year. The Billboard-charting Rise of the Lion followed in 2014, and Deathless, the band’s fifth studio album, arrived in 2015 to favorable notices.

In 2016 Miss May I exited Rise Records for a new agreement with SharpTone, whose roster already contained We Came as Romans and Attila. The April 2017 single “Lost in the Gray” preceded the May arrival of the aggressive Shadows Inside. Will Putney was brought in to helm the seventh album, 2022’s punishing Curse of Existence.