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My Ticket Home

An Opportunity To Be

Written by: BL on 02/09/2011 06:25:33

My Ticket Home are a relatively small, fairly new and unknown metalcore/post-hardcore band from Columbus, Ohio in the US who recently got signed to Rise Records. The first thing to note is that My Ticket Home hail from the same birthplace of scene superstars Attack Attack! and this debut EP "The Opportunity To Be" was recorded by one of their members. While that will probably give enough indication for you to decide whether or not to even give this record a chance, know at least that My Ticket Home aren't a clone of Attack Attack! even if there are a couple of similarities. That said if you were one of those who fervently disliked Attack Attack!'s self titled effort, I'm fairly sure you won't find much to like here either.

"The Opportunity To Be" features mostly a run of the mill post-hardcore/metalcore hybrid that is such a hit with the younger generation right now, the groovy pseudo-southern flavoured aggressive riffs, the heavy breakdowns, and screamed and sung vocals. Simply said, nothing too original occurs here and while it's somewhat comforting to know that there are no silly gimmicks involving electronics or autotune, there isn't a whole lot else to really get too excited about as the heavy parts of the songs are highly reminiscent of For The Fallen Dreams and at times even like an electronically stripped Attack Attack!. All that being said, guitarist and singer Sean Mackowski (who sang on this EP and their yet to be released upcoming full length, but is no longer part of the band) is actually a very decent vocalist and keeps the melodic parts far more bearable. His voice uses a strong range and it actually has a thicker, more defined tone than a lot of metalcore/post-hardcore vocalists nowadays who haven't seemed to have hit puberty just yet. Not just that but when My Ticket Home does decide to go full melodic, the guitars start get more interesting with the addition of catchy melodic leads.

In terms of picking the best of what's available, "Half Hearted" and "Dead Weight" may seem like ironic names but actually have some stellar clean vocal segments which I think more than just fans of the genre can appreciate, the latter having a catchy chorus that's more fitting of pop rock surprisingly and kind of makes me wish the verses weren't so bland with the chugging guitars. To round off a trio of mildly noteworthy songs, the EP titled closer may seem like too much of a cheap attempt to sound sincere although despite the cheesy piano and guitar backing, it still manages to show off the singing prowess of Sean well and the key change right at the end was a nice touch.

There isn't a whole lot else for me to say at this point, "The Opportunity To Be" certainly missed it's opportunity to be anything more than a passing moment caught in a rapidlly growing and unforgiving scene, where everyone competes in sounding like everyone else. It's unfortunate for sure but if you are interested in the band then I would advise you to wait for their upcoming full length (which yours truly will no doubt end up covering), or go listen to the songs recommended, otherwise there are spoils to be had elsewhere.

Download: Half Hearted, Dead Weight, The Opportunity To Be
For the fans of: For The Fallen Dreams, Ten After Two, An electronica-less Attack Attack!
Listen: Myspace, Facebook

Release date 09.11.2010
Rise Records