Album Review: The Amity Affliction - Everyone Loves You... Once You Leave Them

Prolific if nothing else, The Amity Affliction are already on album number seven. Tweaking their well-worn sound on 2018's Misery just managed to stave off creative redundancy, but seemingly didn't have the desired effect of cracking radio stateside.

Perhaps as a response to this, the Aussie melodic metalcore stars have rediscovered their passion for heavy music. The infectious single All My Friends Are Dead seems a strategic attempt to reinforce this more aggressive notion, of which there is further evidence throughout the album. Groove-laden, arena-sized single Soak Me In Bleach ticks the boxes for fans with its mosh and singalong tendencies, and Joel Birch continues his lyrical catharsis. Baltimore Rain reinforces that the band know their way around a hook – it'll prove difficult to shift from your cerebral cortex. 

But there's pedestrian fare littered throughout, at times going through the motions, and others where the formula seems not so much tired as asleep on the couch, snoring loudly. The attempts to stray from the familiar don't really hit the mark either. Almost danceable, Just Like Me feels lukewarm. Not to mention the flimsy, limp pop of Aloneliness, its refrain of, “You tie the knot, I'll start the fire,” quickly grates, before the song overall flops.

Everyone Loves You... Once You Leave Them will see some new fan favourites vie for long-term set-list inclusion, but it's unlikely to be viewed as a landmark release within Amity's catalogue.