:: The Amity Affliction - Severed Ties

The Amity Affliction

Two years after the release of their highly promising ‘High Hopes’ EP, Brisbane based emo-rock/post-hardcore outfit The Amity Affliction are back with their debut full-length effort ‘Severed Ties’. Backed with their new label Boomtown Records, The Amity Affliction have finally released their long awaited new album, and it more than meets expectations. While on the whole it doesn’t stray too far from what the band delivered on their two previous EP’s, ‘Severed Ties’ does show a definite growth and confidence in the band’s song writing, and a toughening up of the band’s aggressive tendencies. The opening track ‘I Heart Roberts’’ is a great example of the band’s growing contrast between the heavier direction of their latest material against their ability to write memorable melodic choruses, while the addition of The Daylight Curse’s Helmet Roberts on guest vocals and the samples from 2007 film ‘Hot Rod’ add to the song’s atmosphere. The Amity Affliction continue to hone in on their strengths on the strong ‘Snitches Get Stitches’ and ‘Do You Party’, while ‘Poison Pen Letters’ and the haunting ‘So You Melted’ allow the band to extend beyond their proven post-hardcore sound. There’s some great contrasts between the catchy and the driven shown within ‘The Blair Snitch Project’, while ‘Jesse Intense’ is quite literally one of the album’s stand out tracks. Closing out the album is a faithful cover of Pat Benatar’s 1983 hit ‘Love Is A Battlefield’ and pounding ‘Stairway To Hell’, which is enhanced by former I Killed The Prom Queen/Deez Nuts vocalist JJ Peters. Potential was definitely heard in The Amity Affliction’s previous releases, and with ‘Severed Ties’, the band have more than delivered on that promise. The Amity Affliction is hands down one of the best post-hardcore acts on the Australian scene today.