Today’s submission comes from Chicago-based metal/hardcore band Mairebel, who asked me to review their 2010 record “The Sky In Between Us.”

I promise to work hard to not be biased in this review, not because of some conflict of interest or ethical code, but I am just so sick of metal-core. These bands tend to all sound the same and, having worked security at many metal-core shows, I’ve been punched/kicked in the face dozens of times by 15-year-old kids in skinny jeans and bandanas. These bands tend to have specifically designed parts in their songs for moshing, and if I had a dollar for ever bass drop half time breakdown I’ve ever heard, Sallie Mae would have never known I existed.

Mairebel isn’t much different from their more popular peers from the Chicagoland area; bands like Miss May I who have toured the country and have sold more t-shirts than I could ever count. In that sense, the members of Mairebel need to market themselves better, because this music sounds like it fits in perfectly with that type of metal that is so popular right now.

The untrained ear may find this music either intolerable or generic, but there are some things that set this band apart. For one, the guitar work is pretty good for the most part. As expected, there are dozens of breakdowns. I mean dozens, like maybe two a song. However, outside of the generic breakdowns, the guitarist has some great clean lines that most metal-core bands never use, which makes the breakdowns more brutal, I guess. The vocals are typical “Cookie Monster” growls, but the drums are solid, and since the bass is totally mixed out of the record, there isn’t much there to talk about (which is too bad).

When Mairebel decides to slow things down, they truly shine. They can build up to a great crescendo, which I will give them kudos for even though often times it culminates in a part specifically designed for kids to start punching and kicking the air (or any security guards nearby).

However, this may hurt them in the long run. Kids these days that support bands in the same scene like their music fast and technical, but uncomplicated. They like ripping guitar lines, with specifically designed mosh parts, and tons of blasting double bass drum hits. Mairebel’s best moments are not when they get to those parts, but everything else. The kids won’t have patience to wait around for a seven minute song (though the nine-minute “When The Sun is Highest In the Sky” is the highlight of the record), but for the purposes of this review, it reminds me of early ‘90s screamo legends City of Caterpillar, and I dug that.

So, Mairebel is somewhere in between a very unique and original entry in an overcrowded genre, and a band that one can dismiss as typical metal-core; yet I urge them to keep pushing the envelope as time goes on. One day, breakdowns will go out of style, but musical talent and great songwriting never will.

Score: 3/5