Funeral for a Friend’s second release in just over a year, “Memory and Humanity,” feels like an attempt to bring back fans that were turned off by the band’s 2007 release, “Tales Don’t Tell Themselves.”

Fans were split over “Tales.” Many felt the album was an abomination, while the rest felt it was the band’s best work to date. Their latest album brings both factions back into the mosh pit.

FFAF is a band that refuses to release the same album twice and is a rare example in which the strategy actually pays off for the band.

Drummer Ryan Richards makes a triumphant return with his iron lungs—and a few piano parts—on “Memory and Humanity,” and Kris Coombs-Robers and Darran Smith are as impressive as ever on guitar with their trademark solo-inspired leads. The simple guitar leads on “Maybe I Am” provide a fantastic enhancement to an already catchy tune. The chugging verse of “Rules and Games” demonstrates how FFAF is still as intense as ever but has dropped brutality in favor of melody.

“Memory and Humanity” does not feature any potential mega-hit songs, but FFAF makes up for it by providing one of the most consistently well-written collection of songs of the year. For the first time in FFAF’s discography, they wrote an album that should be transferred to MP3 players in its entirety.

“Waterfront Dance Club,” a single off the album, is actually the weakest track and comes off as the band saying, “hey, old fans, come back, we didn’t mean what we said!”

However, “Beneath the Burning Tree” and “Kicking and Screaming” are two of the album’s better tracks. “Beneath the Burning Tree” features some of the band’s best guitar work, while “Kicking and Screaming” wins the award for “catchiest chorus” on “Memory and Humanity.”

Additionally, Davies upped his game with lyrics on this outing. The lyrics on “Kicking and

Screaming” are a blatant celebration of life, while the song “Ghosts” tackles child abuse.

“Memory and Humanity” is the band’s best work to date, but many older fans will find themselves too invested in the band’s previous work to embrace the album completely.