With a roster just chock-full of incredible talent, you almost have to expect any band on Solid State Records to put a smile on any hardcore fan's face. The label is constantly finding new artists to join the elite group. One of the newest additions is a band called MyChildren MyBride, who claim that through the power of God, we are Unbreakable.

MyChildren MyBride takes several different types of metal and slams them altogether on this album. "Faithless" features an almost 80s-metal guitar intro, while "Boris The Blade" borrows some death metal growling vocals, and parts of "Severance" could resemble a slightly-less-chaotic The Devil Wears Prada. However, after several listens, even with the music stretching all over the hardcore spectrum, there's not a lot that stands out. In fact, the music is done really well. Methinks the problem (if you can really call it a problem) lies in the vocals. The vocals sound good, but with the exception of some of the death metal growls, they usually stay the same in every song. Top metal bands like Demon Hunter and Norma Jean incorporate screams that fluctuate throughout the song, but MCMB vocalist Matthew Hasting likes to keep his vocals at the same pitch for most of the album. A little more variation would make this album a bit stronger.

As for the lyrics, MCMB is focused on their Creator. While not every song may speak directly of or to God, some speak of victory ("We withstood, we defeated, we held our ground, no longer choking on failure's thick heavy scent, we move on, tired but still prepared, eyes ahead, no turning back"). Others are about love ("Let's get lost in this moment, I'll do anything to make you mine, inhaling each other's ecstasies, admiring your God-given design, together, forever, finally our souls can intertwine"). And of course, "HEADSHOT!" is about...well, what record would be complete without a song about Halo? ("I am the master chief, no one can mess with me, saving the world from catastrophe, unleashin' BXR's and killing sprees") Just between you and me, I'm not sure what any of that means.

Sometimes a debut is hard for a band, as a lot of pressure is put on them for the album to be awesome. Then when the album doesn't blow everyone away, it can almost hurt the band, making them seem like a disappointment. I was not blown away by MyChildren MyBride's Unbreakable. But at the same time, I wasn't really disappointed. You would do well to at least give the album a listen. It's good metal, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new metal band to add to their collection.

- Review date: 2/6/08, written by Scott Fryberger