Miss May I

Miss May I
Miss May I in 2010. From left to right: Ryan Neff, Justin Aufdemkampe, Levi Benton, Jerod Boyd and B.J Stead.
Background information
Origin	Troy, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Rise
Members	Levi Benton Ryan Neff Jerod Boyd Justin Aufdemkampe B.J. Stead
Past members	Josh Gillespie

Miss May I is an American metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. Formed in 2006, they signed to Rise Records in 2008 and released their debut album, Apologies Are for the Weak through the label while the members were still attending high school. The album reached 76 on the Billboard 200,^[1] No. 29 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers, and No. 66 on Top Independent Albums.^[2] The band has also had some of their material featured in big name productions; the song "Forgive and Forget" is featured on the Saw VI Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, and their song "Apologies Are for the Weak" is included in the video game Saints Row: The Third.^[3]

The band has retained the same lineup since its formation, with the only exception being bassist Ryan Neff's leaving in 2007 who later returned to the band in 2009. Miss May I released their second studio album, Monument, on August 16, 2010 and their third album, At Heart on June 12th 2012.

History

Formation and early releases (2006–2009)

Miss May I was formed in 2006, in Troy, Ohio with the original members being Levi Benton, Justin Aufdemkampe, BJ Stead, Ryan Neff (who left in late 2007 to join Cincinnati band, Rose Funeral and was then replaced by Josh Gillespie), and Jerod Boyd.^[1]

In late 2007, the band released a 5-track EP titled Vows for a Massacre followed by their 2008 demo the next year, both of which were self-released. This demo contained 6 tracks, including "Architect" and "Tides", which would later on be featured in their first full-length album, Apologies Are for the Weak in 2009. It was after this release, that the band was signed onto Rise Records.^[1]

Monument (2010–2011)

According to the website of producer Joey Sturgis' Foundation Studios, Miss May I had booked studio time in May 2010 to ostensibly record the follow-up to their debut album.^[1] According to Ryan Neffs Twitter, the new album would be sometime released in August along with a new music video.

On June 11, 2010, Levi Benton announced that there would be a track on the new album called "Colossal" and that the album would be called Monument and confirmed its release to be on August 17th of that year. The artwork for it was also later revealed, featuring the iconic MMI Lion from the cover of the band's debut. On September 2nd, 2010, Miss May I released their music video for "Relentless Chaos" Directed by Thunder Down Country. In December 2010, Miss May I then confirmed plans to be appear on Warped Tour 2011.^[1] The album peaked at 10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, 15 on the Top Independent Albums chart, and 31 on the Top Rock Albums chart.^[4]

The band appeared on the We Came as Romans Merchnow.com + Arkaik Clothing "I'm Alive" Tour (September - October, 2011) with Close To Home, Of Mice & Men, and Texas in July.^[5] Following the "I'm Alive" Tour, the band co-headlined the 'No Guts No Glory' tour with Pierce the Veil, Woe, Is Me, and Letlive.^[6]

At Heart (2011-2013)

After finishing up touring for 2011, Miss May I entered the studio throughout the beginning of 2012 to work on a new album set for release sometime during the summer. On March 8th, 2012, the band announced that they had completed work on their new album titled At Heart and were set to release the album on May 29th 2012.^[7]

To make last minute changes (as said in an interview by Levi Benton), the band bumped back the release, to June 12th, 2012.^[8]

The band soon set out on tour with Whitechapel, After the Burial, The Plot in You, Rescued By A Sinking Ship, and Structures throughout March 2012, followed by a European tour with Parkway Drive, The Ghost Inside and Confession through April. The band also set out to tour with Whitechapel, The Ghost Inside, Within the Ruins and The Plot in You in the US during May 2012.^[9] Miss May I released (Hey Mister) on May 3rd on Rise Record's YouTube page. The band played on Warped Tour in the summer of 2012,^[10] and headlined the AP Tour in the fall. The band supported Bullet For My Valentine on their March 2013 UK tour alongside Halestorm.

Fourth studio album (2013-present)

It was recently announced that they are back in the studio, working on new material for their fourth studio album, for a late 2013/early 2014 release with producer Terry Date. Levi Benton released a press statement regarding their plans for the new album, "We don’t know a release date. We’re hoping for this year. We’re shooting really hard for this year but it might be early next year. We’re going to a really big producer this time, which we’re really excited about, and changing up the team again. We’re trying to change it every record just to see what we can do. I guess since we got a lot of acceptance on our last record, we have a more open door to doing crazier stuff. We were like dumbing it down a little bit before and now we can go full out. We’re working with Terry Date, he did Pantera, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, the new Bring Me The Horizon record. We’re going to go 100 percent new Miss May I. We’re bringing the lion back as the art cover and we have some really cool new ideas." ^[11][12]

As of September 14, 2013 Miss May I have finished the initial recording sessions for their coming new album with producer Terry Date at Studio X in Seattle, WA. The group expect to return to the studio in November to wrap up tracking the effort.^[13]

In early 2014, Miss May I will be returning to the UK/Ireland with Killswitch Engage, Trivium and Battlecross.^[14]

On November 20, 2013 the band described the sound of their forthcoming album via Metal Hammer with vocalist Levi Benton stating that "no two songs sound the same" and "...After a couple of years touring and growing, we’ve come back to writing and have been adding different influences. There’s some slower, heavier stuff, thrashier parts and no two songs sound the same. We’re doing something to challenge ourselves and our listeners but please both, too.".^[15]

On December 14, 2013 the band announced that they are looking for a fan to get a tattoo of their infamous lion design for the cover of their forthcoming album.^[16]

Style

The band plays both metalcore^[1] and melodic metalcore.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Religious views

In an interview with Dayton Daily News writer Madeline Bush,^[21] when asked what they thought their music conveyed, Benton replied:

Band members

Current members

• Justin Aufdemkampe - lead guitar (2006–present)
• Levi Benton - lead vocals (2006–present)
• Jerod Boyd - drums (2006–present)
• Ryan Neff - bass guitar, clean vocals (2006–2007, 2009–present)
• B.J. Stead - rhythm guitar (2006–present)

Former members

• Josh Gillespie - bass guitar, clean vocals (2007–2009)

Discography

Albums

Other releases

• Vows for a Massacre (self-released EP; 2007)
• Demo 2008 (self-released demo; 2008)

Music videos

References