MY SMALL COMMUNITY – A Day Becomes A Lifetime

Are these guys that emotional? From this release one may notice an MTV Emocore band. However, one can notice a Nu Metal act. Both characteristics are true for this group. My Small Community originated in Budapest, Hungary back in 2006 from the remains of a group named Mind The Gap. As was mentioned in the beginning, these guys play a mixture of Melodic Nu Metal and MTV Emocore. There are some influences of Punk Rock but on rare occasions. In 2007 they released their first full album, A Day Becomes A Lifetime, which is the main focus of this review.

The production, handled by the guys at Bakery Recording Solution, is exceptionally good while fitting the sound to the standards of the sub-genre. One person which was involved in the recording was part of another good work with his band – Peter Bodnar, the bass player of fellow Metallers Blind Myself. The producers made sure that the sound is exactly equal to the sound of American bands doing the same deal.

Musically, the material is pretty simple in comparison to other Nu Metal acts. Yet, it reflects a lot of black and white. Sort of aggression and power mixed with emotions and calmness. A problem that is a bit disturbing is the lack of solos. It is well known that since the rise of Nu Metal and especially EMO, solo parts were abandoned in some way. But in all 12 tracks of this album there is not even one solo break even in the band’s cover of Alice Cooper’s “Poison”. The solo part is replaced by a fine heavy riff but it’s still not a substitute to a solo section. There is a tiny, short section on “Disappear” that has a melodic solo, but that can’t be recognized as an item. The song “Before You” has a main riff that sounds like a riff made by Blink 182, which is not that original. In addition the main riff of “Before You” and “Into The Unknown” is almost the same. The difference is that in “Into The Unknown” the riff is played in a lower tone. The last track “…And The Chopper Returns”, has a nice title to it. But what is it supposed to mean? For almost a full minute it displays good aggressive riffs and angry vocals but to what end?

The main character in this release is the vocalist, Bodoczy Zoltan. This guy’s ability on the vocals is very diverse and made with great accomplishment. He is able to coordinate a clean , soft and emotive voice with high and low end, “Metalcoric” growls and screamings. The track “What Can I Do With You” emphasizes his good work with angry tones. The other members of the band do as expected within this sub-genre. The parts are simpler than that of the vocalist, but they work with great synergy.

This album can be divided into two sections. From tracks 1 – 7 are the good tracks. Tracks 8 – 12 are the fair and less than fair tracks. From the good tracks section there are some great ones that deserve a mention. “Let It Burn” is the best track of the album. It has some interesting melodic riffs, the vocals, on various parts, sound like Metallica’s late Hetfield vocals with some rough edges. It’s a shame that some small breaks of melody do not a full time solo make. The opener, “The Choice Is Yours” and “Open World” are solid tracks with catchy choruses and nice melodies. “Endless Day” is a great track with more than fine melodies, and it’s got a great chorus.

Overall, My Small Community, made a nice debut here. Their main problem is that the structures of the songs are almost identical and their choruses, on most tracks, sound the same. In the future they should infuse various solos into their songs to make them more than nice and of course much more interesting for the listener. This band can do it and can rise up and make a difference if they want to. The skies are the limit.