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LeFT are one of the latest in the long line of up and coming heavy bands from Michigan and with this, their Medea debut, they manage to make their dive for the water, that when eventually hit, will send waves splashing throughout the scene. Combining a metalcore style similar to Will Haven with the boldly militant conviction of Project 86 and the melody of say, Taproot, the sound captured here is admirably ambitious and open minded, trying on everything from ballads to enraged dead on metal.
Band frontman Matt Dalton leaves quite a lasting impression with his diamond in the rough charm and impressive versatility, sounding like three or four vocalists rolled into one as he combines enraged metalcore barks with Taproot reminiscent vocal melodies that are perforated by spoken word / hardcore styled pieces which vigorously jump out for the listeners attention. The guitar work included here is bit reclusive, using medium range tones coated with a crisp distortion to scratch out loose riffs, that utilize a fair amount of open chord drones and feedback to stitch up their parts. Backed by solid bass playing that exhibits flair with a few intriguing variations, the stringed portion of this disc is fairly solid ordeal though and provides a thick blanket of sound that rests atop the energetic percussion.
The band definitely have their moments of brilliance on this effort and their ability to successfully pull off a variety of different styled sub genre's while still retaining a familiar root characteristic is quite respectable. From the straight forward chugging grooves of the Will Haven tinged, "Choke", to the semi rapcore flavor of "Insecurity", all the way to the down tempo plod of "Sore", the band definitely approach their song writing with a clean slate and its their drive to try out different facets that will easily help them appeal to a broader audience. Unfortunately though, along with the moments of brilliance, there are also moments of mediocrity. At times more than a handful of the song structures become predictable, offering little substance. There's also a tendency to lose momentum by dragging parts out longer than necessary, using breakdowns and bridges that never fully capitalize on any aggressive buildup or intermission, instead almost blindly walking forward, hoping to hit upon something solid. Another small downfall of this disc is the way the guitars tend to drown out the sound of the bass and at times even the drums, which although isn't a fault of their own, does reduce the depth of the scale of sound that could have been achieved. For what it is, "My Disease" sets the base foundation for a colorful group who have a considerable amount of talent to offer. If nourished and allowed to grow in perhaps a more focused or even moderately more compacted manner, there's no telling what they could be capable of, because all of the ingredients for a great band are on display in differing levels. At present though, their ailment is not much more than an average cold, intense the first few days and rapidly fading afterwards.