"The Old Me" is a song by American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band

Memphis May Fire Memphis May Fire is an American metalcore band formed in Denton, Texas, and currently signed to Rise Records. The band currently consists of lead guitarist Kellen McGregor, lead vocalist Matty Mullins, bassist Cory Elder, and drummer Jake Garla ...

. It serves as the first single off of their sixth studio album '' Broken''. It peaked at number 19 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart in March 2019.

Background

The song is the first single from the band's sixth studio album, '' Broken''. It was first released on September 21, 2018, almost two months before the album's release. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was later released for the song on November 6, 2018. The video, directed by Caleb Mallery, is meant to match the song's meaning and represent an internal struggle with oneself, according to

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Matty Mullins Matty Mullins (born July 3, 1988) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the metalcore band Memphis May Fire and touring lead vocalist of alternative band Anberlin. Life and career Matty Mullins was born and raised in Spokane, Was ...

Composition and themes

The song features heavy

guitar riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

s and

palm muting The palm mute is a technique for guitar and bass guitar known for its muted sound. It is performed by placing the side of the picking hand across the guitar's strings, close to the bridge, while picking. The name is a misnomer as the muting is ...

and deep drum beat that builds into a

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

with soaring clean vocals, along with a brief

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

with

screamed vocals Screaming is an extended vocal technique that is popular in "aggressive" music genres such as heavy metal, punk rock, and noise music. Screamed vocals are usually harsh, loud and aggressive, used to create an angry, emotional or intense tone. I ...

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

described it as an "energetic" track with a "catchy chorus" with a pleading chorus of “Tell me that I’m gonna be fine and there’s nothing left to fear/Cause I’ve been losing sleep/Trying to get back to who I used to be/Where is the old me?”. Mullins described the song of being about his personal struggles with

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

and depression. The song's music video was meant to mirror the message, with Mullins describing it as representing "the two versions of myself that are constantly at war with each other."

Reception

'' HM'' magazine had mixed feelings on the song, citing it as representative of the album of a whole - lyrically genuine, but "rarely dig

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

deeper than the surface".

Personnel

Band *

- vocals * Kellen McGregor - guitars * Cory Elder - bass * Jake Garland - drums

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Me, The 2018 songs American rock songs Memphis May Fire songs