Album Review: The Amity Affliction – House of Cards (Pure Noise Records)

Following a tumultuous few years both personally and professionally, The Amity Affliction return with their brand-new album, ‘House of Cards’. The Australian melodic metalcore band will release it via Pure Noise Records on April 24th, 2026.

A lot can be said about the current state of The Amity Affliction and there’s no argument that they’re a band trying to rediscover their identity following the departure of founding bassist/clean vocalist Ahren Stringer. An identity that the band still seem unsure of as newcomer Jonathan Reeves sets about finding his place within the band. Which, if I’m being brutally honest, doesn’t feel that necessary.

Clean vocals were once a cornerstone of The Amityville Affliction. Yet here, the word shoehorned comes to mind and that opinion is given even more weight when you consider how much growling Joel Birch does on the record. Case in point? Kickboxer, the album’s first proper track following an industrially and electronically charged atmospheric intro called Vida Nueva. I dig the track, but it is notable for the lack of clean singing.

Still, it’s the kind of track that excites the metal senses, but unfortunately, it’s a rare beast on this record. Which really can be summed up as flavourless and dull for the most part.

The problem lies in the lack of imagination and the sense that clean vocals were far from the priority, as evident by the title track and following Heaven Sent. Both painfully formulaic. Whereas Bleed goes the heavy metalcore route again, but makes a mess of trying to infuse electronica in. Then there is Beso De La Muerte. The most pointless piece of music heard this year.

It’s not all utterly predictable and disappointing though. The likes of Break These Chains has a touch more creativity thanks to groovier guitars, a better vocal balance, and some cool melody. I also quite like Swan Dive, a track with imposing riff stature, and Afterlife, with its strong drumming.

Positives, but positives that need to be dragged out of the album and positives that are heavily outweighed by negatives. It’s never a nice feeling to dislike a record this much, but The Amity Affliction need to be doing so much better than this. Hopefully they can properly regroup, find what makes them special, and come back stronger than ever.

The Amity Affliction – House of Cards Track Listing:

1. Vida Nueva
2. Kickboxer
3. House Of Cards
4. Heaven Sent
5. Bleed
6. Break These Chains
7. Beso De La Muerte
8. Swan Dive
9. Speaking In Tongues
10. Afterlife
11. Reap What You Sow
12. Eternal War

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