Artist: Misery
Title: 15 Years of Aggression
Type: Album
Label: self-released
As the title suggests, there’s nothing subtle about this album. The Long Island branch of Misery have indeed been around for some 15 years and appear to have attracted a cult following with their brand of loud and violent music. Of the bands I know in this genre, Misery are in the same sort of league, but more “melodic” than Die Young, more sinister and less punky than “This is Hell” and more brutal than “Too Pure to Die”. “15 Years of Aggression” is loud and violent, in fact the louder it’s played the better. It’s well-organised hardcore and although the tracks are based on unpleasant and negative themes, there’s no philosophy behind it. They just get on with it, and I respect them for that.
I think if all of the tracks carried on like the first two, I’d be concerned. Sure, it’s raw and energetic, the vocalist sounds like he’s spent a night shouting at people and the music is straightforward and in your face battery and violence. There’s a clear Punk/Hardcore flavour to this, but where is it going, I asked myself? “I’m Inside” has a riff which sounds like Pete Burns’s “You Spin Me Round”, and it all steps up after that. There’s no third person in this. It’s all about you and me. Hatred and scorn is what we’re talking about, and the vocalist makes his point in the first and second person: “I Hate Your Face” “I don’t like you” “You’re worthless”, “you will never …” and so on. “Save You” has the hardcore chanting but has a good Grind/Death feel to it. Musically, “My Time” and “Pain Laughs at Pain” win the honours with some excellent catchy guitar riffs and solos. There’s some great movement in there to accompany the violence. “Pain Laughs at Pain” was my personal favourite. The beat is driving and the vocalist gets his point across by sneering repetition of the chorus line. The guitar work on this and “Take the Power Back” has the tone of Rammstein, and the intent that goes with it is undoubtedly the same as their Teutonic counterparts. “Bullet” starts with the whispered put-down “I don’t like you, I don’t hate you”. A machine-gun riff cuts in and out before we’re getting down and boogieing on down to that sharp and catchy roll of aggression that is Misery’s way of enticing us into their unpleasant world. . The way this track builds up hatred is exemplary. “Steal My Background” sounds like a particularly nasty playground chant. It’s not melodic in any sense but it’s angry.
You’ve just got to take this for what it is – in your face aggression, hatred, scorn and everything else that’s nasty. That said, it’s got some cool riffs, it moves about, the guitar work is sharp and there are some interesting switches in the pace and sound to reinforce the mood. I probably wasn’t supposed to but I enjoyed it.
http://www.myspace.com/miseryny
Andrew Doherty
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