By: Mark Tremblay
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 23/02/2018
Label: Translation Loss
“Misery Rites” is a standout contemporary extreme metal record one of the most punishing heavy music albums of the year so far.
“Misery Rites” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Exhumation
2).
Misery Rites
3).
Embers
4).
Rot
5).
Paradigm Rot
6).
Exile
7).
Rumination
8).
Bitter Winter
9).
Burial Ground
The Review:
Canada’s
most complex grindcore band returns with “Misery Rites”. Taking a lot of
what the band had previously done on “Sowing the Seeds of a Worthless
Tomorrow”, and further pushing elements of black and death metal. The album
is one of the most punishing heavy music albums of the year so far.
From
the very start, the record opens on a different path. The sludge riffs on “Exhumation” would make Primitive Man proud. In true grind fashion, however, the album
is still full of blast-beats. They are interspersed with moments of dissonant
death metal riffage; “Paradigm Lost”
and “Exile” utilize this structure
in a way that make the heaviest moments stand out. This band really excels at
building peaks and valleys in its music for the listener.
Drummer
Josh Bueckert really stands out on this record. The drum patterns create a lot
of surprising twists and turns. The continual motion on tracks like “Burial Ground” showcase a variety in
drum patterns rarely heard in heavy music. “Misery Rites” is a standout
contemporary extreme metal record that sees this band moving further into other
forms of heavy music, and finding their unique sound
