![]() Smoothly transition between groove and gut-busting breakdowns without stutter Songs like “River King”Īnd “Through Vales of Blue Fire” see the band churning out aggressive, punchyĬuts with percussionist Branden Morgan hammering out massive drum patterns that ![]() Same thought process holds true with Ultraviolet. Was.” Although that statement prefaced the release of Absent Light, that Morgan said “If the time came that our sound took a drastically differentĬourse, then it wouldn’t be Misery Signals, and we wouldn’t pretend that it ![]() In a statement made in November of 2010, guitarist and founding member Ryan Sees Misery Signals creating something that is quintessentially them. The real question, however, remains: do Misery Signals still have the same appeal and energy that defined their immensely influential sound all those years ago? Ultraviolet Ultraviolet is the band spanning their own spectrum-touching on their most overt melodic influences in the same breath as they touch on their most ruthless and aggressive ones. When rumor first surfaced of their reunion in the early months of 2016, the internet was abuzz with excitement-now, nearly four years, a pandemic and a global shutdown later, Misery Signals’ long-awaited comeback release is upon us. Hell, even bands with members who might not have even listened to Of Malice and the Magnum Heart or Controller are likely influenced by it to some degree. Erupting out of nowhere in 2002, the awe-inspiring fashion in which the band have fused groove metal, metalcore, hardcore and elements of various metallic subgenres has provided a path-a foundation, even-for bands operating in the same vein. Heavy music is no different, with countless varieties and variations out there-hell, probably even more than I know, but within metalcore at least, they all share a common thread: they were all probably influence by Misery Signals to some degree. ![]() Everything, from our favorite foods, types of people, hell, even the colors and wavelengths in which we see, exists on a spectrum. Nevertheless, in the big picture of hardcore and heavy metal's evolution through the new millennium's first decade, Controller at least shows Misery Signals to be in full control of their destiny and their chosen craft - even if it's no longer considered cutting-edge.Everything exists in a spectrum-there are really precious few (if no) absolutes. I mean, is a little sense of outright spontaneity too much to ask for, when an infamously crazed genius like Devin Townsend is acting as producer? Add to that a relative shortage of unexpected twists, beyond a little taste of Meshuggah's wacky rhythmic lurch to start off "A Certain Death," and some nice displays of dreamy atmospherics in "Coma" and "Reset," and the established Misery Signals template would surely feel far too restricted and safe, were they any less commanding of its every nuance. The fact that vocalist Karl Schubach competently matches his bandmates' every musical mood swing with alternately grunted, barked, sung, or spoken passages goes without saying but there are times when one wishes that the entire group would simply loosen up a little, relinquish some of their iron-fisted performance discipline, and get down with their wild side. ![]() Typical energized jolts of catchy, concise metallic hardcore such as "Nothing," "Labyrinthian," "Set in Motion," and "Homecoming" fluidly rotate crunchy, bruising, yet agile riffs with luminous, oftentimes angelic harmonies, capable of latching onto listeners' memory banks like some evil sort of hot taffy. And, for what it's worth, Controller slots quite comfortably alongside either of its very accomplished predecessors, showing that Misery Signals continue to excel at commingling both sides of the heavy/light emotional spectrum that defines their chosen genre. With the release of their third album, Controller, in he summer of 2008, Milwaukee, WI's Misery Signals effectively cast their lot with the collective fate of the rest of the melodic metalcore movement - in sickness and in health - as it gradually wanes in popularity on its way to being replaced by.oh, who knows? And who cares, both the group and its many fans might ask, since there's arguably as much historical precedent suggesting bands are always better off sticking to their stylistic guns, than hopping bandwagons in search of the next, fashionably trendy sub-sub-subgenre. ![]()
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