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| Misery SignalsOf Malice and the Magnum Heart2004 Ferret Music 
  Review by: Elliot Imes See others by this writer Misery Signals official site (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on June 4th 2004
If there’s one thing lacking in metalcore today, it’s passion. There are so many bands out there who are doing the exact same thing as the next, going through the standard motions of “breakdown, metal riffage, scream.” For a while, it seemed that the genre was dead, with no hope of being revived. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
One of my favorite albums... This is an album that set the bar high for every other band playing metalcore. A killer release. i love it i love it i love it...awsome guitarist!!! this album is amazing. this album fucking rips, great vocals and great passion wich is what metalcore is definitly lacking these days...great job guys one of the best metalcore albums to date. It has actual emotion and feelings instead of just breakdown after breakdown. It has some of course, but there is actual musical content unlike many of the bands saturating the metalcore world. they need a new person to write lyrics that isnt 5 years old. the guy two down from me is a fucking loser and has no balls! the guy two down from me is a fucking loser and has no balls! I've had this album for roughly a year give or take a few days and it still makes very regular appearances in my cd player. Definetely my favourite metal album of 2004. I was disappointed it didnt make anyones end of year toplists but whatever I still love it I thoughtlessly bought this album having mistaken the band for the far-superior Misery Index. My fault entirely--what is NOT my fault, however, is the sheer crassness and unoriginality of this record. If you've never heard a "real" hardcore band before and are still rocking out to Atreyu in your mom's basement you might dig this. Fans of Victory/Solid State/Ferret-esque mallcore garbage probably swoon over this self-absorbed crap. Trendy "metalcore" groups are the new boy bands, get used to it. You'll all be embarassed for having liked this fashionable bilge when you grow the fuck up. This is possible the best metalcore albm ever. You cant get enough of this masterpiece. The guitar work is astonishing, the drums will beat you to the ground, and the vocals are some of the best out there today. They also throw down some wicked breakdowns that you can dance to all night long. There is so much passion and heart into this albm, especially the lyrics, that is why it is my favorite albm. Everyone who likes metalcore should go get this albm......now........ every other metalcore band wishes that their songwriting was as genius as these guys. this record has put my faith back into a dying genre, its really amazing. Misery Signals - Of Malice and the Magnum Heart i had the lead singer lick my scrotum! I was suprised upon finding tracks online one day, which eventually lead me to constantly listening to their songs over and over. I put them on a mix CD eventually and still couldn't get enough of em. Finally saw them Live, at Hellfest no less, and they were just as amazing live as on their CD. Good review up there as it states the obvious goodness of this album well. Loved this cd. Makes rotation daily in my car, no questions asked. Drums are fucking amazing, lyrics are briliant, guitar is tight and flows flawlessly, and the bass pounds you into the ground like no other. This will be at the top of my fave's list for a long long time. I like this. I don't know how much yet, cos its only early days, but the music is fantastic especially on the instrumental song and the standout track for mine, "The Year Ended in June". The singing kinda reminds me of early Poison the Well just to state the obvious: it shouldn't matter in the slightest what a band looks like, the "look" of hardcore has changed over the years but the bands that mean what they say still mean what they say. For all i care misery signals could wear tracksuits and traffic cones on their heads the album is absolutely mindblowing, the melodic bits are immense and its sooooo heavy. I agree with the reviewer about the lack of passion in modern metalcore, theres a million and one bands in the emo/screamo/hardcore/metalcore whatever umbrella and few of them can back up genuine emotion with the kind of imagination and technical ability MS have in my opinion. Of course everyone digs different music and its not up to me to say what to listen to, i just wanted to share my opinion that this is one of the best hardcore records i've heard in my life, i have had the cd on repeat for weeks on end now and still find it inspiring, moving and rocking with every listen. whatever you think of them for being on ferrett (which may i remind you all has been putting out this music since long before it got so popular) i think MS are raising the barrier with this album and frankly i can think of few bands who can measure up, in my opinion it makes just about every other metalcore album around sound stale and weak, there isn't a single riff or idea you can reference to another band (unlike killswitch, as i lay dying etc) except maybe 7A7P/hamartia etc and the lyrics mean something and aren't just about killing girls or whatever (yawn fucking yawn). if you like your hardcore deep and intelligent you'll realise that this is a landmark record. If you are ready to write off a band because of the way they look, then I think you're really into the wrong kind of music, because punks are, as a rule, the ugliest bunch of guys you'll ever see. Silly me, I thought that we belonged to a community and scene that was able to judge people based on factors other than appearance. If image is that important to you, check out the new brittney spears, it may be more your speed. This is quite possibly my all-time favorite album! The guitar work is top-notch, kind of reminds me of Shai Hulud who the guitars go from heavy breakdowns to beautiful meody-driven clean parts without sounding thrown together! The bass works really well. The vocals are amazing. The dual channel effect envelops and intimidates the listener in ways no other metalcore album to date has ever really captured. The vocals seem to be on the oopsing far channels to give you that surrounded feeling. Last but not least, the drums are INSANELY tight! This is one of the best drummers I ever heard. Just when you think you've heard it all, track #10 comes in from out of right-field and totally throws you for a loop! Exceptional songwriting and musicianship make this one of the definitive must have albums for the last couple of decades!! i agree with the guy that was turned off by the picture. hmmm....okay.....looking at it.....don't know what's the big deal. ok......the fucking picture on their site jsut inspired me to NOT buy this album and then the other bands they were in when they were younger.......you know the ones that dont matter at this point If you want to get technical, there were 4 members of 7a7p in this band. Seeing at that Brandon Morgan filled in for the last little while when Jared quit the band. I enjoy lyrics that are straight and to the point to the comment way at the bottom.... score is for the comment about TRIAL how bout MISERY INDEX!! Yeah! nehemiah fuckin own. and ive got some coma eternal stuff, just yet to listen to it. Yes, there are actually 3 7a7p members in this band. Also, they do bring a different more melodic sound to metalcore, more passion than most. But saying some of those bands earlier, killswotch and stuff, their not good at all, very generic. Ive been into this music for many years, seeing bands come and go, but misery signals and 7a7p have always stuck with me, because they always were different. Other great bands in this genre are Nehemiah and the late and great Coma Eternal. Haha...Sweet..I just reviewed this last night..guess you did a bit before me. yes sir - the 7a7p influence is pretty strong in the songwriting, but with the better production, the music is even more toothy... Aren't members of the late, great 7 Angels 7 Plagues in this band?. That right there makes them automatically good. I havent heard these guys yet, so the score is simply to stay neutral until I have. However, I have issues with the reviewers comment that no other metalcore bands are doing anything interesting. Personally, I think Darkest Hour and Killswitch Engage are great examples of bands trying something new (a swedish metal feel in this case), and succeeding. New doesnt always mean good though, and good examples of bands doing what they do best and putting out great albums are Undying and Unearth (my opinion, of course). Not ragging on the band being reviewed here, or the review, just putting in my opinion on other metalcore bands that are worth hearing. not a bad record, but after about 100 listens through i don't care for it much anymore. branden morgan is an awesome drummer, though. I actually really into the layered spoken vocals that hit at the point always just before the breakdown. Those parts kinda remind me of TRIAL. Good stuff. How long till someone dismisses this band simply because they're on Ferret? As if Scarlet, Every Time I Die and Funeral For a Friend sound anything alike. |
