Misanthropæ is a blackened grindcore band hailing from New York. That seems like an uncommon description for a band, and it is. What this debut full length is in reality is an emotionally devastating assault on one’s musical resilience and stamina. This album is one full length of straight blast beats and it is incredible. Bleak, harsh, and heavy. This isn’t your every day black metal release. Its here to take no prisoners and destroy who dare block its path.
I know it gets thrown around a lot, but this album is truly devastating. The drums do not let up what so ever. Constant assault of blast beats and incredibly fast and tight fills intermingled with dissonant guitar passages that leave the brain winding around in circles in an anxiety like panic. The vocals, barking misanthropic hatred at you the whole time. There’s no release, and it is beautiful. A strange way to describe such a bleak album but it really is. The music is almost hypnotic as it is dreadful, and just oozing with character. The lyrics are also beautifully written. Dark and very emotional, they tug at your heart strings as much as it brings a cold chill down the spine thanks to the powerful delivery. They’re a perfect fit for such a release.
Its hard to find much to nit-pick in this album. Everything is just so tight and compact and delivered in an amount of time that really doesn’t feel like its too over bearing or exhausting to listen to. Especially with all the blast beats, the songs are written in a way to allow the listener to almost rest. Certain slower, dissonant guitar parts that break in between the drums to help space it out, because I’m sure even the player needs a break now and then.
This album as a whole really has left me speechless. The amount of creativity and force behind this album delivers this to the next level and is easily album of the year material to me. I’ve found my self hypnotized to the misanthropic noise this band produces and rightfully so. Its almost contemplative the way the album is. I found my self get really focused into what ever task I was doing while this was playing, the drums acting as a sort of meditative mantra on misanthropy and hate. While the sole member describes the band as blackened grindcore, I personally feel the band is a bit more than just that. While the elements of each are there, I just feel like that label is too limiting for something that really gets almost experimental with just how the guitars and drums blend and clash all at the same time. Beautifully made and I think everyone should give this a listen hands down.