| CD REVIEW Misery Signals |
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Band : Misery Signals This Madison (Wisconsin) based band was forged in 2002 from the members from several bands (7 Angels 7 Plagues, Hamartia, and Compromise), when guitarist Ryan Morgan and bassist Kyle Johnson approached Compromise (Canada) singer Jesse Zaraska (who's been with 7 Angels 7 Plagues for a short while) for a new project which was to become Misery Signals. At that point Hamartia's Jeff Aust filled in on second guitar, and Ryan's twin brother Branden took over the drum position...but Aust would soon oust (sorry for that pun), joining With Honor later, and being replaced by Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) native Stuart Ross, whom was a friend of Jesse's and had played in The Pressure Point and Compromise. 2003 would see the band release a self-titled (6-track) EP on their own, and then signed to Ferret Music for the June 2004 release of their full-length debut Of Malice And The Magnum Heart, recorded with renowned producer Devin Townsend. Following some extensive touring, Zaraska decided to leave the band at the beginning of 2006, preferring to concentrate on a smaller project called Sleeping Girl (which would re-unite his with the remaining members from his previous act Compromise, two of 'em having fallen victim of a drunk driver while the band was on tour in Alabama). MS then put up an instrumental track on their MySpace encouraging anyone wanting to become the new singer to put their voice on it and send it back to the band. Thus, they found Karl Schuback from Saskatchewan (again from Canada), and it's with the new singer that the band recorded their second, August 2006 released, album Mirrors (I have to say that, when comparing the songs posted at the band's MySpace, Karl's is definitely a more Metal geared voice – with a touch of Death grunt – as opposed to Jesse's). Even before the release, the band had picked up their old touring profile, touring during April with Black My Heart, Burn in Silence, and Cassius, throughout June with Since By Man, Scarlet, and Ligeia, and then joining Between The Buried And Me, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Norma Jean, The Confession and The Fully Down for another US tour that kicked off on October 6th. In December came another tour, in the UK this time, with Between The Buried And Me and Darkest Hour. In late January (that's 2007, for those among you who have lost track) the band hit the road in the States again with The Human Abstract and headliners All Shall Remain, immediately followed (on March 29th) by European dates replacing the first with Textures (on their way home, Eternal Lord ware added to the package for gigs in the UK). Back home in May, the US live campaign continued into late June with the band partnered to I Hate Sally, The Chariot, and The Human Abstract (later dates seeing the inclusion of I Am Ghost to the package). Euhrm...I'm lackin' the info to tell you what other tours the guys have done during the rest of 2007, but the guitarists started working on the new material in August, even while finishing their touring cycle, and with all members contributing, the 10 songs came together pretty quick enough. Eventually, they headed out to the Black Cat studio in early February to start pre-production with Devin Townsend. According to the band, they've never sounded as agressive as on their third album, and much of that has to do with their producer now feeling far more comfortable with the band members (he had seperate talks with all of 'em) than the first time around...and being able to "push their buttons" more effectively! Stylistically, the band moves in the area of current-day Metalcore, with some extentions towards MathCore in the heavier parts, and some truly beautiful atmospherics in the calmer passages. I'd given the album a first listening session before even checking the available info, and therefore what I heard made me feel I was dealing with a Technical Death Metal act...but when push comes to shove, it's the band's background which categorizes it, isn't it? Besides, very occasionally you'll get to hear some clean, somewhat "Emo" vocals on top of the growling. Check out the music by surfing to myspace.com/miserysignals, where you'll find two songs off each album. Meanwhile the band has also recorded a video for one of the newly posted songs (check the blogs for the link). Currently, the band is still on the US Thrash And Burn Tour with DarkestHour, Parkway Drive, Winds Of Plague, and Stick To Your Guns (plus more, check current STYG review) which goes on til Sept. 3rd (check out the dates on their MySpace page for more details). Definitely a hot band to check out at festivals, I would say! 90/100 Tony. |