Misery Signals “Controller” CD

While I quite liked, "Mirrors", the last effort from Misery Signals, I really haven't listened to it very much at all since it was released, because their debut, "Of Malice and the Magnum Heart", was just so fucking good that I'd always prefer to listen to it instead (realistically, it'll always be their best, it's just a fact). That being said, "Controller", their brand new album (again on Ferret Music), seems to strike me as a hint more of a return to form of sorts—but without looking backwards, per se. Right off the bat the extremely intricate arrangements and technical riffing of their debut is there, complete with loads of energy and emotion, shifting effortlessly from chugging breakdowns and octave chords to totally incredible melodic attributes and loads of discordant textures with tons and tons of layering, creating all sorts of subtle little complexities. Some of the more spacey sounding textures and effects heard throughout "Mirrors" appear here as well, but they're far more restrained and well-integrated into the core sound the band developed on their debut, so they don't come across as stale or generic in any way, which is awesome. But they also push those types of influences further in a few areas, leaning towards a truly "progressive" sound with a number of bizarre yet gorgeous clean passages and weird little effects accents that almost touch a Cynic-esque level here and there (And that's pretty much never a band thing!). I know that a lot of people bitch and moan when bands of this nature switch it up with some singing vocals here and there, but there's barely any singing here, and I really like those vocals during the few instances that they do present themselves, so... shit, more of that down the road could prove quite interesting. And Devin Townsend's production job certainly doesn't hurt the overall impact. Everything sounds pretty god damn huge, but with a great sense of clarity that really lets the interplay between the various guitar and bass parts shine (Through some great panning, too!). Misery Signals has definitely been among the very top "metalcore" bands out there for that past 4+ years, and with this album they've certainly solidified their post right there as possibly the best still active band operating within this particular realm of the genre right now. You just don't hear this impressive level of musicianship and emotive songwriting quality together very often. Period.

Misery Signals "Parallels"

Get It

Ferret Music (CD)
Interpunk (CD)
RevHQ (CD)
Very Distribution (CD)
Amazon.com (mp3)