May 4, 2010

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

2008’s Traitors was a monster. Misery Index roared back from the white noise of Discordia with their best album to date. Their flawless fusion of death metal and grindcore was probably better than anything Naplam Death has done.  On Heirs to Thievery, they don’t mess with success.

The two-minute burst of “Embracing Extinction” will undoubtedly start vicious riots if played life.  Everything that has made Misery Index the saviour of Grind is still in place.  While most of their current peers are stuck trying to unsuccessfully recreated the glory of From Enslavement to Obliteration or bury themselves in gobs of boring blast beats and breakdowns, Misery Index sticks to what they do best and just let it rip.

“Fed to the Wolves” starts out like something Jason and Sparky’s previous band with the whacky soloing but the song quickly morphs into a burner that has some melody.  The middle of the song slows it down and features some spectacular shredding from Sparky and Mark. “The Carrion Call” is built upon riff after ferocious riff, great grooves and a variety of tempos while the title track finds the band at its fastest at times. Things get almost progressive with the seemingly endless tempo and riff shifts on “The Illuminaught.”  The song teeters between pure blasting Grindcore but then slows into mid-paced Death before lunging back the other way. “The Seventh Calvary” proves Misery Index can be just and violent and a snail’s pace while the salvo of “You Lose” is a nauseating concoction of devastating riffs and knee-jerk tempo changes.

One noticeable difference about Heirs to Thievery is the more focused solos and hints of melody. While these elements have appeared on previous albums, the band really never had a handle on it nor was it used to this extent.  Here they successfully weave some harmonious harshness among the overwhelming chaos. But even then, Heirs to Thievery is no for the faint of heart as it does not skimp on the brutality. Drummer Adam Jarvis is a machine and should get more praise that he does and some of the riffs contained within are simply awe-inspiring.

The production is flawless and the performance is a feat of endurance. It’s hard to say if Misery Index has outdone themselves here, but what they have done is created a most worthy follow-up to Traitors.  In fact, these two albums combined are heaviest right and left hooks ever delivered in the genre.  Highly recommended.

Release Date: May 11th, 2010
Label: Relapse Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Embracing Extinction
2.  Fed to the Wolves
3.  The Carrion Call
4.  Heirs to Thievery
5.  The Spectator
6.  The Illuminaught
7.  The Seventh Cavalry
8.  Plague of Objects
9.  You Lose
10.  Sleeping Giants
11.  Day of the Dead

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Misery Index - Heirs to Thievery