Misery Index: Live in Munich

It shouldn't surprise me to see another metal album with a decaying corpse on it; the image, for most bands, has become a timeless one, a sign not only of the style of music, but also of what to expect by way of lyrics, attitude, and sound. This time, though, we get two major metal images mixed into one. The corpse, after all, is wearing a papal hat, bringing to mind all the other bands currently obsessed with putting their energies into attacking organized religion. Someone even put up flyers suggesting that Papa Emeritus from Ghost A. D. become the new Pope. Good thing he wasn't the first choice.

Misery Index is one of those bands I've missed in all my years of listening to metal. As I listened to this album, though, two things struck me: First, these guys sound terrific live. I'm sure there's been some production-level help after the fact, but I can't help but praise the bright and vibrant sound of the album as a whole. Second, these guys play with an amazing amount of energy. It's too bad this isn't a live DVD; I'd love to see these guys take to the stage. Special mention goes to Adam Jarvis's drums--he pounds away at those things like they are trying to kill him. And he keeps it up for the whole set. An impressive feat for any player. The rest of the band keeps up nicely, bringing all they've got to getting the audience on their feet and into the pit.

The music on this release is consistently strong. I really liked "The Carrion Call" and "The 7th Calvary" but the other songs offer up equal amounts of adrenaline-fuelled energy and strength. This isn't a long album, a point that surprised me, especially since live albums tend to survey a career at greater length. Still, this is a good way either to discover what these guys are about. The album concludes with a new (not live) mix of "Siberian" that also sounds great.

Track Listing:
1. Sleeping Giants
2. The Carrion Call
3. You Lose
4. The 7th Calvary
5. The Spectator
6. The Great Depression
7. The Illuminaught
8. Traitors
9. Siberian (2012 Remix)

Added: March 15th 2013
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1947
Language: english

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