Founding members of Dying Fetus Jason Netherton and Sparky Voyles, along with drummer Matt Byers, put together Misery Index and released this debut Retaliate in 2003 on Nuclear Blast , now being reissued and remasted by Metal Mind Productions. Those familiar with Dying Fetus' brand of technical death/grind metal will no doubt enjoy this similar, though more groove-oriented offshoot. Featuring plenty of off-kilter, brutal & technical riffing, blinding drum blasts (Byers replaced the equally talented, and also ex-Dying Fetus member Kevin Talley) and absolutely maniacal vocal growls, Retaliate is certainly not for the squeamish or faint of heart. At 35 minutes long, this eleven track release moves at a breakneck pace, the extremity of it all engulfing the listener in a maelstrom of savagery and hate, unrelenting and absolutely pulverizing you into submission. As brutal as this all is, the songs are so precise and machine-like, especially cuts like "Demand The Impossible", "Servants of Progress", the complex " Birth of Ignorance ", and the razor sharp "History is Rotten", that it's hard to not be impressed, regardless of whether grind is your thing or not. On the downside, Retaliate does tend to try to 'out-brutalize' every other extreme metal release out there, and the end result is a few too many songs sounding almost identical with similar type riffs, blast beats, and tortured vocals, but, if you are into this sort of thing, Retaliate is one of the more impressive outings in the grind genre.
Misery Index would go on to grow and mature with each release, and most recently put forth the acclaimed Traitors album. If you want to see where it all started for this Maryland based band, give this one a spin and prepare to be pummeled into oblivion.
Track Listing
1. Retaliate
2. The Lies That Bind
3. The Great Depression
4. Angst Isst Die Seele Auf
5. Demand The Impossible
6. Order Upheld /Dissent Dissolved
7. Servants of Progress
8. The Unbridgeable Chasm
9. Bottom Feeders
10. History is Rotten
11. Birth of Ignorance
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