Sound: Credit must be given to Shai Hulud’s guitarist and primary songwriter, Matt Fox. The only remaining original member of the Metal informed Hardcore band, Fox has kept the group’s name alive through the kinds of membership troubles that normally take down lesser musicians. Instead, the guitarist has taken the frustration, refocused it and channeled into what can arguably be some of Shai Hulud’s most vital material yet. Misanthropy Pure is the sound of a band pushing the boundaries of what technical Hardcore can be. For a unit that’s had it's fair share of shakeups, it’s hardly the kind of album a band running on it's last legs would turn in. Fox’s guitar riffing inspires, showing off some of the best playing he’s done yet. The elastic riff patterns on the title track alone are worth the album download. The cavalcade of twin-guitar harmonies on the spectacular “Four Earths” twist and turn like dueling cobras keeping you wondering where they’ll land next. What truly makes the “math-y” guitar riffing succeed is that they never sound out of place within the context of the overall picture of the songs. Nothing about them makes them seem like they were just thrown in for the sake of flash. A lot of the other bands trying their hand at this kind of style fail miserably when it comes to this aspect. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: With the intricate and propulsive nature of Shai Hulud’s material, the band needed a front man with a commanding presence and keen sense of timing. Enter Matt Mazzali. Although he’s making his debut with the group here, he quickly makes his mark on the menacing, “Venomspreader.” Mazzali’s vocal chords sound like they are laced with shrapnel as they punctuate every syllable with power and vitriol. While many other current Hardcore singers have widened their style with more traditional, melodic vocal sections, Mazzali instead goes for the “harder the better” approach here. The mixing of the band’s technical metal flourishes and his Jamey Jasta-like (Hatebreed) bark makes for a compelling stylistic marriage. Thematically, the album deals with humanity and how we’ve become our own worst enemies. This is an unforgiving mirror pointed right back at us and the words are as pointed as the music is complex. Even though the subject matter is weighty, the wordplay is ornate and full of the kinds of lines that jump off the paper it’s printed on. On “Set Your Body Ablaze, ” Mazzali shrieks, “A product of conceit so absorbed and vain that he thinks himself divine, he is sure to die.” Songs like that are more like indictments than anything else and their honesty should be commended. // 7
Impression: If one would have to choose a word to describe Misanthropy Pure it would definitely be “relentless.” Throughout it's 41 minute duration, track after track hits you over the head like a stack of lead bricks. You aren’t given much of a breathing break because the second one riff barrage ends; the next one comes buzzing out of the speakers. The album could have benefited from a couple of slower tempo tracks to break up the assault. Clearly, Fox set out to make a statement and with the aural assault of songs like “The Creation Ruin” and “In the Mind and Marrow.” His intentions come through loud and clear. The addition of former Rorschach and Kiss It Goodbye drummer Andrew Gormley on drums proves to be a perfect choice as his primal yet precise style falls in perfectly with Shai Hulud’s mode of attack. Gormley’s footwork on the faster material and ability to shadow the complex guitar and bass figures is truly inspired. Fans of his performances here should seek out his other current project, Playing Enemy. But as stellar as his appearance on Misanthropy Pure is, it’s clear that Fox and his explosive guitar playing is the jewel in the crown. // 7
- Carlos Ramirez (c) 2012
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He can sing chords?!