There are at least 6 other bands with the same name… makes you wonder if all words for a Death Metal band are taken? Of course not, but then again what the heck. This young outfit from Mexico presents their debut recording. 7 songs in less than 30 minutes. A formula that proves to be most of the time out of risk. First thing that one can notice is the strange snare drum sound. Here I am afraid the band tried to do something different in the drum sound and while not a total failure for the snare sound, it is weird. But the worst part comes with the double bass drum. They triggered that all the way to the point of sounding sterile, plastic and ultimately, lifeless. The music style is quite good, maybe a comparison can be done between the more aggressive sounds of ARCH ENEMY and some more melodic MORBID ANGEL with some AT THE GATES touches. The guitar riffs are very clever and the various tempo speed keeps this as an interesting listen. Vocals are also quite adapt to the style, if maybe a bit more of variation could be done, at least it is not your low growling nonsense. Pass the somewhat disturbing drum mistakes, and you can find also a quite proficient execution in all areas. The band is going in the right direction, but they need an overall better production, and please forget about the horrible triggers, even the snare sounds à la "St. Anger" is ok compared with those. They have the riffs, and whilst not doing anything remotely original, what they do is enjoyable… sans those things already explained that unfortunately haunts the whole record. www.facebook.com/pages/misanthropeband/409147902460641, www.facebook.com/pages/american-line-prods/132289543506339

Well the name MISANTHROPE is probably one of the most often used in extreme Metal. The Encyclopedia Metallum (one of my fave sites on the net) lists six bands with this name from all over the world. The MISANTHROPE we deal with here are a Mexican band, with BAAL drummer Oscar Uscanga and that band’s former vocalist Jesus Mendoza as the only prominent members. Active for a good three years now, "Symbols Of Misery" marks their debut album, or rather mini album. And this album is a real pity. Not because it’s musically poor or suffers from bad playing – it’s the recording of the drums that kills this record for me. Honestly, I don’t need a big production that took two years and two million Dollars, my standards are quite low, for a lot of albums I love (especially those from the 1980s) have a production that didn’t meet the standards to date even back then. So, a good production is quite overrated, in my humble opinion. But the drum sound on "Symbols Of Misery" baffles all description. Apart from being very thin in general, the snare drum sounds like a cardbox and the bass drums, especially in the hyperspeed parts, are a complete desaster. Even the sound of those first drum computer programs for the old C-64 was better… This problem spoils the whole fun of listening to MISANTHROPE’s first output. With a decent drum sound, songs like ‘Bestial Warlust’ or ‘Face Of Death’ might have been a feast for all those who like rather simple Death Metal the American way. Better luck next time, amigos! www.facebook.com/pages/misanthropeband/409147902460641 or www.alprods.net