While I love the band name, it sure as hell is misleading: this is a far cry from the Bestial War Metal I had expected – and yes, I’ll have to admit that it was the name that tempted me to pick this record up. MISANTHROPIC RAGE is a duo from Poland, playing… well, Black Metal. I am using this term very loosely here, simply because I don’t have a clue how to call it. The production is slick and clean without being too polished, the vocals are varied and portray a whole variety of emotions, from disgust, depression and sorrow to rage and sheer hatred. The vocal range is impressive, let me tell you… it covers all territories between screams, shrieks and growls, and when the clean singing sets in, it’s not far from Ozzy or Messiah Marcolin. No shit. All of this rides the sonic waves of the churning sea of Absu (if you know what I mean), and I’ll be damned if this doesn’t sound like MORBID ANGEL on a diet of Mephedrone and Benzodiazepines. It’s hypnotic and psychedelic to the point of being unpleasant, neither really experimental nor "avantagarde", more the URFAUST school of Rock. In other words, hard to classify and even harder to listen to. But this is the beauty of forward thinking music: it challenges the listener. I can’t say that I necessarily like "Gates No Longer Shut", but it wasn’t meant to be liked. This is the kind of music that Euronymous would have put out on Deathlike Silence. The band can be found at www.facebook.com/misanthropicrage and the record label at www.godzovwar.com