  
Lifeforce/Sound Pollution
Swedish fresh death metal merchants MISERATION release their third outing, spiced up with both eight string guitars and the Indian harp Esraj. Christian Älvestam, vocals, Jani Stefanovic and Marcus Bertilsson, guitars, and drummer Oscar Nilsson (not sure about bassist Christian Lundgren) are hellbent on going for the so called difficult third album. They don´t go in unarmed, the album is said to be filled with fresh ideas, folk instruments, special vocal styles etc. So, what came out of it?
Opener “Stepping Stone Agenda” is a fine piece of identity-creating Swedish death metal with razor-sharp drumming. The end it off with piano without losing credibility amongst the brutality loving hordes…I believe. The arch-growl of “Children of the Flames” is not exactly more of the same, but rather more of too typical death/black with thrashy aspirations. But, hey, don´t count them out! “Ghost Barriers” and Ciniphes” are possibly the best pair of Swedish death you´ll hear in 2012. The melody, the cozy double bass drumming, the guitar patterns and almost impeccable arrangements all point to a high mark. Unfortunately a couple of indistinct tracks, most notably the fast but non-descript “Black Rain/White Light” puts an end to the entrance to my top ten 2012. But with the aforementioned greats plus the soft yet heavy and ALICE IN CHAINS friendly “On Wings of Brimstone” and the nearly totally majestic closing track “Waylayer” they have proven worthy of a honorable mention. The theme of the album is human suffering during major tragedies in history. It should be about breaking new grounds and succeeding...largely. With a few daring steps more, the preserving of the daring and unusual moments and a stable line-up to carry this mission out MISERATION will be a rock solid name for the future. Check them out!
Track List
Stepping Stone Agenda
Children of the Flames
Ghost Barrier
Ciniphes
Hill of the Poison Tree
Disaster Cage
On Wings of Brimstone
White Light/Black Rain
Tomb of Tephra
Waylayer
www.lifeforcerecords.com www.facebook.com/miseration.official
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