Artist: Misery Index / Mumakil
Country: USA / Switzerland
Label: Power-It-Up Records
Formats: Split 7″ EP / Split CD
Year: 2008
Misery Index seems to have a very nice and productive year, 2007 have brought them several releases and a few tours. To end this successful 2007 this split mini CD (with four tracks of each band) has been released through the highly productive German Power-It-Up Records.
Misery Index opens with their well-known blasting and grindy death metal, with all their trademarks clearly present. One of the things I like best about Misery Index is their socially awareness which shows through their lyrics that are not about any gory subjects or whatsoever, a bit like Dying Fetus on this matter. Their intelligent and technical death metal with its grinding edge is still rather easy to listen to, unlike a lot of their peers that simply drown in their technicality or simple display of power and fretwankery. With only four tracks one can’t deny to be left in the cold a little, wanting more than only a few minutes of this. Luckily these Americans are always spawning more releasing.
After the pretty well produced Misery Index side, Mumakil sounds a bit bleak and underproduced. With the shrieky guitarsound it almost has the buzz of a black metal record (underlined by the cold screaming vocals). Having only heard a couple of Mumakil songs over the last few years they were kind of new to me, but it definitely tastes good. When gotten used to the sound and the non-existing production these four songs really have something to offer. A bleak frontal attack of fast old school grindcore with the same kind of attitude as described on the Misery Index part. A nice surprise.
Definitely a good buy this split CD. For the collector, its also available as a split 7” in different colours and splatter vinyls, all in all in seven different versions in a total of 1000 copies, a run of 500 splatter vinyls and 500 coloured vinyl EP’s.
