Misery
Signals- “Absent Light”
“But the
gaslights all burned out, you left me here to walk along a burial ground. I
don’t blame you…we all give up eventually.”
“Absent
Light” is the fourth studio album by Misery Signals, a band which is no
stranger to most metal enthusiasts. Though if they were then it’d be somewhat
understandable, since the band took somewhere near five years to release this
record, their last record, “Controller”, having been finished in 2008. That
album was very well received by the general music community, it more or less
perfected the “Misery Signals sound” of crushing riffs and occasional
breakdowns, along with bright chords and beautiful melodies. Add the occasional
odd time signature, the rare poly-rhythmic section and some noteworthy lyrics,
and the listener is left with some of the most rewarding heavy music being made
these days.
The question
is: what can we expect from Absent Light? Well, if “Controller” is akin to
“Batman Begins”, then “Absent Light” is it’s “The Dark Knight”.
Everything in
this record is stepped up and force-fed protein shakes in comparison to what
they were five years ago. The riffs are heavier, the lyrics are more poignant,
the odd time signatures are weirder, and the beauty is…well, gorgeous. This is
a gorgeously heavy album, almost comparable to watching a good drama film.
Beauty in this album is almost always accompanied by darkness; for example, the
song “Carrier” opens with pretty guitar chords and a breakdown accompanied by
what sounds like light keyboard chords in the background, thus offering a sense
of near-peace. However, the song devolves into chaos as the chords become
darker and the lyrics more and more sinister:
“Never again
will she hear the raindrops fall against the glass and not feel a chill.
Transported to the night it all changed, and the sound of her door being forced
open…she awoke to the panic.”
This is the
album’s greatest strength. Misery Signals have become very adept at balancing
beauty and darkness with this album, and it makes for a very rewarding listening
experience. In fact the album closer (“Everything Will Rust”) is incredibly
powerful, as the use of vocalist Karl Schubach’s clean singing adds a very
beautiful dimension to the song.
Speaking of
individual contributions, it’d be a crime to go an entire review without giving
major credit to drummer Branden Morgan; while his performance on “Controller”
wasn’t lacking, “Absent Light” shows off just how much benefit five years of
practice can be, as he shows a proficiency of his instrument right up there
with genre stars such as Matt Halpern (Periphery) and Matt Greiner (August
Burns Red). Branden brings most of the technical prowess to the ensemble; nothing
that either of the guitarists or the bassist do is particularly impressive
technically speaking. Though, it is impressive from a compositional stand
point- every riff has a purpose, and it’s clear that nothing on this album went
particularly un-planned.
The only real
complaints with the record are that Schubach’s vocals are more or less still
the monotone screaming/occasional death growls from “Controller”, which was one
of the main complaints with that
album. The only varations in harsh vocals we get are the contributions of
Matthew Mixon on “Carrier” (from 7 Horns 7 Plagues), Todd Mackey on “Lost
Relics” (from With Honor” and Fredua Boakye on “Everything Will Rust” (from Bad
Rabbit). In addition, some might lament the relative lack of clarity in the
production; seeing as “Controller” was produced by none other than the
masterful Devin Townsend, “Absent Light” may feel a little low budget in
comparison. However both of these issues are rather nitpicky, and definitely
don’t detract from the experience of the album as a whole (depending on how
critical the listener chooses to be).
“Absent
Light” is, as a whole, a powerhouse of an album. It masterfully meshes beauty
with dark tragedy, and never leaves the listener wanting for anything. From the
desperate-sounding opening provided by “Glimmer of Hope” to the oppressive
closer of “Everything Will Rust”, and all the standout tracks in-between
(“Carrier”, “Lost Relics”, and “Shallows” just to name a few), “Absent light”
has proved that Misery Signals are completely capable of consistent excellence.
They represent everything that is refreshing and impressive in today’s metal
scene, and have given us a glimmer of hope for continued improvement and
excellence in heavy music.
