Misery Index’s The Killing Gods Tweaks What’s Already Working to Great Effect

Before The Killing Gods, the reliability of Misery Index couldn’t be overstated. Even their so-so releases (the one-two underwhelming punch of Discordia and Traitors) still had a ton of blistering deathgrind on them. When Misery Index are operating at full power, they’re unrivaled in terms of punky brutality. So when Gregorian chant makes an appearance on their new record’s title track, it’s offputting. I think it’s generally a good thing for a band to work toward realizing their fullest potential. But then what about the bands who are just fine the way they are? The Killing Gods tweaks what’s already working to great effect, but the results present an interesting conundrum: what happens when the Misery Index we love makes some moves to become a Misery Index we don’t know?

The answer is… a little bit. The first five tracks are part of a collective song called “Faust,” and the song-suite’s theatrics are considerable. Not that Misery Index have been thriving in subtlety up until now, but their typical grind-you-out-of-existence approach is augmented by epic strokes. The melodeath leads that close out “The Calling” and “Conjuring the Cull” are surprisingly easy to digest. The attention to dynamics and detail in “Faust” reflect the band’s penchant for Bolt Thrower rather than the raging chubby they have for Napalm Death. And it’s fine. It’s excellent metal. But what Misery Index have been is so concrete (and wonderful) that hearing them start to inch out of their well-kept boundaries is alarming.

Of course, much ado about nothing: “The Killing Gods” starts with the aforementioned Gregorian chant, but less than twenty seconds in, drummer/machine-person Adam Jarvis hurls a nasty fill in there, breaking up the diversity with some good ol’ Misery Index intensity. If anything, The Killing Gods’ remaining two-thirds is done in by its “Faust”ian predecessor: it’s hard to go back to reliable Misery Index when they’ve just dropped some heavy progression on you. The panoramic scope of “Faust” can’t zoom back in on three-four minute bits of grindcore shrapnel without inducing the bends.

Then again, Misery Index were never really an album band. Part of the reason a comp like Pulling Out the Nails works so well for them is because they’re best on a song-by-song basis. The majority of the songs on The Killing Gods are great. The hand-wringing about venturing very modestly outside their comfort zone (alright, the hand-wringing completely on my part) is all for naught at this point. Granted, there’s nothing saying they couldn’t take a weird turn into gothic industrial. Then again, the digipack version of The Killing Gods includes a medley of Ministry’s “Thieves” and “N.W.O.” that adds the perfect amount of Misery Index shine. So even if they do go that route, they’ll still be pretty fucking brutal.

Misery Index’s The Killing Gods comes out May 27 on Season of Mist. You can stream the track “The Calling” here and pre-order the album here.