Indeed, this track, followed by album bookend “Some Dreams,” are perhaps the best distillations of ‘old’ Misery Signals on the whole record. The rest of the track is equally as powerful, riding the line as only they can between saccharine post-punk leads, deeply personal, anthemic vocals, and deft off-time riffing that moves you against your will. That warmth is perhaps most evident on the second to last track, “Cascade Locks,” which opens with an unapologetically happy pseudo-shoegaze prelude, evoking feelings of fond memories with old friends. It is a return to the major uplifting leads they were known for, proving the glimmer of hope that was once lost is back again – this time to stay. Ultraviolet attempts to cleanse the listener of that rust with brighter, airier compositions. That album was decidedly their darkest, dealing with themes of hopelessness and letting go of relationships, using a sonic palette at times more stripped and barren than before. Ultraviolet is what they consider both a natural progression from and a direct thematic companion to Absent Light, where they left off with Schubach all those years ago. Fast forward to May of this year and the rumors proved true – the band began teasing new material and dropped the first single, “The Tempest,” to hopeful, tempered acclaim. News of a new album was never taken seriously until last year when they began playing a new song live, “Sunlifter.” This was actually recorded years prior as a B-side, though the band has since claimed it was the first track written for Ultraviolet, the fabled fifth album years in the making. The lineup remained, however, and continued to tour sporadically for the next few years. The future was still unclear – whether or not they would stay together or this was a tenuous bond reforged in that nostalgia to make a quick buck off their previous success was yet to be seen. Many others, however, longed for the nostalgia of the original lineup. This was a polarizing move many fans had grown to love Schubach and the sound the band had cultivated with him for the majority of their career. Miraculously, the very next year saw Schubach unceremoniously kicked and the original five members, with personal differences solved, embark on a tenth anniversary campaign for Of Malice. Misery Signals released what many believed to be their final album – Absent Light – in 2013, with the help of fill-ins (including Greg Thomas of END) and a crowdfunding campaign to mixed reviews. The band had already begun to fall apart as early as 2010, when two of the other founding members left to pursue other projects, leaving Schubach and brothers Ryan and Branden Morgan to keep the outfit alive. Original vocalist Jesse Zaraska was asked to leave due to personal conflicts after this, being replaced by Karl Schubach, who went on to record and perform for the band’s next three albums – the majority of their catalogue. Their 2004 debut album, Of Malice and the Magnum Heart, is highly regarded as a Mount Rushmore-worthy staple of formative metalcore works. It’s also exactly what you’d expect.įor those lacking context: Misery Signals was formed in the early 2000s after the breakup of 7 Angels 7 Plagues, with multiple members making the jump to the new project. I have a deeply personal history and connection to their music and the band itself in more ways than I care to admit (though, to counter any assumptions: no, I do not know them personally.) It is with this lengthy caveat that may ruin any credibility or perception of being an unbiased party that I believe myself to be a foremost authority in what I am about to tell you: They pioneered the art of progressive, melodic, atmospheric dynamics without sacrificing hardcore sensibility or appeal.
In fact, it’s one of my favorite conversations.
I would go so far as to say that I might be one of their biggest fans ever, having extolled their virtues and championed their underdog status as one of the greatest, most influential, and criminally underrated or overlooked metalcore acts ever to this day.
#Misery signals full#
It’s difficult for me to find a place to begin, and that’s because I will admit freely and with full transparency that Misery Signals is my favorite band of all time.
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