Misanthropia/Envy The Dead/WormHoleDeath Records/2024 Full Length Review

 

  Netherlands's  Misanthropia  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  moves  away  from  the  symphonic  elements  of  previous  releases  and  goes  for  more  of  a  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  album  "Envy  The  Dead"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  A  very  horror  orientated  soundtrack  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  also  introducing  clean  playing  and  keyboards  onto  the  album  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  a  lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  faster  parts  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  death  and  thrash  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  fast  riffs  as  well  as  the  album  also  having  its  progressive  moments.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  covering  horror,  necromancy  and  Jack  The  Ripper  and  other  historical stories.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Misanthropia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Malediction  And  Laughter"  "Maze  Of  Madness"  and  "A  Deadly  Embrace,  A  Sinister  Grace".  8  out  of  10.

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Misanthropia/Convoy Of Sickness/Massacre Records/2020 CD Review

 

  Misanthropia  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal and  this  is  a  review  of their  2020  album  "Convoy  Of  Sickness"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks.

  Melodic  chants  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  vocals  also  having  their  grim  moments  as  well  as  adding  in  some  semi  clean  vocals  at  times,  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Misanthropia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Silent  War"  "Sorrow  Made  Flesh"  "The  Eagle  And  The  Hare"  and  "Through  the  Eye  Of  the  Needle".  8  out  of  10.

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Misanthropia Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

We did several shows, a lot of promotion, Signed by ‘Via Nocturna’, we designed new merchandise like t-shirts, posters, buttons etc.

2.In April you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

It difficult to give an exact description but it it’s probably best described as progressive symphonic black metal with our own twist. The sound is really transparent so every single instrument has its own place into the mix. The keys give it an epic and bombastic sound but not to dominated.
Because of a big line-up change the overall sound is also complete different as our former albums.

3.This is your first album to be released in 6 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Those years where not really lost years. We developed our own sound even more, did have a big line-up change and put ourselves to the limit to create a masterpiece product. All of this has taken its time.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Our album Omertà has become a concept album. As the name already describes it has all to do with the most evil part of our society. The Mafia. Specially between 1920-1950 in America. Big names will pass the revue like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Vincent Mangano, Richard Kuklinski and others.
In our opinion the higher meaning of the black metal division is to overrule everything and create your own freedom.
The Mafia Families overrules everything. What is more evil than this?

5.Originally the band was known as 'Throned By Tyranny', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Misanthropia'?

At that time we were a complete different band, our interest and line-up changed, we buried TBT and Misanthropia was born.
We were inspired by the band ‘Ancient Rites’ and their song ‘Total Misanthropia’.
Misanthropia describes our worldview. We have a very pessimistic view of society. Sometimes it seems there is only hate, war, distrust of each other and so on. It is a morbid world we’re living in.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

For example we’ve played with Mayhem, played on festivals like Hellfest, Occultfest, Krachtstroom Festival alongside Rotting Christ, Sodom, Shining, Enthroned, Equilibrium, The Hellbound Cremation Tour with Nattas-SE (feats Mike Wead ‘King Diamond’), Veghel DeathFest and DocFest. Those were great shows. We have a little aggressive and tight-playing stage performance.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Right now we are in contact with some agencies to arrange shows and maybe tours for in the coming year.

8.The new album was released by 'Snakebite Productions', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

It’s a Dutch label, in the beginning we had a good feeling with this organization but at the end we discovered this label didn’t fit our needs as much as we expected they would do.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic black metal?

Since we signed the label ‘Via Nocturna’, our music is gone worldwide. The reactions we get from our worldwide fans are really positive. They like the Mafia concept because it’s out of the box. And they are blown away because of the brutal production, done by Mike Wead.

10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Pepijn Heilbron (bass guitar) plays also trash-metal (Dead Man’s Walk), Dennis Schoenmaker (guitar) and Bram Koller (guitar&vocals) have also an old-school black metal side project (Winterkrieg).

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Our goal is to enter all big stages and spread our word all over the world. Also creating many more new albums will be a part of our future.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Many different music styles have given us inspiration. Classical music, rock music, doom/ trash/ black-metal. Maybe to much to mention.
But some of the bands we prefer to listen to are for example Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Kampfar, Cradle of Filth, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Carach Angren (our Dutch colleagues), Dark Funeral, Emperor, and so on…

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Music is our world but next to that for example American Classic Cars and Motorcycles.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

First of all we are really happy we’ve found our partner in crime in ‘Via Nocturna’. They give us the boost we need to go worldwide and they spread our word perfectly. We are also astonished by all the great reactions the fans are giving us. Our third album Omertà is just the beginning. From here we’ll blast into the future. Let’s meet at our upcoming shows and join our Membership of Violence and Bloodlust!

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Misanthropia/Omerta/Via Nocturna/2017 CD Review

  Misanthropia  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  symphonic  and   melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of their  album  "Omerta"  which  will  be  released  in 2017  by  Via  Nocturna.

 Keyboards  and  saxophones  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into a   fast  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  they  also  mix  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together.

  All  of  the musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  track also  uses  clean  guitars  and  there is  also  a  decent  amount of  death  metal  influences present  throughout  the  recording  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  the  keyboards  add  in  a  touch  of  prog  rock.

  Misanthropia   plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  epic  and  symphonic  with  some  death  metal  touches,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Misanthropia  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Omerta"  "Torture"  "The  Infinite  Water" and  "A  Membership  Of  Violence  And  Bloodlust".  8 out  of  10.    

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