Active for over 18 years, Misery Index have built a reputation for their solid death metal sound and head on political lyrics. Fresh off the heels off releasing their new album ‘Rituals of Power’ (Read Our Review here) we sat down with the band to discuss their influences, musical direction and more. We also cover some of the most influential songs for the band (in no particular order).
We at Metal-Wani were impressed by the traditional death metal sound ‘Rituals of Power’ builds upon, the band cites a wider influence stating “It’s more of a balance of our characteristic elements of grind, punk, thrash, hardcore, and also death metal. It’s definitely not a pure death metal record. We’ve always had a varying balance of these elements, but this record is a bit of a return to form. It’s very similar to ‘Traitors’, but retains some of the other things we developed along the way.”
The well defined sound on the new album could also be attributed to the stable lineup since 2005 and the band concurs by saying “Misery Index started as more of a Terrorizer: World Downfall pt. 2 with elements of punk and Dying Fetus type riffs mixed in. After a few line up shifts, things became stable for the most part in 2005. We really caught our stride in terms of balancing all the elements we wanted to hear by 2008 with the Traitors record. Adam and Mark brought their own flavors into the mix, and now Darin’s signature lead guitar style has defined the band since.”
Most Influential Song List:
#15. Deep Purple – “Perfect Strangers”
#14. Led Zeppelin – “Black Dog”
While many might be surprised by seeing the band quote Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as influences, Misery Index consider it more as a foundation, quoting “Well, you can’t just listen to metal only and write good music. You have to know and honor the deep roots of where this music originates. Otherwise the scope of your output becomes shallow sounding. These guys pioneered a lot of the sounds we use today…right down to the distorted guitar amp sounds.”
#13. Metallica – “Master of Puppets”
#12. Mercyful Fate – “A Dangerous Meeting”
#11. King Diamond – “A Mansion in Darkness”
The common ground with acts like Dead Kennedys can be seen in the common lyrical approach by focusing on struggle of the common people, the politically corrupt bureaucratic systems, etc. But, how effective are death metal vocals in sending across the message? Misery Index take a different perspective, “It can indeed be effective, but perhaps the effectiveness doesn’t need to be questioned. Our art is our expression, and these are the thing we feel we want to express, and, indeed, raise awareness. For the most part, we want to offer an unencumbered cynicism, and point of view not falling victim to popular trends and sound bite taglines. We want to offer historical context to thins point of view as well, and do it in a place where perhaps it is uncommon.”
#10. Dead Kennedys – “Kill The Poor”
#09. Queensrÿche – “Speak”
#08. Slayer – “Silent Scream”
One of the features of ‘Rituals of Power’ was the direct head on approach to lyrics as opposed to a more metaphorical approach taken on ‘The Killing Gods’. When asked for the reasoning behind this change, the band cite the current day political scenario as the cause, “The Killing Gods used a lot of allegory to create a somewhat fantastic dark atmosphere that one could metaphorically apply to reality. This album, on the other hand, is addressing issues very directly; the most direct being the songs “New Salem” and “Naysayer” where we attack fashionista infiltrators head-on. The reason for this was reactionary to our own work and our environments. We needed to address ills of the present in a very direct way, and not through some vehicle.”
#07. Pantera – “Regular People”
#06. Dan Swanö – “Uncreation”
#05. Infestdead – “JesuSatan”
None of this is to say, that the band were not inspired by the death metal classics. When quizzed on which albums introduced them to the genre, the answer is composed of a list of must-listens including “Early Monstrosity, the first four Morbid Angel records, Cannibal Corpse’s ‘The Bleeding’, Death’s ‘Human’ and to stretch it out Cynic’s ‘Focus’ are a few.”
#04. Morbid Angel – “Maze of Torment”
#03. Entombed – “Supposed to Rot”
Moreover, coming from the Baltimore region, the band had a ton of local influences. To name a few the band cites “Next Step Up had a pretty big influence on Dying Fetus and Misery Index by proxy. Swarm of the Lotus were great. Also Triac, our friends in Pig Destroyer. The list goes on. Many great bands come out of that city. It’s a bit of a breeding ground.”
#02. Twilight – “Edge of Sanity”
#01. Sepultura – “Dead Embryonic Cell”
Misery Index members are listening to newer bands too on a day to day basis, and have tons of recommendations for their fans. The members quipping in mention “We only go out on tour with bands we like, and you should check out our European support The Lion’s Daughter and Truth Corroded. Also check out Visceral Disgorge, Cordyceps, Abolishment of Flesh, Gloom, Asthma Castle, Fulgora, Cast the Stone, and Scour.”
When asked what else is in store for Misery Index in 2019 after the album release, the band quickly shift focus on tours, saying “Touring in Europe, US, and South America as well as festivals.”
A curated Spotify playlist consisting of the tracks that have inspired Misery Index can be heard here.