I’ll level with you straight: there isn’t a single Misery Signals album I don’t love. However, when trying to objectively evaluate them based on impact, Of Malice and the Magnum Heart ends up pretty high on the list. It came out in 2004, when metalcore was only a nascent notion in an otherwise pretty stale and reiterative community (although there were some killer albums still being released that year). It’s without a doubt what you would call genre forming.
Ten years later, the band announced they would be reuniting their original lineup and hitting the tour route to play the album in its entirety. To say the least, I was super bummed to miss this opportunity. However, pro-shot footage of one of their performances has now made its way online. It’s not a of a tour show per se, but of a special performance for Rain City Recorders. Head on over the jump for the stream!
First things first: the sound is amazing. This was definitely recorded in a place that knows its stuff and a huge shout out is called for to Rain City Recorders for making this sound perfect. One of the things I love most about this album is how everything works together, vocals, rhythm and guitars. It’s certainly captured here. The second point that springs to the ears are the vocals: good lord, are they on point. Just listen to ‘Five Years’ if for some stupid reason you don’t plan to listen to the whole thing.
To sum up, this is amazing. Misery Signals remain one of the best iterations of metalcore and this footage is a rare glimpse into what made the start of their career so important and powerful. I know I’ll be turning to this recording whenever I need my Misery Signals fix checked.
-EK