MISERY

"Fifteen Years of Aggression" (Self-produced; 2008)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

One of the things we love to do here at RoughEdge.com is post more than one review, especially when two reviewers have such differing opinions of a particular album. With Misery's "Fifteen Years of Aggression," my friend Metal Mark and I couldn't disagree more.

I loved "Fifteen Years of Aggression," and found the bass and drum work to be some of the most effective I've heard in years. True, the songs are simple rock'n'roll in the hardcore/90s metal style but they're enhanced greatly by the thundering rhythm section and the vocals of John Lo Casto, whose gruff voice is rough without being a chainsaw growl.

Big, bold, killer stuff here for my money. This album flat out kicked my ass and I couldn't wait to hear it again.

No diss against my friend Metal Mark, whose opinion I value almost as much as my own (almost), but I thought "Fifteen Years of Aggression" was a great CD.

For more information, check out http://www.myspace.com/miseryny.

"Fifteen Years of Aggression" (Self-produced; 2008)

Reviewed by Metal Mark

Misery hail from Long Island, New York and were formed in the early 90s. They are even stronger than ever in the year 2009. This album was produced by Life Of Agony guitarist Joey Z. After looking at the cover at the band name my immediate hope was "please don't let this be as typical as I fear it will be." Unfortunately, my hopes didn't deter the inevitable.

Misery play a loud, but thoroughly limited, style of metal with a few hardcore splashes. I hear some Pantera, Black Label Society, Biohazard and Pro-Pain only far more basic than any of those bands, which should tell you something of their lack of originality. The first thing that struck me upon sliding this disc in my stereo was that it's very loud. That's more volume than heaviness as a few minutes reveals this band to be more bark than bite.

Vocalist John Lo Casto gives a good effort and he a strong set of pipes, but he just doesn't have enough back-up or strong enough material to be totally convincing. Still, the vocals are the strongest part of Misery. The guitars are by-the-book and simple with limited variation and a distinct lack of emotion. The drums took me back to ninth grade typing class because they just sounded a mess of thin clicking that relies very little on rhythm. They try to convey a heavy-handed attempt at a powerful mid-90s style of metal, but they just can't pull it off.

Something tells me these guys might sound better live with some room to move around in and an audience to feed off of. That still doesn't alter the fact that Misery try to sound like they are fire and instead come across like a few scattered sparks and a lot of smoke. You have undoubtedly heard this kind of fist pumping material done by more talented bands.

For more information, check out http://www.myspace.com/miseryny.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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