Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam comes back for more with his new melodic death metal outfit Miseration. I've read in some places that they're more "Christian" themed and I can see where there could be a possible arguement for such a label. If it hadn't been for me looking for more music by Scar Symmetry alumni I wouldn't have ran into this virtual unknown that showcases alot of variety in such a short time.

The album opens with a basic drum intro, much like "Mind Machine" from Scar Symmetry and kicks in with "Thrones." This song is almost a clone of the aformentioned, aside from the clean vocal chorus that isn't heard on this track but also pays homage to groove metal bands as the intro does also remind me of the opener of Fear Factory's Demanufacture and seems laden with more than just your run of the mill melodeath. Rolling over to "Perfection Destroyed" the band showcase a more melodic side, with the chorus being cleanly sung. With "Seven Are the Sins" this is where the label to Christian could be made and even though I don't see it, the song is one of the highlights of the disc itself. "World Lethality" slows down the bone crushing tempo to an almost stand still, but fits perfectly. At this point, if you aren't drawing comparisons to Älvestam's other band you obviously have not heard much from them. I'm not trying to say that they're a generic rip off, or copy of Scar Symmetry, but it's hard not to say that they sound almost identical when you have the lead singer from the band tearing through tracks that are in the same genre. "The End Designed" brings about a symphonic death metal atmosphere during the intro but quickly turns back to the ferocity this band brings. On "Chain-Work Soul" Älvestam brings out the clean vocal, guttural growl combination again in full force. Now, I'm going to close it out by saying that it seems that the longer the songs on this album, the better they are. "Thrones" is a perfect opener to the album and sets a tone that there will be no let up from the massacre.

This disc is absolutely perfect in almost every way. I've listened to it quite a few times already and it's hard to find anything really bad to say about it other than the above mentioned Scar Symmetry similarities which is only natural. I will say that with Miseration, Älvestam does a bit more on the death metal side and drops the clean singing on every track, which makes it more mentionable as if it were on every song, you'd come to expect it. Here he takes a different approach and it pays off. If you haven't already gotten yourself familiar with this band, just listen to a track or two and you'll be loving this album too.