 | Artist: Misery Signals |
BSTscore: 84
Let me get this out of the way before you potentially jump to a conclusion. Controller is a good album by a great band. I enjoyed the work as a whole, and it's a solid upgrade over Mirrors. Instrumentally, it's the Misery Signals we all know and love—technical guitar work, tight percussion, and complex song structures that meander back and forth between aggression and melody.
However, Misery Signals is like a high-performance engine running on all but one cylinder.
Vocally, this album falls short. While I put up with Karl Schubach's monotone growls on Mirrors, I've grown tired of them on Controller. The vocals rarely wander past the midrange, which causes some of the denser songs to be quite difficult to sit through, such as "Labyrinthian." The vocals have a tendency to mesh together into a bland blanket of sound—covering the good stuff. Also, the attempts at singing are inconsistent in quality and oftentimes clash with the flow. There were many times I wondered how Jesse Zaraska, Misery Signal's previous singer, would have fared with the material.
Granted, the vocals aren't atrocious. They aren't even bad. But, they are average at best and adversely affect the music. Schubach has his one trick scream down to a science, but that's far from enough to match the stellar instruments. It's truly unfortunate.
Nevertheless, the class of this album comprises the yin and yang "Weight of the World" and "Coma." "Weight of the World" is a furious three minute salvo, featuring nice injections of melody near the end. "Coma" ramps up the melodic quotient with intricate strings and a diverse framework. Other notables include "Parallels," "Set in Motion," and "Ebb and Flow."
What can I say? I knew what to expect with Controller. It's a good album, and I still enjoy Misery Signals. I guess my tolerance has waned a bit with the band's primary weakness. This release should be in 90 territory, but I have to listen to my heart—and my ears.
Musicianship: 95
Vocals: 70
Creativity: 85
Impact: 85
Favorite Song: “Weight of the World”
You can also read Rob's take on the album.
Misery Signals—"Weight of the World"
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