Pulling off a listenable mixture of death metal and grind is not an easy task. Some bands can do it very well, take Vermin Womb or Knelt Rote for example. More often than not, it can feel like derivative Mortician worship—a Hacked Up For Barbecue homage. Thankfully for Portland, Oregon's Misrule, his music steers clear of this pitfall; instead opting for a riveting mixture of hellish riffs and blast beats. S. Mahoney is at the helm of Misrule. This solo effort carries an energy similar to projects with three, four, or five members. It makes one wonder if Mahoney has a third arm or something…
Nevertheless, Misrule's debut EP, Forced to Suffer, arrives March 2. The EP itself clocks in at a terse eight minutes—yes, eight. A little more than two minutes of it comes from "Led to the Grave," the effort's second track. Punchy sections dedicated to sonic onslaught collocate with downtempo notes and feedback. It's an auditory equivalent of Mahoney taking a face, smashing it repeatedly against steel, then giving it a chance to breathe before doing it all over again.
Stream "Led to the Grave" below. Also, check out Sentient Ruin Laboratories for a preorder of Forced to Suffer.
