MISCREANCE
MISCREANCE “Convergence”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Ah, this act takes me back in time to when technical thrash and early death metal were dating each other in the late 80’s/early 90’s. So much modern death metal is either the primitive “caveman” type or hyper-technical deathcore. MISCREANCE is neither. If you are pining for the days of ATHEIST’s “Unquestionable Presence” or PESTILENCE’s “Testimony of the Ancients”, you will cry in relief after hearing “Convergence”.
There’s no doubt those two albums are the bulk of MISCREANCE’s influences, but they do them proud. This is technical extreme metal on a high level. It doesn’t go overboard like so many modern techsters do, but it can be challenging to keep up with the shifting time changes and sometimes abrupt switches in tone. Vocalist Andrea Feltrin (who is also the drummer here...talk about a tough job!) is a dead ringer for Martin van Drunen in his PESTILENCE days. “Flame of Consciousness” ignites the album and immediately the PESTILENCE and ATHEIST vibes are strong. The tunes are fast and thrashy and one could have an interesting argument about if MISCREANCE swings more to the thrash or death metal side of the fence.
Sometimes there are some sudden changes to a jazzier tone, as in “Fall Apart” or “The Garden”, which keeps you in suspense, but the pendulum always swings back to crushing metal peppered with fluid technical solos. “No Empathy” might be the most aggressive and purely punishing track on show, while “Alchemy” will make your head spin with angular riffage where the faintest whiff of VOI VOD can be detected. Fans of the more modern forms of tech-death would do well to check out “Convergence” and hear a different spin on things, while those getting bored with primitive death metal are also encouraged to give MISCREANCE a spin. Although the inspirations are blatantly obvious, this is one cool listen.