Misery Signals - Absent Light

Misery Signals are back from a five year break with their latest album Absent Light. Fuck me - this is how you make a comeback.

These guys have always had a distinct sound and this year they've refined it somewhat but mostly they continue to do what they did in '08. Which is not a disappointment.

Opening with a somber acoustic guitar riff and slowly transitioning to Schubach's growling vocals is a great start to the album. Really powerful song and possibly one of my favourites.

Second track is Luminary, which many of may of heard previously on YouTube, as it was released as a teaser. As like each song on the album, this transitions perfectly from A Glimmer of Hope. This track brings hard-hitting drums and rolling riffs all on top of some great vocals. As the second song in the album, this sets a great tone for the rest and gets me really excited to hear the rest.

Moving through each song, another standout to me is Lost Relics. The drums really shine through on this song and Morgan's skill is brought to the forefront. As to be expected, a fantastic breakdown also features on this track.

On a full listen-through of this album, it is easy to get lost as each song transitions really nicely into each other, and is not jarring or badly mixed. Perhaps one small disappointment from this album is that Misery Signals haven't really progressed their sound much in the five years they've been away. In a sense it is great for them to be back producing the same great sound, but I would have liked to see a bit more of a progression in their sound.

Ryan Morgan and Gregory Thomas continue to create really interesting riffs and weave it into each song perfectly. Kent Wren on bass subtlety provides a deep and powerful backing which supports the guitars really well. All round a fantastic album, you couldn't ask for a better comeback.

Purchase here.

Full Track List:
1. A Glimmer of Hope
2. Luminary
3. Reborn
4. Carrier
5. Shadows and Depth
6. Lost Relics
7. Two Solitudes
8. Departure
9. The Shallows
10. Uras Minor
11. Everything Will Rust