Mask of all Misery is the second release of Melbourne based band Meshiiak, coming 3 and a half years after the debut release, the wait was worth it.
This is an album that deserves a decent listen a few times to digest what is going on here.
online pharmacy order valtrex online best drugstore for you
There is content and ideas that come through that are complexed and thought-provoking through their own personal experiences that you may relate to on some level as well.
Opening track Miasma is an instrumental track with some spoken word entwined into the song it goes through different stages and somewhat outlays what the rest of the album is about. This is a heavy song with loads of riffs and chunky palm-muted appeal to it. The solo work to the guitar just shreds and pounding double bass drums. There is also elements of beauty and sophistication with the orchestration. Definitely a great start.
Title track Mask of all Misery follows and the Thrash element of the band are at the forefront here, although Meshiiak doesn’t consider themselves a thrash band they unquestionably could be if they wanted to be, I believe that they are more developed as musicians to be typecast to a single genre, I love the solo in this song very reminiscing of early Tom Morello sounds of RATM.
Throughout the album, one thing that really sticks is the vocal approach dual guitarist and vocalists Danny Camilleri and Dean Wells. The mix of vocal styles blend together in a heavy aggressive manner but clean and resilient. Bury the Bodies has a distinct Alice in Chain style to the music and vocals and wouldn’t be surprised if AIC were a big influence on the style of Meshiiak.
The pace returns on City of Ghosts. The drumming is a standout feature of the song, brought to you by David Godfrey, who in his own right is a beast behind the drum kit, having replaced the formidable Jon Dette who has some serious credential backing him up…..Um, Slayer and Testament to name but a few, so David has his work cut out for him but is doing a stand-up job.
online pharmacy order trazodone online best drugstore for you
The rest of the album flows easily through. There seems to be a lot of thought given into the recording process and the track order.
Meshiiak has created an album that is very strong and showcases the band’s ability as musicians, I really don’t have a favourite song from this album because each song has its own defining quality that needs to be respected on its own level.
Mask of all Misery deserves a place on every CD collection, not giving this a listen is an injustice to your ears.
Release Year: 2019
Label: Mascot Records
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Adrian ‘Dren’ Barham