Misery Index (****)

Another band whose live performances are rather intense. Maryland’s Misery Index haven been shredding it for almost twenty years now and show no signs of stopping. This is the second time I’ve seen the melodic deathgrind quartet since they released 2019’s ‘Rituals of Power‘ and this set was even better than the previous one. Their performance tonight was again very convincing and explosive, only this time it had more power. I am sure it has to do with Jason and Mark grunting lyrics at the same time. It just packs so much more power. And the quality of the venue allowed for the effect to come across more than the little hall I saw them in last time.

I’m always surprised at how catchy the lyrics are. Again, it has to do with the vocalists’ prowess. They’re just really good at making their grunting understandable to most. The simplicity of some choruses is another factor which helps make songs memorable. You can’t help but yell along to the choruses during ‘The Choir Invisible‘, ‘New Salem‘ or ‘Traitors‘ Misery Index understand what makes a set memorable and know how to use it to their advantage.

Setlist:
Embracing Extinction
The Spectator
The Great Depression
Ruling Class Cancelled
New Salem
The Choir Invisible
The Oath
Conjuring the Cull
The Carrion Call
Hammering the Nails
Traitors

Eyehategod (***1/2)

Seems like Eyehategod were the ugly duckling of the bill (pun intended). These New Orleans Sludge stoners formed a somewhat softer break in the musical onslaught of the night, but only by a little. Just looking at this band’s history, there are plenty of links to grindcore, death metal and many other legendary people in the scene. That, and the fact they sound extremely heavy and loud live. Their set was so loud, my earbuds were not enough protection and I had to stand a little further back than during the first three bands.

Now I’d heard a lot of trash talk about Eyehategod‘s live performances, but one shouldn’t listen to the rumors. Maybe they played poor shows in the past, but not tonight. Although the breaks between songs were overly long, I was impressed with the set. These musicians played very professionally despite seeming like they were on another planet. Especially frontman Mike Williams, who had to hang on to his mic for dear life so as not to fall over. It seems appearances can be deceiving.

This report continues on page 3.