ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Monday, May 3, 2021

Full Length Review: Misanthropik Torment "Murder Is My Remedy" (Misanthropik Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Misanthropik Torment
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Country: USA
Genre: Blackened death metal
Full Length: Murder Is My Remedy
Format: Digital, vinyl, limited edition CD
Label: Misanthropik Records
Release date: April 1, 2021
Misanthropik Torment is a blackened death metal band founded and fronted by The Leviathan, and to say his music is something the faint of heart and faint of mind should avoid is a massive understatement. MT personifies brutal vengeance and the destruction of human vileness while seeking to educate through the chaos theory, demonstrating how it functions on societal and mental levels. It demonstrates what happens to one’s mental capacity when one is “pushed too far”, requiring thought and meditation as much as a visceral response. The Leviathan’s newest release “Murder Is My Remedy” is as much a call to thought as action, which should possibly be locked away in a vault for its potential to destroy society. Misanthropik Torment’s early material from 2019 was extremely raw and abrasive, apparently intended as a representation of the disorder resulting from propositional incongruity and cognitive dissonance. I’d guess this is where the “seething hatred for the sickness of humanity” theme comes from, the idea that people present an image of being enlightened while behaving in a predatory manner. Expressed in The Leviathan’s early work for MT as an assault on your senses much akin to this cognitive dissonance, this project may be too much to stomach even for fans of the most extreme of extreme music. But its way of addressing human nature is intelligent in its own way though this may not be apparent by first impressions. From 2019 to 2020 to 2021 MT has become more refined and sophisticated as The Leviathan has experimented with tighter songwriting, more precise musicianship, more complex song structure, melodic rhythms, and experimentation with keyboards but there is still something raw and dangerous about it. To “better yourself” philosophically would defeat the purpose, so as much as Misanthropik Torment has matured as musicians and songwriters he has also decided to head in the opposite direction philosophically and conceptually. Keeping their older raw black/death metal influences and the tight crunch and grind added there are some hints of influence in Pantera and the bands that came after them. It may not be completely safe for consumption but it will alter your perception of the world if you allow it to. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Erick Leviathan: Vocals
Josh Freeman: Guitars
James Pasini: Bass
Hector (The Beast): Drums

Track list:
1. Purge
2. Misanthropik Mind
3. King Of Fools
4. M.I.M.R.
5. Sadistic State Of Mind
6. Zero Fucks
7. Benighted & Death
8. The Victim Has Died

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