ALBUM REVIEW: For the Glory of Your Redeemer – Misotheist

It’s impossible to overstate just how diverse and exciting black metal as a genre is at the moment. With almost as many differing sub-genres as bands themselves, tackling an Alexandrian library of themes and lyrical concepts, with an impossible arsenal of musical directions and influences, the genre is the healthiest it has ever been. Hailing from the land black metal made itself known in popular culture, Norwegian outfit MISOTHEIST return to continue the trend of strength in the genre. Following on from their self-titled debut, the anonymous outfit have brought forth their ambitious second effort, For the Glory of Your Redeemer – but is it a worthy of note in a genre enjoying such a burst of strength, or is it destined to fall by the wayside? 

At just three tracks and half an hour long, there is no room for filler here – MISOTHEIST need to come strong straight out the gate. Fortunately, Rope and Hammer does just that. An unnerving introduction explodes into a flurry of aggression without warning, discordant riffing and break-neck drums providing a back-drop for the tortured vocals. Vitriol and misanthropy drip from every second of the opening gambit, the dissonance on display showing a heavily leaning into the chaotic elements of black metal. A rising crescendo ends the track with feedback and fadeout, before highlight moment Benefactor of Wounds comes crashing in with little pomp or ceremony. Equally abrasive as the opener, Benefactor of Wounds leans into slightly more melodious territory – though that just serves to make the hate-fuelled bludgeoning hit all the harder. With both tracks falling in the seven-minute region, it may sound counter-intuitive to describe them as stripped back, but there is a very real, lean sense of discipline – every second is there for a reason, albeit the reason being to eviscerate the listener.

There’s no question that Acts of the Flesh is star of For the Glory of Your Redeemer, though. Making up more than half of the album’s run time alone, the 16-minute behemoth shows a remarkable ambition from MISOTHEIST. A true maelstrom of mind-mending malevolence, there is something truly unsettling about Acts of the Flesh. Maybe its the discordant sound, maybe its the atmosphere, but whatever it is this is a 16-minute journey through a sonic hellscape that offers no salvation. The only misstep is perhaps the closing number meanders just a tad, lacking the lean execution of its preceding offerings – but even that serves a purpose, keeping you submerged in the chaos all the longer.

Ambitious and apocalyptic, For the Glory of Your Redeemer is a thunderous sonic reflection of the end of the world. Just as strong as their cult-classic debut, MISOTHEIST‘s second offering proves to be a dissonant maelstrom of brutality and aural evisceration. The trade-of in production remains a bone of contention, however – the low-fi, chaotic approach adding a lovely touch of rawness to the atmosphere of the record, but it comes at the cost of many of the subtleties being buried in the mix. That aside, however, For the Glory of Your Redeemer is a vitriolic step forward for MISOTHEIST.

Rating: 7/10

For the Glory of Your Redeemer is out now via Terratur Possessions.