Review of Shai Hulud's "Misanthropy Pure"

It's been three years, a couple line-up changes, and a change in record labels since the Hardcore Punk band known as Shai Hulud has been heard from.

Recently the band re-emerged from the depths of silence with their first full length since their debut on Metal Blade Records, Misanthropy Pure.

Point blank, this album is eleven tracks of sheer whiplash in a jewel case, and it hurts so f****** good. Lyrically, Misanthropy Pure holds tight to its name. With pulse pounding low end and mid-range in over all vocal display and being almost relentless in it's efforts to push pure aggression into the ears of it's listeners. This album will…in fact…make you hate…everyone.

There is one downside to Misanthropy Pure that I really should mention. You will find the content of this album to be some what repetitive, with as much aggression that pours out of this record, both lyrically and musically, it's hard not to find repetition in the finished product. Seriously though, you point out one hardcore punk band that didn't demonstrate some level of repetition. You won't be able to find one and even if you could, I hardly think that makes them a bad band. With that being said, I still consider
Misanthropy Pure to be one of the best Hardcore Punk albums of 2008.

Sadly, musically this album will most likely be written off as yet another super-saturated "MetalCore" album. Do not write this record off; give it the respect it deserves. Everything…and I do mean everything about this album was methodical and well presented. As a whole, this record is technical when it needs to be and simple when it should be. In other words, this release is not just another bull**** "MetalCore" record, filled to the brim with blinding blast beats designed to hide the fact that the band shouldn't be allowed to run around calling their selves Musicians.

The lead work on this record is a technical frenzy, cold and callous with their level of precision but then warmed up and brought together via the consistentency of a well organized rhythm section. Andrew Gormley brings a level of utter organized chaos on drums. His fills are well written and executed flawlessly and bassist Matt Fletcher brings a brutal low-end untouched by any other bassist in his genre, simple but spine chilling all the same.

To be very forward, all the other "MetalCore" bands that help form the Metal Blade family should buy this album and take notes because if this is a "MetalCore" album, then this is exactly how "MetalCore" should sound.

Final Thoughts:

Misanthropy Pure is well worth its price at around 15 bucks. The album art and page layout alone make it worth buying and not stealing via the net. Despite the minor repetition of the album, as a whole, Misanthropy Pure does exactly what Shai Hulud set out to do; it breathes a new life into an otherwise dead genre.

For fans of:

Dillinger Escape Plan
7Angels 7Plagues
Misery Signals
Poison the Well
Evergreen Terrace

To visit Shai Hulud's MySpace page click here

By. Tim Fisher

TimF@getinmagazine.com