MISANTHROPIC RAGE – Gates No Longer Shut

Long distance debut for Polish duo Misanthropic Rage with "Gates No Longer Shut", first proper album published in late 2016. With "Qualia", we left on good terms, hoping that the good sparks in it would be developed adequately, and our hopes have been fulfilled: W. (vocals) and AR. (all instruments) come back with a cohesive work, half a dozen songs characterized by an experimental vein, just as expected.

This time, the two guys chose not to continue with long tracks, settling on songs ranging from four to eight minutes, making them more accessible without being banal or not diverse enough. The progressive-driven black metal blends well with the strong avantgarde shades, not rejecting also some death-influenced elements (the vocals on "In A Blind Dimension" strongly remind of the first era of the genre, with Schuldiner and Becerra for example). The push and pull between tight, extreme sections and more atmospheric ones is a constant throughout the whole album, with clean and alienated vocals opposed to the demonical scream, giving a certain depth to the whole thing, which is reflected also on the lyrics focused on philosophy, religion and human existence.

We're not, though, in front of a lack of originality: each one of the seven tracks has a certain personality, it's easy to tell them apart even at first listen. Unexpected solutions are also present, like the oriental-ish ending in "I, The Redeemer" or the classic sounding solo on "Niehodowlany", fast and dense piece with violent stop 'n' goes. Also the closing song "I Took The Fate In My Hands" is worth mentioning, probably the apex in terms of songwriting in an album which, however, has a high average quality.

Bull's eye, then, for the Mińsk Mazowiecki duo who, in less than five months between "Qualia" and "Gates No Longer Shut", managed to evolve in a substantial manner, maintaining the strong elements present in the first work and making them even more focused and solid.