Recently another death metal album fell into my mailbox and I start to suspect a conspiracy. I took a quick glance at the cover artwork and the name of the band - Misanthropic - thinking I would be in for some brutal death metal to say the least. To my surprise Misanthropic is actually far from that. Sure there’s brutal old school elements but there is so much more.

The album kicks off with a bit of a redundant intro but then charges into “Restless Life”. This track is simply excellent. Fast paced guitar riffs that slightly hint at black metal and brutally aggressive grunts that smash everything in their path. However, it doesn’t stop there, these Germans have managed to break down the barriers between melody and brutality and created a refreshing death metal mix; and no, not the Swedish sounding kind of melodic death metal.

Misanthropic continues with the great “Fly” but nothing prepares you for the excellent “Admission Free” or the stunning “The Play”.

Slow, powerful, heavy with outbursts of sheer aggression and speed and all the while Steffen grunts his way through the song with unequalled power. This band has certainly managed to convince me even though they seem to lose a bit of their magic towards the end of the album. Don’t get me wrong, all the songs are great; it is just that my attention span seems to suffer slightly after listening to the album for half an hour.

This German band delivered an excellent debut album that combines elements of old school death metal with more modern influences and I can highly advice this album. Blast beats, double bass drums, great grunts, melody and catchy riffing, Misanthropic has it all.