It has been five years since Shai Hulud's last full-length offering, the underappreciated That Within Blood Ill-Tempered, The band has returned with Misanthropy Pure, their third full-length and first following the departure of vocalist Geert Van Der Velde, amongst other lineup changes. However, the five-year span wasn't a total wash. In 2005 there was the rarities collection A Comprehensive Retrospective and 2006 saw reissues of A Profound Hatred of Man and Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion. Despite the revolving cast of co-conspirators the core of Shai Hulud has remained focused and persevered.
From their very beginning Shai Hulud has been an act that has perfected the meshing of the conflicting worlds of hardcore and metal. The band's sound fuses the fierceness and speed of metal with the intensity of hardcore, not to mention conveying the sincerity and personal connection that so many have flocked to from the hardcore community. Since they first came about, many have borrowed from their pen, but never have they been overshadowed.
"Venomspreader" executes this off the bat as it kickstarts the album in a frenzy. Guitarist and sole original member Matt Fox fuels the song with dynamic riffs while the rhythm section of Matt Fletcher (bass) and Andrew Gormley (drums) provide a backbone that bends like a spine caught in a car crash - constantly shifting with the pace of the music. Matt Mazzali occupies the vocal spot vacated by Van Der Velde (save for the brief period held by Eric Dellon) with a style that is much beefier than his predecessor - though less versatile - bearing resemblance to that of onetime vocalist Chad Gilbert.
Contrasting the speed of the opener is "The Creation Ruin," a chug-fest with chunky riffs and even a nice sing-along "chorus" - as close as Hulud ever comes - to wrap things up. The title-track has Fox mixing in more melodies into the song's structure. While the force of the song is still strong, the lack of chug allows Mazzali to step to the forefront and take command of the group. Hulud continues to plug away with that distinctive sound - it's really hard to miss - when you hear it, you know who's behind it. Unless of course if you're jamming some Strongarm.
On "In the Mind of Marrow" the band really unleashes a bruiser of a track. The combination of Fox's destructive riffs with the pounding from the rhythm section and Mazzali's brutal delivery results in the second best track of the album. It's worth noting the re-recording of "Set Your Body Ablaze." While its still one of the best in the Shai Hulud discography (even this version is commendable), the fact that it's appeared previously causes it to lose out on my rankings here. The true standout of Misanthropy Pure is the three-piece closer "Cold Lord Quietus." Perhaps the most metal-oriented song of the album, musically the pace has been slowed substantially with drudging riffs as opposed to the norm of the band. This partnered with the dark lyrical content make the music of Shai Hulud even more emotion-driven than normal.
Time will tell how Misanthropy Pure rates amongst the rest of the Hulud catalog. Hindsight may cause me to change my mind - it's happened before - but initials feelings on the album have me nestling this effort just below the Gilbert output slightly above that of Van Der Velde (the music was excellent but Van Der Velde's vocals didn't always sit right with me). Bottom-line, it's a heck of a return for Shai Hulud, proving that they're still at the top of the hardcore realm.
