Shai Hulud-Misanthropy Pure
Metal Blade
May 27, 2008

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical. Shai Hulud, a band that seems to have survived through seemingly every natural disaster possible, announced that they got back together and signed to Metal Blade what seemed like ages ago. In typical Shai Hulud fashion, many absurd announcements were made talking about them eventually hitting a recording studio, but I wasn't expecting much, if anything at all. So much has changed in music, and I wasn't all that thrilled with That Within Blood Ill-Tempered, so my interest in Shai Hulud had dwindled, though I was still interested. My first listen through Misanthropy Pure turned me into a believer again. This is as good as anything they have ever written, and they have clearly come back to take metallic melodic hardcore back to its roots.

Shai Hulud, for those out of the loop, play fast technical hardcore rooted music that takes many metal and punk influences. While the vocals of Matt Mazzali are very strong, sounding similar to former screamer Chad Gilbert, its the guitar work of Matt Fox that gives Shai Hulud their signature sound. This guy knows how to write and arrange a song, and he adds such mesmerizing guitar leads that its hard not to fall head first for.

As classic as Hearts Once Nourished With Hope and Compassion is, Misanthropy Pure ranks right up there in terms of enjoyment. I never thought that I would be comparing any of their work to that, but they proved me wrong with a solid album from start to finish. I'm damn glad that they proved my doubts wrong.

Written by: RF
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