One listen to Shai Hulud's new album, Misanthropy Pure, will have you feeling much the same as the very first time you heard Shai Hulud—meaning, you'll have no idea what the fuck is going on. Shai Hulud has taken their music, not to new heights, but new depths.

 

Longtime fans should have no trouble adjusting to line-up changes, and the band's new throat ripper, Matt Mazzali, poses no threat. You order the pizza, and he delivers—with a fury to match that of the magical riffs and profound lyrics.

Misanthropy Pure is an open condemnation of mankind and all his unforgivable crimes. No one is safe from Shai Hulud, as we're all guilty in one way or another. But this is not a sermon nor a lecture—just a plea for an awakening to the self-destructive qualities of humanity. We are so far gone in Shai Hulud's eyes that, in their words, “We unite only in death.”

While the band is considered “metalcore,” this record is anything but metalcore as the world knows it today. In fact, I wouldn't even know what to call this besides balls-out insane! In my mind, Shai Hulud has always been strictly hardcore—albeit, significantly more complex. Dancing to these songs would surely cause some dislocation or dismemberment.

Nothing is lacking here. Every single detail of this record is astonishing. This is a solid representation of rage at it's finest. If nothing else, Shai Hulud has made it damn near impossible for any more bands to copy their style. So all you cynics and outcasts, gather round and buy this record. What you hear from Shai Hulud, you won't hear anywhere else.
 

 

By Kyle Timlin