Misterer - Under Attack

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MISTERER were formed back in 2017 and are part of the New Wave of Finnish Metal scene but their origins go a little further back then that. Formed by Mikko Herranen who has been a seasoned metal musician for three decades now and in that time played in bands such as RUST, VELCRA, MISERY INC. and even has solo material. He then went on to recruit the rest of the band to form this project which released their new album, Under Attack, back in December 2020. This album is also packed with guest musicians and will make for a great listen.

Kicking things off we have “The End” which from the start has very groove metal sound just like LAMB OF GOD. When the vocals come in they just attack you with its delivery. It’s a real bang your head kind of song and sets up the tone of the rest of the album really well. They really opened with a bang on this one and even got an unreal guitar solo from guest musician Samy Eldanna of the band LOST SOCIETY. Next after that we get Mass Grave” and that riff in the intro you just have to love. This song is very bass heavy and has a guitar solo that sounds a little different then what you would normally hear. It is a very thrash/groove metal song with a little hint of 90’ style KORN mixed in.

The lead song from the album is “We Kill” which is a real mosh pit starter. With blistering riffs, pounding drums, powerful chorus it makes for a great song. The middle section goes a bit trippy but is then followed by a guitar solo that is out of this world. One of the stand out tracks here is “Joker”. This one switches between a jump up and down style song to speedy thrash metal and back and forth with a very old school metal feel for its chorus. With that double bass going the drums really shine here. For its middle section things change up a bit with a very quiet clean melody which transitions to a guitar solo that just takes over.

The song “Life = Death” opens with the sounds of war and a battlefield, a little similar to “One” by METALLICA. Again this one has some seriously heavy grooves going on and lyrics of laying attack in battle with evil sounding lead guitar lines. We also get a chant along chorus and a breakdown that truly hits you like a tone of bricks. After that one we have “A Sense of Purpose” which fades in with a sense of doom. A nice mix of melodic vocals with death growls which helps bring in the doom and also a really sing along chorus.

We have another guest spot on the song “Totalitarian” from MC Rakka Pee providing some additional vocals. This one has pounding riffs and drums and has a very industrial metal feel to it with some serious grooves and beats to go with it. With this song you can’t help but bang your head along with it, even at the breakdown section with is heavy as fuck. After that we have “Human Population” with a killer bass intro. Then rest of the band comes in to add extra flavour as MISTERER sound on fire on this one. This one has a great chorus with the double bass off of the drums adding more power to the guitar riffs and a great guitar solo duel for its middle section.

The song We All are the Same” has a whole host of guest musicians appearing on this one. On this one we have musicians like Marko Hietala from NIGHTWISH adding extra vocals and Petri Lindroos, Matias Kupiainen (from STRATOVARIUS) and Ben Varon (from AMORAL) all adding extra guitar lines. This song has a real old school southern metal groove to it, almost a little like PANTERA. Coming towards the end of the album we have “Premonition” and with this one those evil sounding heavy grooves are back. With a riff that just kicks ass the drums really leading this one with some pretty cool lead guitar fills thrown in. We have this doom laced chorus and a really nice clean middle section for contrast. The song does give you a sense of the end of the world.

And onto the final song we have “Servants”. A thunderous bass line rumbles from the start and sets up for something big to happen. A very sludgy metal vibe to this one and a great vocal delivery you can here a little hint of some ALICE IN CHAINS in this one. The final chorus on this one is just great and really lifts the song.So that experience was Under Attack by MISTERER. There is a lot of parts to the album that remind me of LAMB OF GOD which is a great thing. There is so much going on in this one with so many different styles in the mix and I really love it. This is a very bass heavy album too and with those guitar riffs, great vocal delivery and killer drumming makes for a brilliant listen.

Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Musicianship: 9
Production: 7