Misery
Down to The Bunker
•
March 14, 2019
From the postcard-worthy Geneva, France comes DOWN TO THE BUNKER, a band that angrily cracks its knuckles, ready to deliver an audio beatdown of epic proportions. Named after a secret underground rehearsal space in vocalist Jo's backyard, "The Bunker" was the band's birthplace back in 2012. Their sophomore album Misery comes across as cleaner and more professional, and a whole lot angrier than their self-titled debut. Graduating seamlessly from a hard rock sound to a furious metalcore vibe, DOWN TO THE BUNKER has indeed refined themselves. Misery is a loud and abrasive album that leaves one reeling from its destructive force.
DOWN TO THE BUNKER starts us off with "Mother" a low, kick peddle-ridden tune that enters our ears with a chip on their shoulders and a bad attitude. Everyone within a mile knows to stay away. Title track "Misery" is arrhythmic rip tides of twangy chords and snares, a song that aims to disorient. DOWN TO THE BUNKER is violent energy that threatens to cave the walls of the refuge practice space that is their namesake. Volatile moods from five people in a tiny space is the quickest recipe for disaster, and DOWN TO THE BUNKER might as well have set off a bomb in that humble space before running for cover. Drum beats are broken to pieces in "Ethics" in a slow-mo explosion of a breakdown towards the end.
The anger in Misery constantly coils and lashes out like a viper in the grips of a speed bender. Even when the viper appears calm as it appears in "Waves" it's still a tense, unpredictable creature that is ready to strike at the soonest provocation. Even with no provocation it still sinks its fangs in! The soil-walled world of DOWN TO THE BUNKER is a limited one which, in turn, makes it a very toxic one. A breeding ground of rage and pent up grievances that stews in its own rotting muck until it unleashes trillions of its deadly bacteria upon the Earth!
8 / 10
Excellent
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Misery" Track-listing:
1. Mother
2. Misery
3. The Asylum
4. Chrysalis
5. Ethics
6. Waves
7. Lost In the Desert
8. Machine
9. Alive
Down to The Bunker Lineup:
Jo - Vocals
Jerem - Guitar
Matt - Guitar
Arnaud - Bass
Leo - Drums
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