BURDENS OF MISANTHROPY is a side project formed by Ohio musicians Michael Leone (FROM ANOTHER PLANET) and Jared Collins (MISSISSIPPI BONES). If you happen to be familiar with their bands, I can safely inform you that this EP... sounds NOTHING at all like the artists' other works.

"Missionary" clocks in at just under 10 minutes total, a vicious barrage of grind-influenced Death Metal that is about as subtle musically as its shameless album cover art is visually. The breaks between "songs" only really serve to give the listener a brief respite between ass-kickings. Remarkably, "Missionary" packs a healthy amount of riffs for such a short offering without feeling overcrowded, most often delivered at high speeds. Collins has to be a heck of a musician to play all these instruments as well as he does, as he delivers malevolent, technical riffs as well as machinegun drumming and even a melodic solo on the punishing "Bastard Jesus."

As best as I can understand "Missionary" tells a story about the wrongs done to a group of people by a corrupt priest and the resulting retribution carried out. It's pretty standard Death Metal fare conceptually, but still well done; it feels like they cram a lot of lyrics into a short time span, but this does in part contribute to the frantic pace of the EP.

If it's true that "less is more," then it makes sense that fans of brutal Death Metal should find a lot to like on "Missionary," despite its short run time. From the explosive opening of "The Perverse Intent" to the EP's chaotic, graphic conclusion in "March To Hell," BURDENS OF MISANTHROPY take no prisoners for nine minutes of terror-inducing music. Naturally, I'd definitely recommend it to fans of Death Metal.<