MISERATE specializes in melancholic death doom metal. Yep, that's a whole lot of bleakness going on. Their latest album, Weaver of Witchery, has been available on digital platforms since 2025 but as of this Spring it's now available on vinyl via Rekviem Records. This is the band's second studio album. Their debut, A Ritual of Doom, was released in 2024. Even though the album has a full runtime of only 24 minutes, it feels much longer—mostly because of the length of three of the four tracks is north of six minutes, but also because of the melodic nature of the songs. While they're heavy, they aren't brutal. They draw you in as opposed to pushing you out, and it's in that incubation that time seems to draw out and the listener is able to really examine the various movements.  

The album is accompanied by striking cover art created by Jan Gunnar Nygård exclusively for this release. Although rendered in charcoal it somehow conveys a type of warmth which 1) is kind of cool and 2) is also kind of creepy because it depicts a man with roots/vines/braids growing in/out of his closed eyes and hair. It's not a look of joy on his face. That odd mix of pain and awe that permeates the cover art also permeates each of the tracks. And I guess that's what happens when you mix the harshness of death metal with the solemnity of doom metal. 

There are only four tracks on this EP, so I'm not going to list standout tracks. Besides, they're all pretty good. I will say that the dual guitar assault enables the band to craft some intricate melodies and the mixing by Karl Daniel Lidèn allows Fossheim's exceptional bass performance to stand out amongst the debilitating dbs. Meanwhile Kent Helset does an excellent job of setting the tempo with the speed of death as well as the dull pulse of doom, a difficult dance to balance.

I will say the band does a fine job mixing dark atmosphere with aggressive assault. "Behind the Veil of Death" for instance just screams a kind of sonic necromancy, and not in the theme but in the tone of the song. And by 'necromancy' I mean slow, deliberate alchemy bent toward the darkest of outcomes. The same is true of "The Endless Night/Hindenburg." There's some excellent songwriting going on with this album which deserves a serious listen.

This second album, Weaver of Witchery, from MISERATE is a slow-burn offering of "darkness and despair" but also of strength and harmony. It is surprisingly intricate, like a tight weave of roots growing out of an old dude's face. Yep, had to go back to that. Sorry, but that image just sticks.