Misfire – Sympathy For The Ignorant
Release Date: 1st April 2022
Label: MNRK Heavy
Bandcamp
Genre: Thrash Metal
FFO: Kreator, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax.
Review By: Rick Farley
American Thrash threesome hailing from Chicago, Misfire are set to release their debut full length album Sympathy For The Ignorant. Old School flavoured Thrash Metal dead set on drawing heavy influence from a timeless sound.
I took my time on this review, listening to the album at least ten times in various states of play before I even put one word down. The first several listens didn’t grab me at all, but I didn’t want to just immediately write it off. So, I continued to listen and then listen some more. After a while it really started growing on me, but still sounded like it didn’t have much of its own path, borrowing heavily vocal wise from Testament, Pantera, Machine Head and Anthrax. Even the music while very good wasn’t all that original, tons of great riffs and ideas recycled from a list of other bands. Or in this case, I would say inspired is the better word. It doesn’t come across as insincere, mind you. They genuinely make you believe this is what they want to play, and their influences are fiercely represented. Just maybe too much.
So, to get right to the point, after many listens this album will come across one of two ways. Either a fun, sharp, Old-School homage to a bunch of great bands or a talented band with no identity playing familiar sounding music. Sadly, I sit in the “no identity” section. Don’t get me wrong there are some kickass tunes on this album, and great moments of nostalgia, but it’s lacking its own style and originality for me.
As a whole, the album Sympathy For The Ignorant sounds tight and is executed by skilled musicians. It has well written songs, fierce solos and some excellent hooks. So, what’s the problem exactly?
Each song reminds me at of at least one other band or singer, if not multiple bands that sometimes takes me out of the moment long enough to try and recall where I’ve heard that before. A good example of this is Red Flag, vocally it goes from Chuck Billy to Anthrax style gang vocals to Rob Flynn and back again. The song itself is good, and thrashes hard, but it’s tough to get overly hyped for something that already exists elsewhere. Skin of Mirrors is also another banger, but musically has too much of a Testament vibe. Death Trap is basically half a Pantera song. I don’t want to come across as too harsh, and hell, some people may love the familiarity about the album, but the originality here is minimal.
If Misfire went the route of their song Fractured more, this review would be vastly different. The song does recall some Metallica and Pantera vibes, but it comes across modern sounding, and it’s not over the top. The song starts with a slow metallic crunchy riff, grooving over an infectious bouncy beat, transitioning into an all-out Thrash fest. Fast downbeats, furious byzantine riffs that change key, and heavy fast chugging with some great shouting raspy vocals, a ripping solo and memorable hooks. All elements of good Thrash Metal, but it sounds a lot less like other bands. Another example of this is the punishing title track Sympathy For The Ignorant. It stomps, rips and grooves its way into beating you with a heavy bag full of bricks.
The crazy thing about Sympathy For The Ignorant despite complaints is I really like it for the most part. It suffers from being a tad repetitive, has a filler song or two, and for me, I won’t be jamming this regularly. But it does have that undeniable moshing Thrash spirit that we all love, it’s a fun listen, aggressive and probably translates well live. I can feel their passion in the music, their energy and their sincerity. It’s a solid debut album from a band that seemingly has a bright future. Next time, I just want a more focused and less blatantly influenced album. The idea that I rated this a little higher even with complaints is a sign of a quality band potentially on the rise. Not quite yet, but watch out for these guys. 
(3.5 / 5)
