Inspired by the likes of Integrity, G.IS.M. and Iron Age, Turku, Finland based metallic hardcore band MISERICORDE (members of Ill Omen, .45 Stainless, Reckless Crew, Get Stitches!, Spear Flowers) have recently dropped their impressive LP called ”Beyond Lost And Betrayed”, a powerful debut that delivers metallic fury blended with aggressive delivery and darkened hardcore that’s both in-your-face fast and heavy, but also well-balanced and evilishly atmospheric. Appreciating their carrying the torch of the prolific Finnish metallic hardcore tradition, we have teamed up to give you a detailed view on their record through their first-hand commentary about each and every track below!
Asked about the epic artwork for the release, the band commented:
Beyond Lost And Betrayed – title just came to me when trying to figure out what to call the album. I can’t really totally even explain it what it means as paired with the artwork. I’ve always appreciated the nightmarish tones that Dore conjured in his art so while looking for inspiration to put the artwork together the theme of war between heaven and hell somehow seemed very fit. I’ll try to make some sense in this, Beyond Lost And Betrayed portrays us (punks, misfits, skins, hardcore kids and so on etc.) in ”our place” that too often feels to be a place beyond all hope, acceptance and even a right to exist. This way i feel that war between heaven and hell reflects as the fight that is there, some fight every day against anything or everything and the whole world isn’t helping at all while slowly drifting towards more intolerant and injustice place every day.
Continued below…
Darkness Between.
One of our and mine specifically big influences in hardcore has always been Integrity. It should be very obvious or at least i feel so, anyway Darkness Between was the very first song put together as a band. It also portrays pretty perfectly what kind of of hardcore we aimed to put out with Misericorde. There’s a thin line continuing through time and space if you read the lyrics, just follow the dark suited gentleman through and back from the darkness between (two worlds).
Silence.
If i remember right Silence was the second or third song we wrote, it’s pretty driving more japanese hardcore punk and rocki ’n roll punk -influenced one. Think of G.I.S.M. and Poison Idea maybe, if i drop some names to reference how to describe. Text is pretty much just an observation on the modern society and masses of crawling mindless drones that dwell on it, i try to get away of it all as often i can.
Golden Mask (Of Compromise).
Another pretty driving song with some of that Japan feel on it too, but more like metallic hardcore infused version than Silence is.
Golden Mask’s title references to another Finnish band that is very dear to me personally, On A Solid Rock (who sound nothing like anything we’ve done musically with Misericorde) and their track ”Masks”. I’ve quoted a bit that song in the past with whole another band while writing lyrics, but Golden Mask (Of Compromise) definitely had some common theme with that OASR song, it’s just a sight how i’ve seen and felt people in the past to burn their passion out, or just drop the gloves and walk away. May it be hardcore, vegetarianism/veganism, straight edge or any musical or other passion in life general that people have fronted with a heart on their sleeve and then soon after have thrown everything away. I get it, people change and all that, but sometimes i think people just compromise cause it’s easier.
Decay.
This song was called in development as ”vocal test slayer”, so there you go where the references musically came from. K.T.K. from Solothus drops some nice death growls on this track and majestic thanks to the man for that. Decay was one of the hardest songs for me to get together lyrically, but in the end it came out nice. This track kind of shares a bit of theme with Golden Mask, as it’s bottom line is mainly that when you have a real passion, how can you let it die? Was it ever real?
Reign.
Integ… yeah, we’re we got another one of those pure metallic hardcore jams, that i fucking absolutely love. Everything this song came into is pretty perfect and i’m really proud of our guitarist Hannu and Juuso for this track (like all the rest as well of course). Reign has pretty Melnickian intro and Jagged Visions Of My True Destiny -kinda feel, but when it starts it’s all out war. Thematically it’s an bleak outlook to a very frightening direction we are going in Europe (Finland too) where somehow racists, bigots and flat out nazis are rising and making stands in politics. This is a thing that needs to be put out and we all need to oppose them, fuck nazis and racists.
The Laughing Magician.
There is few subtle hints on certain my favourite graphic novel characters throughout in all of my texts, but this one isn’t even that subtle. Paired with thrash ridden cross-over hardcore metal soundtrack, the chain smoking working class magus is introduced to maybe someone who hasn’t heard the name Hellblazer.
Let The Sleeper Lay.
Occult, odd, weird and strange things fascinate me and as we all know deep in the arctic darkness old gods sleep, dead but still dreaming. Manowar, Iron Age-ish metallic groove holds ”The Sleeper” through and i think it’s nice slower pace song to catch breath before the record’s finalizer.
Unveil.
Slap-worm was the working title for this one and it’s pretty clear which Boston and Cleveland hardcore outfits were to comprisions. Unveil tears into the flesh of hardcore, a thing that has been and continues to be every day, very import thing to me. I’ve been around long enough to have seen many faces of the scene in many countries and places – from beatdown, youth crew, vegan metal, metalcore to NYHC and all in between, it’s all good and i have always loved the diversity that exists in hardcore. Where the problems start, is that sometimes hardcore tends to attract also jocks and assholes who come at shows to boost their ego by beating up kids or some similar shit. Hardcore is one of those places in this world where respecting each other no matter what they look like, should be only natural thing to do. For i’ve grown and seen this to be one of the last places where there should be no egos;
”For those who will see this through no barriers or fake attitudes. In this scene we’re all the same, whether in the pit or up on stage.” – Bolt – Forever Dedicated
Without the youth we don’t have a scene and it will run dry. So those who want to tear this down, their plans will be unveiled and their attempts destroyed. Hardcore is forever.
