New Compass Point

Misantropical Painforest submit a eulogy to the original human being; our genuine core and forgotten strengths before rotting in the inescapable wake of modern day enslavement. Opening track "Second Round" is a mellow yet crushing bass-forward beginning to this all-encompassing spiritual endeavor. The lyrics provide a morose lens through which to see our current state, reminding us of what we once were and what our future could be. The lyrics along with the vocal approach convey an asylum patient or an ancient visionary living on the street preaching the same message for decades, slowly driving them insane. The wild, psychedelic atmosphere that is presented right from the start never really lets up, it just expands and transforms throughout different moods, signaling that all escape routes have collapsed within themselves. The extra clean vocals in the line "And there are no one else's orders to follow" really drive home the sense of psychotic desperation in the message of the opening track. As we continue along this misanthropic journey, we will learn about, gain, and wield the promised primordial knowledge.

Every song justifies its length, always keeping things fresh throughout the meandering soundscape. The devastating new riff around nine minutes in leads the track into its final form of an ultimate mind-bending meltdown. The title track "New Compass Point" continues the legacy of lengthy compositions and all the twists and turns that incorporate our journey. The intro of this track eventually turns into an outright ethereal guitar movement, which matches the lyrical departure of the mournful previous track into more self-righteous territory. This second track, which is rightfully the title of the album, implores us to alter our narrow minds in order to explore unknown realms that can bring positive changes for our individual freedom, as well as to work to improve our world for future generations. It is important not to mistake the outright positive message of the track as one sung by an oblivious life-loving hippie. Rather, mastermind Kutcheck Gorealis presents this as a challenge; a challenge to accept that we are more powerful creatures than we have become, and to be unafraid of the demands of living in such a way that promotes our true, unearthed values. The keyboard outro is the sound of haunting beauty perfected, and it also provides an eerie uncertainty towards the future of this album.

"Fires in the Night" wastes no time and abruptly turns the page towards a straight-forward tone that will consume the album for the time being. This is reinforced by the ritualistic onslaught of the vocals that aren't necessarily drenched in filth but still retain immense power, signifying that this track is never going to waver off its intended path. Keyboards dot this slow-paced yet ferocious landscape, dueling with a strange immediacy in the riffs that creates a feeling of excitement as we become possessed with greatness. We are not only affected by this tempo change musically, but lyrically as well. We have now harnessed and recognized the lasting importance of this ancient knowledge as we become surround by the swirling ritual fires. We have successfully waged war on our past selves, but even still we are helplessly chained to this earth.

"Vesticular" continues towards the abyssal gaze with a foreboding main riff that has strange sounds dancing all around the boundaries of the soundscape. This track contains the darkest, most intense vocals of the entire album, ringing in the punishment being wrought by our vulnerable, shuddering body in the midst of a primeval transformation. The melodic guitar leads around 4:30 into the song pulverize all surrounding matter into an entirely new universe. Conscious decisions begin to exit your mind as you submit yourself to strange movements and ideas, finally returning to familiarity with the receding of the tide. At the end of the track, the transformation is complete, and we are ready to move forward as a superior being.

Crushing riffs begin the final movement, "World in the End of the Light", as we have returned to existence with a totally different mentality on our role in this previously unimportant life. Among all the other epic musical qualities, the vocal performance on this last track is transcendent, reaching a climax halfway through as the production almost evaporates between waves of static, only to emerge from the chaos even more vindicated and powerful. Insanely inventive melodic riffing encapsulates the second half of this song, providing the final triumphant sounds towards an immortal legacy. As this album is reaching its conclusion with the keyboards melting away, to say that a weight has been lifted off your shoulders is a massive understatement. On a journey that recalls Dante's epic adventure, we have witnessed the lowest point of our own existence, and instead of feebly backing away into the shadows, we have harvested timeless intelligence and willpower in order to see our future transformed before our eyes. This is a monstrous, psychedelic voyage that must only be wrought by the courageous. Through Misantropical Painforest, we have received the tools to power forward into the uncertain darkness.

Let the silence enclose you
so that you may open
But the fire
shall burn
forever


~~ Originally written for agatized.net ~~