The Misery Harvest Album Review

There’s no escaping Osmium’s awesome metal prowess throughout their second full-length album The Misery Harvest. Stylistically similar to Alice and Chains, what sets the Invercargill based three-piece apart is a harder edge of heavy riffs with a bit more grunge for good measure.

The Awakening flicks the switch with a guitar intro of spooky minor chords. It’s a great way to start an album. The relative calm soon turns into slow head-banging goodness with the killer riffs of Human.

Flesh & Bones begins as a dirty slow beast that works its way expertly into open spaced guitar solos and Layne Staley inspired vocal harmonies. With a passage of tight pentatonic changes to blow your mind, it’s my pick for best track.

Ruin broadens the sound with expansive guitar, especially in guest guitarist Daniel Rodgers’ solo that absolutely slays it. Nicely complementing Cameron Leslie’s playing, the extra guitar adds another fantastic dimension to Osmium’s already huge sound. 

A powerful vocal delivery in Forever Damned gives way to an instrumental powerhouse of stunningly good metal mayhem.

After starting with some low down and dirty rock, The Dark Poet picks up a similar momentum to the previous track. Osmium continues to change time signatures in an effortless performance and the live feel of this track, especially during the outro, is most enjoyable.

An American influence is unmistakable during Better Off Dead where massive power chords and solid drumming give way to melodic beauty in the lovely acoustic guitar segment accompanied by heartfelt vocals. Osmium’s skill at changing up and down gears in this track is particularly awesome!

A few editing clicks slightly detract from the wonderfully dark Calloused & Cold with its slow tempo and solid crunchy beats. Somber lyrics and a tight performance make this one stand out for all the right reasons.

Empty Bottles is another excellent medley perfectly blended to form a monumental musical structure of heavy metal.

Forsaken City starts out with an acoustic guitar laying down the foundation that’s quickly picked up by Osmium’s spellbinding riffs, pummeling drums and soaring vocals. The tenth and last track definitely left me wanting more.

At times there’s a juxtaposition of really hard working guitars with laid-back drumming, but generally William Powell’s technique is well suited to the awesome musicianship of Doug Heath’s bass lines.

The Misery Harvest is definitely an album that effectively showcases Osmium’s talents and is a must have for any metal music collection. You can also check out Osmium on their nation wide Wolf At Your Throat tour at any decent venue nearby.

3.5/5