Stooge The Dissent EP served as my introduction to the recording career of Misery Index. I first saw them at a gig they played in Oshawa, Ontario. In spite of the sparse attendance, they put on a great show, and managed to win a fan. I quickly grabbed a CD copy of this release off them, as this is what they were promoting at the time.

It’s a brief recording, so my description of it is as well. The EP is mostly built on tracks forming a piece titled (as one should guess) “Dissent”. The exception is “Defector (Thinning The Herd)”.

“Sheep and Wolves” kicks off the EP at a slow pace with a slice of sludge, but the pace picks up on “Exception to the Ruled” brings more aggressive playing and more varied tempo. The third track, “The Imperial Ambition”, is probably the most straightforward but still entertaining track here, and drummer Kevin Talley shines with his strong blasting ability and double bass work. Pretty much from the third track on there are no surprises, featuring a consistent, no-nonsense blend of death metal, hardcore, and a bit of grind.

I regret not buying the vinyl edition of this EP. I haven’t heard it, but it contains a cover of Minor Threat’s “Screaming at a Wall” that is not on the CD.

Nice EP, and easy to please fans of high-tempo metal looking for a quick fix.