LEISURELY

A small saloon in a small village outside Las Vegas, Nevada. A man walks in. He has a one week's old beard. Everyone stares menacing at him. He takes a look at the others and walks up to the desk. He orders a Red Speckled Cock bourbon, a bourbon whiskey where every drop is carefully handmade and then stored in a sherry casks for eighteen years. The bartender grunts at him. The man gives him some dimes. The bartender bites the dimes to see if they are fake or real dimes. They are real dimes. He then fills up a glass of Red Speckled Cock bourbon. The man drinks it without saying a word. He glance at the others in the saloon, drinks up and leave the saloon. He walks down the stairs and crosses the high street. He walk to the end of the high street and leaves the village. He passes some farms on his way into the desert. Two red speckled cocks are sitting on the top of a house and crowing. The man walks to the horizon and beyond. He is still walking, btw.

This EP from Misanthrofeel can be the soundtrack for this movie or an advert for this non- existing bourbon whiskey brand. The music opens with some half-acoustic guitars and is then followed by some chugging electric guitars. The music is both gloomy and epic. It is basically a good advert for Misanthrofeel as a potential soundtrack or advert contributor. The music is good, but it is best suited as a mood creator for a movie or an advert. But this is still a good EP, well worth the download. But perhaps, it would be even greater in the Nevada desert.

......... You can stop walking now, man from the saloon. The review is over and I am just revealing the stars............. which is.........

3 stars

'Leisurely' - Misanthrofeel (5/10)

My first experience with this Russian project's music having been a little sour, this EP was a very pleasant surprise to say the least. Instead of going all over the map, the man behind the work of Misanthrofeel focuses his efforts on a particular genre; this time around, the realm of doom metal.

I must say, despite the recurring problems that Misanthrofeel works seem to have (in terms of the lack of actual instrumentation) things work out pretty well this time around, especially during the first track. The title song of this EP is composed beautifully, and does doom metal a real service. It builds up from something subdued and steadily builds on the idea from there, adding distortion, percussion and more complex melodies. This general incline lasts for the better part of the song, and is perfect for what it is. My greatest hope is that one day, Misanthrofeel will re-record this wonderful track with real instruments and do such a great composition justice!

The second track continues down the same doomy path as 'Leisurely,' but doesn't have the same memorable build up or emotional involvement. 'Thoughts' is a much different approach, and uses some very cool delay techniques to add to the atmosphere. However, due to the fact that this track tries to be 'heavier' than the first, alot of the '8-bit video game soundtrack' problems I had with the original demo start to arise again. From a purely compositional viewpoint however, the track is almost as solid as the first.

Misanthrofeel has impressed me with this one, and while there are certainly problems that the writer of this music should solve eventually in order to do his songwriting talent justice, 'Leisurely' remains an enjoyable listen and an intelligent piece of work.

Misanthrofeel

Here we have an EP from a non-professional Russian one-man-band known as Misanthrofeel. I can see the definite potential that this man possesses. This EP contains a very dark and doomy atmosphere with a low rhythm guitar and a higher lead. I do like the drumming here quite a bit as it works as a very effective moodsetter. Of course, since Misanthrofeel is non-professional, the high quality production of most bands is not affordable. I believe that if this EP had the production of a professional album, it would garner 4 stars from me for sure. However, since there is definite potential, I'll give this 3 stars.