Review MISFIRE “Product of the Environment”

Listening to their music, you might think that Chicago is close to the Bay Area, but of course it’s not. Misfire‘s musical inspiration however comes from the West Coast of the United States, with bands like Exodus and Vio-lence providing a blueprint for the Illinois quartet’s sound.

Misfire started in 2018 and released their first work “Sympathy for the Ignorant” in 2021.
In March this year, the band unveiled a new song, which is the lead single for their second album “Product of Environment”. The song is called “We Went Through Hell”, which is a grooving thrash metal track that drew some attention to the sophomore effort. It’s a pretty authentic track as the future of the band was undetermined after the departure of their original frontman.

Without knowing what kind of music to expect, the artwork already indicates a direction. It is a typical Ed Repka inspired album cover that also takes some inspiration from the late 80s. The album starts in a calm way as “Borrowed Time” is an intro that leads you to “Day by Day”. The latter starts with a short acoustic section too before the riff power takes over and pushes the song forward. “Day by Day” is a furious thrash metal track without a foot on the brake.

The musical whirlwind doesn’t stop and songs like the raging “Born to Die” and “Living the Dream” with its strong bass line are well executed thrash metal tracks. I already mentioned Exodus and it is the old/new frontman of the Bay Area metal institution, Rob Dukes, who contributed some vocal parts to “Left for Die.”

“End of an Age” starts with a massive riff strike, and the roaring “Pivacy” has the potential to challenge some neck muscles as well. Misfire’s second album can maintain a good quality level from start to finish, as the last two tracks of the album are also blistering thrash metal tracks. Especially the title track, which finishes the album, is a raw and spirited thrash metal track without any frills. It’s more of a pulverizing finale to a great album.

“Product of the Environment” is an exciting thrash metal release with many references to the Bay Area sound. At the same time, the album sounds fresh and is driven by the untamed enthusiasm of a hungry band.