Album Review: DED – “Mis•an•thrope” (Suretone)

DED’s Mis•an•thrope is the record that nu-metal forgot; a powerful piece of throwback metal that’s every bit of Dope’s Life, Twisted Method’s Escape From Cape Coma and Korn’s Issues, or their more modern counterparts, My Ticket Home’s Strangers Only and Cane Hill’s Smile. From frontman Joe Cotela’s simple instructions of ‘when I say go, go psycho’ on uncompromising opener “Architect,” Mis•an•thrope is a towering inferno; 11 tracks of volcanic hot fire spewing forth with sheer venomous rage (“Anti-Everything” is a resounding rallying cry for the despondent and downtrodden (‘You won't take me alive / I'd rather die than live in this prison / I am anti-everything’), tracks like “Dead To Me” and “FMFY,” lost tracks from Slipknot’s self-titled debut in another life, just want to watch the world burn (‘So fuck me and fuck you too / The world should start over new / Bring out the guillotine / Save all the sympathy,’ Cotela screams off the top of “FMFY”), the accessible “Remember the Enemy” plays like an impactful single lying in wait, standout “Disassociate” is a stunning display of aggression, “Rope” is a manifesto for the lovelorn (‘I'm done choking on your mediocrity / A fucking ton of this empty vanity / I'm putting my foot down’)). And in classic nu-metal fashion, DED ties a bow on Mis•an•thrope by tugging on the old heartstrings with closing ballad “Beautiful” (see Lifer’s “Perfect,” Disturbed’s “Darkness,” Stereomud’s “Perfect Self,” and so on and so forth). Come year’s end, if Mis-An-Thrope isn’t 2017’s top metal release, it should end up at 1a or 1b.

Go Download: “Disassociate”