Miscreancy – Remnants Of A Dark Age

“Remnants Of A Dark Age” is the second EP from US melodic black/death metal band Miscreancy, and it really couldn’t be any more appropriately named. The sound of this release hearkens back to the mid-1990s, which was a dark age for metal’s popularity. Equally fitting, however, it references the chilling dark sound of legendary melodic black metal bands like Dissection and Sacramentum. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think this album actually came out in 1996. The production is so old-school sounding that it’s actually pretty impressive. This means the EP is somewhat on the quiet side, but there’s really nothing wrong with that. The treble on the guitars is way up, with most bass sounds (other than the bass drum) taking a back seat. The bass drum itself is a little on the clicky side, though I personally love that. It makes the double bass pummeling, and the faster sections even more brutal.

Miscreancy’s riffs make heavy use of some higher notes on the fretboard, with the emphasis being on riffs that are easy to latch onto. Tremolo-picking is the most common style of riffing, but the band also has the occasional thrashier or more melodeath-styled riff in them as well. Though Miscreancy certainly is not the pinnacle of originality, they are clearly well-versed in this sound and know how to make it work effectively. This is really the main point: “Remnants Of A Dark Age” sounds authentic. When you hear it, you know exactly what the band has set out to do, and there are no modern influences. Everything from the frenetic, busy drumming, to the cursed screeching vocals, and of course, the melodies, is just a perfect homage to Dissection and co. For all intents and purposes, consider this a long-lost gem that you missed in the 90s, and you’ll be incredibly satisfied.

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Highlights

All of it

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott