This Misery Garden – Another Great Day On Earth

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The best comparison for Geneva’s This Misery Garden, who formed in 2005, began recording the album in 2007, and finally finished it in 2009 is probably a more progressive version of Belgian outfit Tim’s Favourite, who also merge dark melodies and lyrical themes into a core heavy sound. There are also elements of Katatonia and Porcupine Tree, and perhaps a less oppressive Alice In Chains, to be found in this long and highly complex, involving record which mixes so many different styles and ideas it’s nearly impossible to describe all of them. Every emotion and feeling is touched upon across the fourteen tracks, including anger (On The Edge) and melancholy (Bittersweet), and everything in between. From a musicality point of view there is also plenty to enjoy, with acoustic passages (Dirty Playground), heavy riffs, and clean melodies; guitar solos are thin on the ground but rarely missed. The mood of the album is pretty bleak, but not depressing as the tracks change direction so much and present enough different ideas, without dwelling too long in one place. The complexities of Another Great Day On Earth aren’t as obvious as a Dream Theater record, for example, but are just as relevant, and just as clever.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Progressive, Quick.Play Reviews, This Misery Garden