Misery Index

Few death metal acts wear their politics as openly as Misery Index, whose songs take aim at entrenched power, the grind of everyday life and the wider ills of modern society. Formed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2001 by Jason Netherton, Mike Harrison and Kevin Talley, the band fuses death metal with hardcore punk and grindcore. Their name comes from an economic indicator, the same title Assück gave their final album, and Assück is among the acts that inspired them.

Their debut EP, Overthrow, appeared in 2001 on the band's own Anarchos Records, and the debut album Retaliate followed on Nuclear Blast in 2003, the same year they opened for Dying Fetus and Skinless across North America. Relapse Records released Discordia in 2006 and Traitors in 2008, with Heirs to Thievery arriving in 2010. Season of Mist issued The Killing Gods in 2014, Rituals of Power followed in 2019, and Complete Control, their seventh album, came out on Century Media in May 2022. Between 2002 and 2013 the band played over 1000 concerts in 44 countries. Line-up changes saw Darrin Morris replace John Voyles on lead guitar in 2010.