It has been quite some time since boysetsfire have released a new album, but their latest release, “The Misery Index: Notes From The Plague Years,” was definitely worth the wait. Combining elements of hardcore, punk, ska, alternative, and hard rock, boysetsfire have created an album that is so diverse and so innovative from anything in the hardcore community, that it becomes hard to find a song on this album that is not suited to one’s musical tastes. “The Misery Index” combines roughly twenty years of music into one historic package that has the familiar boysetsfire style, swagger, and sound added to every chorus, lyric, and catchy guitar riff.

        Like stated before, this is probably the most versatile album to come out this year from members that are prominent in the hardcore community. Although alternative rock seems to dominate the album the most, with songs like “The Misery Index” and “With Cold Eyes,” there are also other notable tracks that focus solely on genres like ska, hard rock, and hardcore. In a way, it is good to see that boysetsfire are still producing songs like “Walk Astray” and “Final Communiqué,” because both songs feature elements of the band from their older albums and also pay tribute to previous hardcore bands that played fast-paced and vehement songs. “Deja Coup” and “So Long…And Thanks For The Crutches” incorporate elements of ska, punk, and even a little bit of hardcore to create songs that are a bit different from what boysetsfire have done in the past, but none-the-less still as amazing as anything they’ve done on their previous outings.

            “The Misery Index” is probably one of the better albums boysetsfire have put out and definitely shows a strong musical base with the band, which could only mean that their music is going to get increasingly better in the future. The main problem with this album is that some songs are absolutely amazing and are probably the best boysetsfire have ever done, but there are some songs on this album that seem to be out of place, are lacking musical substance, or seem rushed. If boysetsfire had spent a little more time on this album, they could’ve tweaked it to sound a bit better, but in the long run that probably wouldn’t have helped them gain any points. This album is far from bad, but it doesn’t exactly stand up as being a definite hit. “The Misery Index” will probably go over extremely well with adamant boysetsfire fans than it would with the normal crowd.

Rating: 3.5/5