California’s Mizery, featuring Taylor from Downpresser, offer up a solid debut EP in Survive the Vibe. Released on Lion’s Share Records, the EP showcases a truly crossover metal-hardcore sound from Mizery. While certainly not as domineering or forceful as the aforementioned Downpresser, Mizery do offer up a strong EP of polished, well-recorded music for any fan of Leeway and later-era Cro-Mags.

Musically, it is really hard to ignore the seemingly pervasive influence that A.J. Novello’s guitar sound has on Mizery. From the crunchy chug-along riffs to the slower melodic breaks through to the solos, everything about the guitar sound on Surive the Vibe harkens to back to the great Leeway shredder. And that isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, I think it elevates the EP quite a bit. What Mizery have managed to do on Survive the Vibe is create musical balance between a hostile and abrasive hardcore guitar sound ala Downpresser and a much groovier and more melodic metal guitar sound ala Leeway. The strongest track musically, “Casualty of Love,” opens with a groovier melodic lull only to segue into driving hardcore-esque riffs that complement the vocals perfectly. The production certainly didn’t hurt the recording either and overall the music here is strongly written and remains compelling through all five songs.

Vocally, Mizery continues this musical balancing act. The vocals are by no means the gritty screaming one expects out of a purely hardcore effort. Rather, the vocals here have a shouted mix that crescendos into a pained yell at just the right times. The most impressive vocal effort on the EP is in the title track “Survive the Vibe” as the vocals throughout the song follow a very groovy pattern that again evoke the ever-present Leeway comparison. Like Leeway’s Eddie Sutton, the vocalist here manages just the right amount of aggression and fury without venturing too far into the less melodic screaming or shouting of vocalists who lack range.

Survive the Vibe is a strong first effort by all accounts here. It certainly left me wanting to hear more and that’s a huge selling point for any EP. If you appreciate the crossover appeal of bands like Leeway and Cro-Mags, I highly recommend this release.