APRIL 3rd 2024
MOTHER MISERY EXCLUSIVE
Metaltitans Metal Mom Rita had the opportunity to speak with John Hermansen (vocals/guitar) of the band Mother Misery, the supersonic Melodic Rockers from Sweden. Check out our exclusive below for more:
MT: How did you come up with the name for the band ?
JH: In 2004 when we were about to release our debut album Grandiosity we were named Nosedive and we felt we needed to change that before the release. Me and Thomas Piehl (ex solo guitar) sat down and started looking in books etc for ideas, it eventually resulted in us using a mix of the two demo songs “Mother” and “My Misery” (later known as “My Enemy” on Grandiosity).
MT: When you were a kid, was this something you always wanted to do, be in a band ?
JH: Yeah kind of, at least since I was about 9-10 years old. I used to dress up as Motley Crüe or Kiss and pretend.
MT: Did you have anyone that inspired you to form a band?
JH: We always had instruments at home such as a guitar or an organ that my father used to play, it started there but what got me to want to form a band was probably Kiss. I was blown away by everything about them.
MT: Tell us how each of the members came to be in Mother Misery. .
JH:
Jimmy Lindbergh / drums joined the band in late 2004 I think when the original drummer Jens Wide left the band. We put out an application on MySpace if I’m not mistaken and got some replies and one day I got an email from Jimmy who we kind of new from other bands from before and we had done some shows together. We felt he would fit the band, both from how he looked, his playing and how he was as a person.
Stefan Hellstrom / Bass joined us in 2008 when we were going on our first trip to Holland. We had an opportunity to go on a small tour with the Swedish legends Entombed, and our bass player Marcus Jäderholm decided to leave the band. Stefan was a guitar player in other bands as we grew up and a friend since way back. We gave him a call and asked if he would consider join us as a bass player, at least for this trip. He is still in the band so I would say it went well ha ha.
Thomas Piehl / Guitars was the one who founded the band with me. We started writing songs together already in 1998 and released some songs on compilations under the name Nosedive. Thomas decided to leave the band right after the release of our latest album From Shadow To Ghost. He was replaced late last year by Emil Ström who is now handling the solo guitar as a solid member of MM.
John Hermansen / Vocals, Guitars. As above, me and Thomas founded the band after the break up of my band Greyhate and his Clench.
MT: "From Shadow To Ghost" , when you write a new album do you do it for you, and hope the fans enjoy, or do you do it for the fans ?
JH: We always do it for ourselves in the first place and then we just hope the fans like it as well.
MT: Was it an easy process from writing to getting it to final form?
JH: It has been a bit different through the years. In the beginning we wrote all the music together in the rehearsal / studio, like for the albums Grandiosity and All Eyes On You. Later on for different reasons it more got into me writing almost complete songs as demos with all the instruments, programmed drums and vocals that I then presented to the guys. We then worked on the songs together and sometimes changed them until we were satisfied with the result. For the latest album From Shadow To Ghost we were back to writing together in the studio and I must say that I really prefer that way, I think we all do. Much more fun and we can all share our inputs directly in the first making.
MT: Who writes the lyrics, and where does the inspiration come from?
JH: It is me who writes all the lyrics. I get my inspiration from what I’m facing in real life, not always to myself directly but also what I see or read about what happens in the world or to other people.
MT: Does the drummer, guitarists come up with their own blast beats, riffs ?
JH: It differs, mainly me and Thomas wrote all the guitar riffs and then we would build on that. Then we all contribute with bits and ideas here and there and Jimmy comes with his ideas on how he feels the drums should be and the same for Stefan on bass. We can all have ideas on each-others instruments and we usually try all ideas. If it’s not immediately voted down 3-1 ha ha.
MT: Do you have a favourite song on the album, and why that one. I know for me when I listen to an album, there is usually one that stands out more.
JH: Yeah, I have a few favourites actually. One is What Can I Say and mainly because I think it has a good sound/mix and I like the groove of it. Another favourite is Next Generation with the energy. Then we have Into The Unknown with its epic ending.
MT: You recently played Psychofest 2024, how was that for you?
JH: It was an awesome arrangement by Psychopunch who also played it. We had a great show and a great time. It’s pretty close to our home town so we had a lot of friends and fans coming from there. All the other bands were great people and that also contributes to a good night.
MT: Do you enjoy a big show like that, or do you prefer the local venue style ?
JH: Actually this was kind of a local venue show, I personally like both options. In a smaller or medium venue you get closer and more intimate with the crowd which is always great but It’s also cool to get out on a mega stage in front of a huge crowd. Two different experiences.
MT: For you, what is the hardest thing about being in a band?
JH: These days I would say it’s about the work you have to put into the social medias , to even be heard or seen. We don’t have shows every week so we have to be active with other stuff and news all the time to keep up and get new followers, fans and listeners.
MT: What is the best thing about being in Mother Misery?
JH: The friendship, we are first of all good friends that love to play and make music together. Second it’s our fans who are in many cases our friends as well and cool people to meet and have contact with. We have gained a lot of friends through the years of touring that are still around, both in fans and in other bands.
MT: What is the best advice you could give someone who wanted to start up a band?
JH: Maybe a cliché but just to believe in what you do, do it as good as you can and have fun. Try to do as many shows as you can to get experience and make contacts in the business with other bands, venues etc to establish a network. Contacts are super important.
MT: Tell us something about yourself that we might not know?
JH: I started out as a guitar player and had no intention of being a singer. So when we made our first demo no one else stepped up for the task so I had to do it. I was so ashamed of singing so I hid below the studio window so the other guys couldn’t see me. It also sounded terrible ha ha.
MT: What kind of music do you listen to?
JH: I still listen a lot to my old heroes such as DIO, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween etc. I also listen to bands like Bombus, Soilwork, Machine Head, Hardcore Superstar, Soundgarden, Megadeth and many many more.
MT: Do you have a band that you listen to that would surprise us?
JH: Hm…No not really but when I was in my early teens I had a period of mixing my heavy metal with Samantha Fox and Sabrina ha ha.. Maybe that was not so much because of their music.
MT: What is next for you ?
JH: Now we are just focusing on doing good shows, we hope to get a few shows in Holland and Germany again, it’s been too long since we were there. But we would also like to do shows in our neighbour countries Norway, Finland and Denmark.
MT: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us.
JH: Thank You for reaching out and having me/us on it. Cheers, John and MM.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotherMisery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MotherMisery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothermisery/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Mothers98
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