Web Exclusive: A conversation with Misery Signals’ Stuart Ross

Posted by Scott Heisel on 23-Jul-08 @ 10:48 AM

MISERY SIGNALS are becoming veterans of both the Ferret Music roster and the melodic metalcore genre, circling guitar lines around a punishing roar in ways the ever-growing crop of new bands wish they'd thought of first. Brian Shultz recently spoke with guitarist Stuart Ross regarding the band's new album, Controller, as well as burritos, lost wallets and impending doom.

Controller seems to come off as much more upbeat than past efforts.
I guess you could say that musically, but I don't know if lyrically it came off like that. [Guitarist] Ryan Morgan and [vocalist] Karl [Schubach] both [help write] the lyrical content, [which] was actually more pessimistic, I think.

Well, lyrically, no question, but musically it feels like there's an odd sense of hope there.
Yeah, I can believe that. I can understand why you're saying that, for sure.

Did you strive to make that sort of contrast?
Definitely with certain parts. I mean, if we're trying to create a feel and really, really make it seem passionate or almost desperate at times, you can definitely get that contrast by doing something where you have a very melodic part with [darker] lyrical content.

Were there any events or situations in the past few years that would contribute to either side of the equation?
Definitely. I think, obviously, like Karl getting a chance to come into his own with the band; and the bad things when somebody new is brought into the mix. Karl really had some things to do with his contributions lyrically. [Ryan] is really into primitivism, and...

[In the background, someone yells, "Aaaaahhh! Yeahhh!"]

Dude, I'm doing an... I'm on the phone... Oh, you found it...

["Fuck you, dude!"]

My roommate lost $200 and his ID two weeks ago, and he just found it. As I was saying, our guitarist is really into primitivism and, basically, a lot of his lyrical content comes from this impending crash or collapse that he kinda foresees with civilization in society and things like that.

So he looks to a lot of Nostradamus-type forecasts and predictions for the base of the lyrics?
Yeah, stuff like that. Not so much Nostradamus. But there's actual authors... I'm trying to think who he's into... See, he would be a good person to interview about that. [Laughs.]

Did Karl seem more comfortable during the recording process as compared to Mirrors?
Definitely. I think working with [producer] Devin [Townsend] is a big difference, first of all. Devin does a really good job of making you feel like you're doing your own thing. But with recording the vocals, it was totally different. With Mirrors, we were all in the studio--we were all there and we're kinda trying to coach him through it, and I think that was pretty tense for him, it being his first record. I think it was probably a lot more comfortable for Karl.

Devin Townsend's experience as a musician is arguably more in line with you guys than Mirrors producer Ben Schigel's. Since you had gone back to Townsend [who recorded 2004's Of Malice And The Magnum Heart], I'm guessing you may not have clicked entirely with Schigel.
No, we definitely didn't. For the time and the place when we were doing Mirrors, we definitely needed Devin as opposed to Ben. When we're growing as a band, at that point we're trying to find a direction and basically wanted advice on some things [but] he kinda just sat back and [did] the record. He didn't [quite] try to help us shape our goals or anything. Working with Ben, if you wanted to go and record a record in a week, and you knew what you wanted and that was it, Ben would be the guy to go to. With Controller, Devin really sat in with us and took his time making himself a part of the record as much as we were.

I always feel like I'm getting cornered, because at the time we were pretty bummed about it and we probably would've talked a lot of shit, but in retrospect, it's like, the guy got paid to [record] a band [he] didn't really know anything about nor did he really care about. He did what he did. We went in there, we tracked the stuff; we did a day of pre-production. Like, a day of pre-production? Which was kind of silly. I [remember] us playing in the studio and changing the songs how we saw fit, and then he would go get a burrito or something and can come back and be like, "Yeah! Great, guys. Good." We're like, "Oh, all right, this dude doesn't care." And just, like, certain obvious studio things like when we were getting guitar tones, it'd be like, "Yeahhh, I don't really know about that." He'd be like, "Nah, it's good." He kinda rushed us through and didn't really care, which was fine. It's something that we really cared about at the time, but for him it's another gig.

Misery Signals - A Certain Death

What did you find yourself listening to during Controller's recording?
Oh, good question... Definitely bands like Comeback Kid and This Is Hell and stuff like that. I definitely remember listening to Sundowning. We all listen to a bunch of different stuff. Oh, the new Meshuggah [Obzen] was a big deal. We were listening to [that] like crazy because it'd just leaked around that time. There's also a band from Vancouver called A Textbook Tragedy; we're good friends with them. Their record just came out, and I was pretty amped on that.

Controller's cover art seems rather distorted and a little bit vague. Could you explain that?
We just wanted to have something a little bit dirtier and destructive-looking. We just did something for once that was like, "We're an angry, heavy band, and we want to have an ugly, distorted-looking cover." But at the same time, I think it kinda juxtaposes the actual production of the record, too. The record came out super clean and tight sounding whereas the cover's messy and crazy looking. I think we just wanted to have a darker feel for this time around. Just because we're a melodic band doesn't mean we're not a heavy band.

Constantly being labeled a sort of "progressive metal" act, did you find yourself personally trying to step up your own game?
No, not really. I always find that kind of interesting, because Ryan and I aren't necessarily shredder guitarists, so it's weird to be considered a progressive metal band. I mean, Brandon's a really good drummer, and we definitely do some time signatures and things like that, but I've never really understood that label. I mean, when we write it's not like we're consistently trying to be more progressive or even trying be progressive in the first place. It's just, whatever comes on. We've never written as a band who, like, try to make people blown away by something weird we're doing. We just write stuff for the way it feels like it should come out.

Where do you see the band's current and future place in the overall realm of heavy music?
That's hard to say. We've pretty much been in the same place since Of Malice And The Magnum Heart came out. We've never really moved ahead or started to really fall at all. It's kinda weird with us. We're doing something I feel is original in the realm of metal and hardcore. For us, where do I see us? I see us being in the same exact spot. And the people who love us, love us. So that's cool. It'd be awesome if more people liked us or found us and appreciated our music, that'd be awesome. Every musician or every touring band wants that for [themselves]. I'd like to have [the] confidence [that] people really will get into this record. I see it staying at a pretty consistent level, and I'm okay with that. I'm happy with that. We tour a lot and we love touring, and we love the kids... It's all fun. alt

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